Inbox, Birthday Box

As I sit down to write this, my email Inbox contains 504 items.  This is not because I am important or popular; it is because I am lazy and unorganized.  The discipline of filing necessary emails as I get them and deleting those that I don’t need has escaped me.  About once every six months I will do a massive purge.  This is a time consuming and frustrating chore.  You’d think I’d learn.  The good news here is that if I have need for a previous email, I have it.  The bad news is that it is next to impossible to find it.  Come January 1, 2013 I know what my resolution should be.

Because my management skills here are so bad, I am always hesitant to sign up for business email lists.  The last thing I need is more junk mail to deal with, right?  Well, I am having to rethink that stance.  

Unlike me, Weber is quite organized with regard to his email Inbox.  He has neat folders with titles in his email  - and he uses them!  His Inbox rarely has more than the current day’s mail sitting in it.  Every now and then he’ll look over my shoulder and exclaim with horror, “Do you know how many messages are in your Inbox?”  With a little embarrassment I usually promise that I will do something about it . . . .sometime soon.  Sometime soon is a relative term.  I’m just not sure to what it is relative.

Because he is more organized, which can be construed as more responsible, whenever a business asks for an email address, we always give them his.    When asking you to join their “preferred customer” lists, most places ask for your birthday and anniversary.  They really use that information.  Yesterday was Weber’s birthday and in the last week or so he has gotten quite a few birthday “presents” (in the form of email coupons) delivered to his Inbox.

He has gotten:

• A free small sandwich from Schlotzsky’s
• A free Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity breakfast from IHOP
• A free bowl at Genghis Grill
• BOGO breakfast a Mimi’s Cafe
• A free breakfast bagel sandwich at Einstein’s Bagels
• A “surprise” from Panera Bread next time he visits
• $15 from Novica
• $10 from DSW Shoes
• 5x the reward points from The great Indoors and Sears
• 3x the reward points at Best Buy

This is a pretty god haul! And all one has to do to receive these things is add his or her name to business email lists and be willing to deal with the junk email during the eleven months that do not contain your birthday.  If you and your Inbox are organized, this is no big deal.  If you are like me, perhaps this showering of gifts will serve as the motivation necessary to seize control of an over-stuffed Inbox.  

Maybe I should wait until November to sign up for these things.  That gives the businesses plenty time to add me to their mailing lists and it gives me a reasonable chance of being able to find theses birthday emails.

I’ll let Weber deal with any anniversary specials we might get next month.

FYI, it is just my Inbox that is out of control.  I am a little OCD when it comes to the organization of most other facets of my life.  My pantry is organized in stacked and labeled Tupperware containers, my underwear is neatly folded, and all my books are shelved according to the Dewey Decimal system.  Okay, I’m kidding on the books, but the other stuff is true!