My Mailbox is Stuffed with Catalogs

With the holidays quickly approaching, there has barely been room in our mailbox for bills and letters. A few days ago, our mailbox was stuffed so tightly with catalogs that I had to pull everything out with both hands and a lot of muscle. Yesterday, the mail carrier had to bring our mail to the door because he couldn't fit it all in the mailbox.

If we receive a catalog I know we'll never buy from, I simply contact the company and ask them to remove us from their mailing list. One phone call generally does the trick.

But for me, getting catalogs in the mail makes holiday shopping very convenient. As far as I'm concerned, the more, the merrier. I spend limited time shopping in individual stores or malls. Most gifts that I purchase are items I see in catalogs. There are often very unique finds that suit the interests of the people on my gift list.

As I'm flipping through a catalog, I often find myself saying to myself, 'That would be just perfect for my sister, Jude' or 'my dad would really love that!'

I tear out the page the item is on and the back page which often includes a catalog code in order for me to take advantage of any special offers. The remainder of the catalog gets recycled. I then put the pages into a file folder, go online later and order everything I need.

Every year, within just a few weeks, I've taken care of most of my holiday shopping, without ever having to get in the car, search endlessly through stores, stand in line or lug tons of packages to my car.

Sure, I occasionally make a few trips to the mall or take a walk along Main Street in town and purchase from the local merchants.

BUT, the majority of my holiday shopping time, in the comfort of my home, has saved me a tremendous amount of time, energy and sanity.

Comments

[Marilyn Holeman]

Hi Maria,

I'm curious. What would you say are your favorite catalogs? Top five maybe? Thanks for the tips!

[Karen]

I'm all for convienience, however, what about supporting your local merchants. It's no wonder alot of them are going out of business, what with everyone shopping online. Would it not be to your benefit to ask your local business if you could order over the phone with them? This way you can support your local business and get some great deals in the process.