Prize notices, donation appeals and catalogs can bury the mail that matters: Medicare, the bank, the insurer. Here’s what works. Most of it takes one afternoon together.
The plan
Step 1
Agree on what stays
It’s their mail. Decide together what to keep and what goes. Get their OK in writing, or use a power of attorney if they’ve named you.
Step 2
Stop sweepstakes mail
By law, mailers must take them off their lists within 60 days of a request. Write to the address in each mailing’s notice and keep a copy.
Step 3
Trim donation appeals
Ask charities they don’t support to remove them and not to rent, sell or trade their name. Tell favorites how often to write.
Step 4
Use the caretaker list
DMAchoice’s Do Not Contact list lets a caretaker register someone in their care. Expect less mail in about three months.
Step 5
Stop prescreened offers
Free at OptOutPrescreen.com. Giving a Social Security number there is optional.
Step 6
See their mail from home
They sign up for Informed Delivery with their own ID check, then forward the daily preview to you.
Red flag
A real prize never costs money to collect. A fee, or a check to deposit with instructions to send part back, is a scam. Report it at uspis.gov.
Good to know
What won’t stop (and mostly shouldn’t)
Mail from companies your parent does business with: statements, insurance renewals, Medicare notices. “Postal Customer” flyers and political mail can’t be stopped by name. Opt-outs take weeks because mailers print ahead.
Handling mail for a parent who has died
DMAchoice’s Deceased Do Not Contact list is free to register online.
Sources
39 U.S.C. § 3017 (sweepstakes mailings); U.S. Postal Inspection Service on sweepstakes scams; Charity Navigator, Manage your mailbox; DMAchoice FAQ; FTC, How to stop junk mail; OptOutPrescreen.com; USPS Informed Delivery.
Sample morning email
Today at Mom’s: 1 letter worth a call
- Medicare: worth opening this week
- “Prize Claim Center”: looks like a prize letter. Worth a gentle check-in before anyone sends money.
- 4 donation appeals and catalogs: stop these? Yes / Not now
Example with invented senders.
Or let us keep an eye on it: Mom’s Mailbox
Your parent forwards their free Informed Delivery preview. Each morning we email you only when something matters, and flag prize-style letters before anyone sends money. With their written OK, we stop the junk you both approve. They can end the service with one email.
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Mailbox Zero is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service. Informed Delivery is a free service of the U.S. Postal Service. Flags are a heads-up, not a fraud guarantee, and this page is general information, not legal advice.
