I have one of those junk mail stickers on my letterbox, but I don’t think it has reduced the amount of “junk” that has come through. I imagine it’s because it relies on the person delivering leaflets to consider that his stuff is junk.
I guess it would be the same if I tried to reduce the number of people knocking on my door by putting a sticker saying “Please don’t ring the doorbell if you are a complete tosser”. The occasional truly honest or damaged person might not knock, otherwise it’s a waste of time due to its total lack of empathy.
Leaflets and adverts and menus are often junk of course, and lots of people stick it through my door. But I can understand why they don’t like to think of it that way. Just as the Pepsi people, who sell poisonous sugary drinks to children, prefer to reframe it as a lifestyle brand.
So this is what I’m trying out:
1. Peeled off my No Junk Mail sign
2. Set up a new email account that I don’t need to check unless I really want to
3. Written this nice new sign for my door >
The least that can happen is that I will one day avoid insulting someone who has only been able to find a job delivering leaflets, when she really dreams of being a ballet dancer.
I don’t expect it will get noticed. But it felt nice.
