productivity

There's nothing more frustrating than an mailbox full of junk mail, so make dealing with junk mail one of your Spring resolutions. To start with, here are a couple of sites you should visit:

• Catalog Choice: With over a million users and counting, this is a free and easy way of cutting down your catalog junk.
• Direct Marketer's Association: You can request one of the over 3,600 companies under the DMA's umbrella to stop sending mail to you. This includes credit offers, catalogs, mail offers, and magazine offers.
• OptOutPrescreen.com: A bunch of credit reporting companies started this website to soothe the frustrations of consumers. This is a good site for opting out of those endless credit card offers.

If you're done checking out the above sites and the flow of junk mail from certain retailers still hasn't stopped, you can also try manually contact the culprits. If you have the time, you can phone the companies to opt out of their mailing lists. Or if you prefer, you can dig around on their websites to see if you can be removed from their list online.

Remember to note on an Excel sheet or Google doc details of the companies you have contacted and the dates you spoke with them so you'll know when to follow up.

If you've moved to a new place, you might find yourself inundated with the previous tenant's mail. First, you should communicate to the mail carrier that you're receiving a previous tenant's letters, says Sue Brennan, a spokesperson for the US Postal Service. You can do this by telling the carrier in person, leaving a note in the mailbox, or writing the word "moved" on the ex-tenant's mail.

Source: Etsy User TerraViam

Have you ever heard someone's money-saving trick and thought it sounded absolutely insane? There are plenty of strange ways to save a buck or two. What's really great, though, is when it actually works. Head over to our partner site Wise Bread for some crazy yet effective forms of penny pinching:

I've been called many things in my life. Some good, some not so good. But I can't say I've ever been called crazy when it comes to being frugal. So, as I'm not getting any younger, I thought it was time to bring out a list of 10 crazy frugal schemes and earn the sobriquet. Some of these plans are certainly more "out there" than others, but all are worth a try, I think. Put some of them to the test and let us know how you get on.

Related: The Enemies of Frugality

And, if you have some even crazier ideas, chime in. While I was writing this article, a friend of mine told me they sometimes skip buying lunch and eat free samples from the grocery stores. It may save a few bucks, but that’s not my style. Anyway, on with the list.

Read on for more.

Folding clothes isn't exactly anyone's idea of a fun time, but perhaps it might be more enjoyable if you were able to do it in two seconds. Think about it. In the time it takes to gulp down some water, scratch your head, or unwrap a piece of candy, you could have folded one shirt! It's almost like a superpower. Get ready for this life-changing tutorial on folding shirts like a ninja:

Keeping tech organized is sort of a hobby in itself for us. The first step in our quest for the title of Titan of Tidy Tech: picking up the charging cords off the ground. Meet the quickest way to a life of iPhone 5 efficiency: the Bluelounge Lightning MiniDock ($40).

We loved the MiniDock in its previous 30-pin incarnation and are relieved to see the dock finally available for those who have upgraded to Lightning iDevices. Plug the MiniDock into an existing USB power adapter, set the phone in its spot, and voilà! Nothing to worry about except what you'll do with all that open space on the floor or tabletop now free of tangled cords.

There's nothing worse than standing in front of your front door shuffling through your keys to find the right one. Instead of wasting time (and carrying around boring keys), give them a coat of paint to stay organized and look chic. This life hack tip already caught our attention, so we figured it was a great DIY to try. And even if you're not crafty, you can easily transform your set of keys into a cool and personalized collection. Just make sure to keep a list reminding yourself which color key fits which lock. Here are a few tips for decorating your keys:

• Go through your key ring, sorting keys into a pile of ones that are used daily, another pile for those that aren't used as often, and a pile to ditch.
• The easiest way to paint your keys is to coat them with fingernail polish. But, while trying this, we discovered that only saturated colors or glitter polishes really worked and that keys needed several coats to be brilliantly shiny. Pick your favorite dark shade or glitter polish, paint the top side of a key, let it dry, and continue coating until you're happy with the results.
• Another fun way to paint your keys is by using spray paint, which allows you to get a bit crafty. Use strips of painter's tape to create designs, or even letters on the top of the keys — or simply leave as is for a solid pop of color. Tape the bottom of the key to a piece of cardboard, covering the entire base. Take outdoors and give it a quick spray. Once dry, remove the tape, and you've got a really cool set of keys.

Have you tried painting your keys? Leave a comment sharing which method worked best for you!

We're excited to present this post from our partners over at Yahoo! Shine:

Real estate agents at a New York-based broker are showing their company pride — and getting an extra 15 percent in commission — by having their company's logo tattooed onto their bodies.

Thirty-seven men and women at Rapid Realty have gotten the green-and-black "Double R" tattoos so far, the company's CEO and founder, Anthony Lolli, told Inman News.

Related: Celebrity Tattoos Gone Wrong

"They wear it like a badge of honor," said Lolli, who is also a real estate agent in their South Park Slope office. "They get a lot of respect from the other agents with the amount of commitment that they have."

There are other benefits as well: "Talk about marketing — they're walking billboards!" he tweeted.

Learn more about this interesting story after the jump.