Don't Panic

I don't like mail.

Well, I don't like 2 of the 3 kinds of mail.

The kind I like is packages I've intentionally ordered. Who doesn't love being shipped a box of their late-night-impulse shopping?

Then there's correspondence from people I know and with whom want to regularly (or at least occasionally) converse. 100% of the people in this category know how to reach me digitally, know I prefer it, and prefer it themselves.

And then there's everything else, which is almost never good news anyway and, really, could've been done digitally almost every the time. It's so bad I have a mini anxiety attack just walking to the mail box. Oh crap, what's it gonna be today?

The !packages & !correspondence category breaks down into three sub-categories: Bills, Tax, and Legal Stuff; Reminders and Things You Don't Need To Deal With Right Away; and Spam/Junk/Ads. It's always one of those three, and actually there's sometimes some overlap.

I have never gotten correspondence in my mailbox that couldn't have been emailed to me or managed as a phone call, and I'm including birthday cards from grandparents in there.

I've never gotten something in my mailbox that I needed to act on or know about immediately except a notification that I forgot to pay a utility bill, and by the time I got it they'd already emailed me, shown me a notification on the website and in the app, called me, and texted me, so I was well aware.

Unless it's legal proceedings which can only be delivered via printed out, stamped mail (because of some stupid rule), I don't need it in my mailbox. Everything else is a waste.

And speaking of waste, let's talk about all the trees that are dying for this shit. And all the pollution from logistics delivering it. Right? In a digital age, why are will still mailing so much? Put every package on a train and put every document in an email and you're done. It's not that hard.