Share with someone who might be at risk of falling victim to this junk. So sad.
Reader question: Is it safe to hit the ‘unsubscribe’ button on spam?
I got an email from a reader asking if hitting the “unsubscribe” button in her inbox is smart. Like many things in tech, it depends. In some cases, reacting to spammers might make your email a hot commodity, leading to more unwanted emails or even a spot on a “for sale” list.
Here’s the lowdown on how to stop getting emails you don’t want — without opening yourself up to more junk.
It could go one of two ways
With reputable companies, clicking unsubscribe should do the trick. If you’re receiving newsletters or promotional emails from brands you know, they generally follow email marketing regulations.
For unsolicited spam from unknown senders? Clicking unsubscribe may indeed make things worse. You inadvertently confirm that your email address is active … possibly leading to even more spam.
‘How do I know what to pick, Kim?’
Stick to familiar ground: If the email is from a trusted source (think brands you’ve shopped with or newsletters you’ve signed up for), go ahead and hit that unsubscribe button.
Dodge the unknown: If it’s a random email about a long-lost prince or a miracle cure, steer clear of the unsubscribe link. Mark the email as spam in your email client.
For Outlook:
- Select the messages you want to report as junk.
- From the top toolbar, select Report > Report Junk.
For Apple Mail:
- On your iPhone or iPad, swipe left on the message, tap More, then Move to Junk.
Quick fixes for messy spots
- Jumbled sock drawer: Toss in an $8 honeycomb organizer that expands to fit the space. Works for undies, too.
- Dust everywhere: Don’t just rub it around. These damp cleaning sponges have ridges to hold junk as you go.
- Pet hair SOS: Content Queen Allie bought the viral ChomChom roller (29% off) and loves it.
- Washing machine: Gunk collects around the gasket of front-load machines. Clear it out the easy way.
- Closet shelves: No more teetering piles of shirts and sweaters when you have dividers to hold everything snugly.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
🔖 Bookmark this: You want to print the content on a site but not the ads and junk. Drop the URL into PrintFriendly.com. You’ll get a clean, print-ready PDF. Sweet.
The valuable old phones hidden in your junk drawer
Got an old cellphone hidden away that could be worth a lot of cash? Let me tell you why now’s the time to find out—in just 60 seconds!
8,815 objects
Shot into space in the past five years. Elon Musk is responsible for about 72% of that. Starlink satellites only have a five-year lifespan. Musk wants to put as many as 42,000 in orbit. Space junk could become a massive problem within our lifetime. At least we’ll have Mars or a new exoplanet. 🙄
✨ Sparkling clean ✨
Just how I like my house before the weekend!
- Cleanup is so much easier with a microfiber mop with a built-in spray bottle (33% off).
- You can never have too many microfiber cloths. This 12-pack is 51% off.
- Silicone kitchen utensils won’t scrape your pots and pans (20% off).
- Grab an air fryer to make crispy food without the extra oil (23% off).
- Grab a handheld Dustbuster to remove pet hair, dirt and junk from just about any surface (20% off).
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Trust me, it’s dusty: Your laptop and desktop gather dust just like everything else. Do yourself (and your wallet) a favor and blow out all the junk. Compressed air (whoa, 47% off) gets the job done, but I prefer a reusable air duster (54% off!).
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
No more credit card offers in the mail: Visit optoutprescreen.com to stop financial junk mail you later have to shred. Choose to opt out for five years or forever. Opting out permanently? You’ll have to use snail mail, but it’s worth it. Print, sign and mail a confirmation form. I did it.
🛰️ Lookin’ fresh: A satellite designed to remove space junk captured a 360-degree view of a discarded rocket floating around. The 36-foot-long rocket, about the size of a city bus, has been orbiting Earth for 15 years and has barely aged. The orange foam insulation is intact and the engine nozzle looks polished.
🤢 Clean your smartwatch: Researchers randomly tested watch wristbands and found 95% were contaminated with harmful bacteria, including E. coli and MRSA. Plastic and rubber hold the most junk. Makes me want to chuck all my stuff in this.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Please leave me alone: You can stop pesky political texts if you know the steps. Here’s what not to do: Reply “STOP.” You’ll just get more junk.
🦐 Anything for likes: Facebook hasn’t stopped AI slop like “Shrimp Jesus” from landing on your news feed, even though this junk is often tied to scams. Why? Well, it doesn’t violate their rules if there’s no nudity or violence. But really, they want to keep people sharing and liking. When you see a post like this, hit the three-dot icon on it and click Hide post. Hopefully, the algorithm will catch on.
New term to know: Photocatalytic. Chemists came up with a special paint that cleans itself. For the nerds: When UV light hits the surface, titanium oxide nanoparticles will jump-start a reaction that breaks down junk and pollutants. This could be a game-changer for buildings painted in light colors. Share this with your friends who will be amazed at your good looks and intellect.
Buh-bye, Temu poo-poo: Will we start seeing fewer ads for Temu? You betcha! Temu has peaked in the U.S. (WSJ, paywall link) and doesn’t want to turn into another TikTok by getting banned, so it’s moving on to selling cheap junk in other countries now.
Your desktop is a mess: Create a new folder with a name like “Clean up” or the date. Drop everything in there. When you have 5 minutes to spare, go through that folder. It’s kind of like that junk drawer in your kitchen.
53% of young women have been digitally harassed
Those aged 18 to 29 have been sent unwanted sexual pictures online. And it’s not just young women: 32% of all women and 30% of men have been cyberflashed. A new bill in Congress will make these pics illegal. Call it the anti-junk bill.
Easy printer clean-up: Soak a piece of paper with rubbing alcohol (not too much — leave the edges dry), and run it through your printer’s roller to clean off the junk.