A Redditor frustrated by unwanted mail turned to the platform for advice about how to stem the tide.
Their post included a photo showing how many ads they get weekly.
"With this much junk filling up my mailbox, it is harder than ever to spot an actual mail," they wrote in r/Anticonsumption. "These go straight from mailbox to the recycle bin."
Commenters pointed out that a note on the mailbox could do the trick, and the poster obliged, writing, "NO FLYERS! THANK YOU!" on a Post-it.
The push to buy, buy, buy is one reason why we are in a climate crisis. Consumer products require resources to be made, packaged, and shipped, and then they're often thrown away posthaste, which means the process is repeated routinely.
It may be nice to order something online and get it on your doorstep in nearly no time, but it is harming the environment and affecting the humans responsible for those speedy deliveries. And you likely don't need that widget or thingamajig so quickly — maybe you don't even need it at all.
Advertising encourages consumption. And since the planet is overheating because we devour resources, people are turning to Buy Nothing and similar ways to help reduce their consumption and thus their role in creating pollution that harms our health.
"Are these the plastic lined kind?" one commenter asked of the poster's junk mail. "They're the worst!" Then they added an inventive way to reuse one item, highlighting how we can usually make do with what we have: "At least newspapers can be used for cleaning."
Another user wrote: "The extremely annoying one for me is Bank of America; if you're a customer, their online opt-out form requires your actual credit card number if you want them to stop sending paper balance transfer checks."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
