Pile of mail waiting for me in New Mexico

I received an early Christmas gift. When I arrived in New Mexico for my niece’s 12 December graduation from the University of New Mexico, I was greeted at my parents’ house with a mountain of mail addressed to myself.

The facts:

• I have never lived in New Mexico.
• I have not lived with my parents since 1983.
• I live in Sydney, Australia.
• I changed the statement address for my life insurance policy to my parents’ address this last year so I could comply with the requirements of the insurance company.

Changing the address with one supplier has allowed (or caused) my name to be placed on what must be dozens (hundreds?) of marketing lists.

I am receiving the following types of mail at my parents’ address:

• Charity appeals, including acquisition packages large enough to wallpaper a small bathroom.
• Offers for windows.
• Home improvement offers.
• Insurance offers.
• Mortgage offers.
• Credit card offers.

Of the above types of mail, charity mail was the highest in volume.

To be clear, I do not fault non profit organisations or companies for renting or exchanging names. In fact, I fully appreciate the fact this is how charities and companies build their database and acquire new donors and customers. I was simply surprised by of the impact of my address change with one company.

The fact is when we do not keep up with our mail on a daily basis, we realise the volume caused by actions such as the one I took.