Give less: the clutter-free gift with no shipping deadline
· 3 min read
The most clutter-free gift is one that takes things away instead of adding them — like a year of Ferna, which sends an opt-out request to each junk mailer the person you give it to names.
December is the month everyone gives everyone more things: more boxes, more wrapping, more stuff to find a place for in January. This is about the opposite kind of gift.
What the gift is
A year of Ferna. They name the junk mailers filling their mailbox — the catalogs, the credit card offers, the coupon packs, the appeals from organizations they gave to once — and we send each one an opt-out request.
It's 12 months for $39.99, paid once. We never ask the person you give it to for a card, it isn't a subscription for them, and nothing renews when the year is up.
Who it suits
- The person who has everything, and tells you so every year. They don't have this, and it won't need a shelf.
- A parent or grandparent whose counter collects catalogs and offers faster than anyone can sort them. If you'll see them over the holidays, here's how to help with the pile in person.
- Someone who just moved and is setting up a new home.
- The friend who's decluttering and would be quietly horrified by another candle.
Who it doesn't suit: someone who genuinely enjoys their catalogs. It's worth knowing which kind of person you're buying for.
No shipping deadline
Every December there comes a day when it's too late to ship anything in time. This gift isn't shipped at all.
You write a note, and the gift arrives as an email with your note at the top — right away, or on the morning of a day you pick, including Christmas morning. Or we email you a copy of the code, and you can print it, write it in a card, or tuck it in a stocking. It works the same way whichever you choose.
So if it's the 23rd and you're out of ideas, this still works. Nothing to wrap, either.
What they'll actually do with it
- Open the email and press the button.
- Set up an account with their mailing address — that's what the opt-out requests are sent against.
- Add the senders filling their mailbox, by name. Ferna sends an opt-out request to each one and shows its status in their dashboard, and they can add new ones whenever they turn up.
It takes a few weeks to show, because mailers print their campaigns in advance. Ferna only opts out of the senders they name: bills, checks, tax forms, government mail and packages are never touched.
The fine print, honestly
- It doesn't renew. If they want to carry on after the year, that's their choice to make.
- If they already use Ferna, the months are added to the end of what they have.
- If they'd rather not have it, email us within 30 days and we'll refund it in full.
Give less
Everyone else will be giving them something to make room for. This gives them fewer things to deal with instead.