Why Do You Need a Pre-Orders Folder in Your Inbox
Here’s a fun little trick: when you move, make sure you change the address of all the services you use. This includes any online retailers you shop from frequently, which should be pretty obvious when you are provided with your old address when you buy something after you move. Less obvious, however, are the addresses associated with any pre-orders you have previously placed.
When I moved in a few months ago, I (foolishly) assumed that switching my default shipping address to Amazon would also change my address to whatever I ordered but hadn’t arrived yet – all those disgusting Baby Yoda pre-orders stuck in the rear of the cabin. my Amazon account, no doubt about it. I am checking my Amazon pre-orders right now, in fact, and the shipping address has changed to my new address. No problem, right?
Just yesterday I got a message from my old roommates informing me that they received a package for me. And when they sent in the photo, the indistinguishable look of the Amazon box got me thinking: what the hell did I order and why was it shipped to my old address?
I am grateful that my old roommates are willing to let me know. It would be a completely different situation if, say, I moved from an apartment building, and the new people who inhabited my old space did not know who I was. I suspect this is a problem for most people, which makes it even more important to check your pre-orders. You may not receive what was sent to you, which doesn’t really matter if it was something you can easily change, but becomes much more important if it’s some botanical collectible that was sold out before it release.
Tracking your pre-orders quickly and easily
If I were you, here is a life hack I would use: instead of going through your email to find out what you ordered in advance, trust your reliable memory to remember everything, or spend hours looking through past orders with your favorite retailers, set up a simple folder in your pre-order inbox instead. Whenever you buy something that has a far-reaching delivery date and you receive a purchase confirmation email, drop that email in your folder.
You don’t even need to browse that folder to get things organized. Make it a permanent archive of everything you’ve ever ordered. That way, if you’re constantly changing location – or even planning a vacation – you can quickly check to see if anything you’ve ordered is hitting a doorstop you aren’t near. If so, you can take action as needed: change it to a new address before it is shipped, ask a friend or neighbor to pick it up from your doorstep, and so on.
This method makes managing your potential packages a lot easier and ensures you don’t forget anything – as I did, since I literally have no idea what awaits me in my old place. I hope you get something cool, or at least some delicious bone broth.