I stopped worrying about junk mail a long time ago. Yes, there are all sorts of ways that you can reduce the amount of junk mail that you receive by opting out of various lists and being careful who you give your information out to, but is this really going to reduce the stress in your life.

When we were kids, we used to love getting mail. Because when you’re a kid - you don’t. Remember how exciting it was to get the mail and find something addressed to you, not your parents? That’s how I try to look at the trip to the mailbox these days. What treasures am I going to find today? And more importantly, what can I do with them?

1. Let’s start off by ‘recycling‘ the junk mail that you do receive.

Instead of getting annoyed with the fliers and coupons and other crap you receive in the mail, send it back out. I don’t like to throw away perfectly good envelopes, especially if the postage is paid for - that would be tragic!

So, if today you got an offer for a credit card that you simply don’t need or want, take the postage paid reply envelope and stuff it with the fliers for the ham that’s on sale for .69 cents a pound. Lick it and send it for free!

If by some chance you didn’t receive any flyers or other material to send to the credit card company, take a post-it and write a note. Perhaps - “Hope your having a fantastic day!” That ought to brighten up the day of whoever’s job it is to open all those things for mega-bank.

Sometimes instead of a note I’ll send some cheerios or whatever else is handy. I just like to make sure there’s something in the envelope for somebody to enjoy.

2. Now, if you’re like me you like free stuff. Free stuff is awesome.

Probably once a month I’ll take an hour or two and spend it on one of the many free sample sites on the web. I’m sure you’ve seen them, they’re the sites that list various free offers from companies and free products.

I like to fill out a bunch of them all at once, and then for the next month or two every few days at the mailbox I’ll find a small box or large envelope with a free sample. The great thing about this is that I often forget what I’ve ordered, so each box is like a little prize. I’ve received a number of free razors this way - and not the cheap kind, I’m talking the 7 bladed kind that cost 15 bucks to buy refill cartridges. I get all sorts of shampoo samples, make up for the wife, I even recently got a cool little ash tray that I never use since I don’t smoke. It’s like Christmas everyday at my mailbox.

As I fill out the samples, I also like to use variations of my name. Different middle initials, different spellings, my dog’s name, etc. It can be interesting to see the path that that info is sold. I don’t worry too much about giving out my address to these companies - mainly because I don’t worry too much about getting junk mail.

My phone number is a different matter. You can get a free disposable phone number here. That way you can give out a valid number, but not have to worry about sales calls.

3. And this one is for the kids, if you have any.

This is a fun mail project for the kids that you can help them with, especially if they get excited about getting mail.

Go to this State Tourist Information site. This page lists all the states links to pages where you can request tourist information from each state. This is good stuff. Some states will send you a small brochure - other states will send you history of the state, historical sites, tourist attractions, everything you could possibly want to know about the state.

It’s a good free and fun way to help your kids learn about the different states. Plus they’ll be excited about getting all this stuff in the mail.

So, instead of getting angry about your box being filled with junk, take a few minutes and giggle to yourself as your filling a credit card offer’s postage paid envelope with a silly nonsense note or a cd for a free trial of AOL.

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