Be Brave Not Safe

In a prior post I wrote about the importance of managing our email inbox and how firms we do business with are increasingly using email for correspondence they wish to send us. I think this is fantastic!

However, we all still get junk mail including fairly large catalogs which are never opened and go immediately into the recycle bin. I recently received a thick phone book. WHY, WHY, WHY?!?! If I need a phone number I’ll get it online from wherever I happen to be. Kill the phone book!

As stated in the prior post, we are burning through the forests of our planet for this WASTE!

All I want to say is “STOP SENDING ME PAPER!”

But, what is a person to do? Here is a great step!

There is a (free) service called “Catalog Choice” which allows you to opt-out of receiving catalogs and other junk mail (even phonebooks!). As they so simply put it on their website – “Here is how it works”:

1. You receive unwanted mail.
2. Report it to us.
3. We’ll take it from there.

To sign-up, simply go to: www.catalogchoice.org.

Once you sign-up you can request that specific companies cease sending you catalogs and junk mail. After you have completed your request you will, over time, observe the amount of catalogs and junk mail arriving in your snail-mail box decreasing.

A simple step, indeed, towards going green!

In addition, as we cut down on junk mail we also reduce the temptations to buy the stuff being pitched to us. When we actually do need to buy something we can often find a coupon or sale online. I’d suggest we’ll spend far less by seeking out products and services we need (when we need them) than by impulsively acquiring “stuff” as a result of a catalog, flyer or coupon that arrived in our snail mail.

So many reasons to just say “NO” to Paper!