Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that snail mail tends to delight people. Sending
Speaker 1: a card or note doesn't take long, but it can
Speaker 1: bring a lot of joy. So most people won't get
Speaker 1: much personal physical mail until next December when holiday cards
Speaker 1: start arriving. That is a pity because people love getting
Speaker 1: personal mail as opposed to junk mail. In December is
Speaker 1: a long time from now, so why not drop a
Speaker 1: note in the mail and spread a little love in
Speaker 1: the meantime. I have some practical tips for making this
Speaker 1: feel more doable and fun. First, make sure you have
Speaker 1: a file of mailing eyes address as handy. Probably you
Speaker 1: do from your holiday cards, but if not, make one
Speaker 1: that has the information on your friends and family members.
Speaker 1: Here's a fun fact. If people own their homes, you
Speaker 1: can often find their mailing addresses by searching online for
Speaker 1: their names in the town where they live, because real
Speaker 1: estate purchases are generally public records. But you can obviously
Speaker 1: just send a quick text or email asking for this information.
Speaker 1: You might also keep a stash of fun or funny
Speaker 1: cards in your desk, stop by the dollar store and
Speaker 1: pick up a batch. If you'd like to be a
Speaker 1: little more elevated, you can look somewhere like a bookstore
Speaker 1: or paper source. You can also buy hand decorated cards
Speaker 1: from artisans at places like Etsy or if you have kids,
Speaker 1: they are no doubt creating a lot of artwork, so
Speaker 1: you could start sharing these masterpieces with other relatives. Just
Speaker 1: fold one up and put it in an envelope. As
Speaker 1: for what to say, well, this may feel awkward for
Speaker 1: the first few cards or letters, but when people start
Speaker 1: to see you as the person who sends the snail mail,
Speaker 1: it will seem a lot less weird. So choose an
Speaker 1: occasion that feels defensible, like a holiday or the anniversary
Speaker 1: of something that you and the other person experience together,
Speaker 1: and reach out. On that occasion. Just say thinking of you,
Speaker 1: share one recent detail from your life, and send them
Speaker 1: good wishes. There is no need to overthink this. You
Speaker 1: might also use snail mail as a way to send
Speaker 1: printed photos. Most people don't have nearly enough printed photos
Speaker 1: these days, so print them up from the last time
Speaker 1: you saw a friend or family member and stick those
Speaker 1: in the mail. It is pretty easy to order envelopes
Speaker 1: that are large enough to accommodate a four x six photo.
Speaker 1: Your notes don't have to be long. It is the
Speaker 1: sheer thought that counts and the fun of getting something
Speaker 1: in the mail that is not a catalog. Why not
Speaker 1: give it a shot. If you get excited about sending
Speaker 1: snail mail, you may want to keep a few cards
Speaker 1: in your car or kitchen drawer, or anywhere else you
Speaker 1: routinely find yourself with time that is not spoken for.
Speaker 1: Then it's easy to write a note. Whenever you have
Speaker 1: a few minutes. You can use your time confetti to
Speaker 1: make someone's day. Because snail mail really is delightful in
Speaker 1: a way that few other things that take a few
Speaker 1: minutes and a few dollars can be. There is no
Speaker 1: reason not to avail yourself of the opportunity. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio, app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.