Get rid of the junk mail... please!

INCIDENT:
I sure do get a lot of junk mail. Everyday I go through my mail and end up recycling the majority it. What a waste of paper! And you can't even use it for scrap paper. So between the credit card offers, mailers, and crap from present and previous affiliations who have sold my information (I secretly hate you!), I am swimming in old growth forest in the form of glossy postcards and pre-approved credit card applications. It appears that our society might have our priorities all in a muck.

MORAL:
What can we do to stop the craziness? Well, it will take some leg work (or money if you have it to spare), but we can all cut down on the junk mail.

First up to bat is the website Green Dimes, which will pay you to get rid of your junk mail. What? Yes. They will pay you a dollar, give you a magazine subscription, or plant a tree if you join at the basic level. They claim that they can get rid of 90% of your junk mail for at least 5 years. Not too bad. If you have a little more dough you can get their Premium or Bundle service where you get a lot of extras like monthly junk mail list monitoring and more trees planted... not bad for a $20 one-time fee (protection good for 5 years).

Another option is Catalog Choice. If you are already receiving paper catalogs, then this might be a good option for you. You can opt out of receiving the paper catalogs. But you need the actual catalogs so that you can get off the proper list. This might also be helpful for those who get tempted to buy things when that new catalog arrives... you know I am talking to you.

And finally the big one is opting out of the credit card offers. So the good ole government has come through with a website to opt out of these offers. You can call toll-free 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com for details. You have to provide your name, telephone number, address, date of birth, and social security number. You might be wondering about providing your social security number but I assume that since it is a government website that it is legit.

So with these tools in hand you should be well on your way to reducing your junk mail and saving some trees. Next task saving the world.