During the post-holiday season, retail catalogs begin swamping mailboxes as the stores where you shopped add your address to their mailing lists.  The huge amount of paper and ink used to produce catalogs is an environmental no-no. Producing all these catalogs is a big waste of energy and resources, especially because most of the products and information can be found on the retailers' websites.  

Put a stop to the catalog deluge before it begins by refusing to provide your address or phone number when you shop.  If you place your order by phone, tell the operator to keep your name off the company's mailed catalog lists. (image source)

If catalogs are still piling up at your house, here's how you can stem the paper tide:

1) Call the 1-800 number provided in the catalog and ask the operator to remove your name from the company's lists.

2) Sign up for free with Catalogchoice.org and cancel catalogs you no longer wish to receive.

3) Pay $19.95 and Stopthejunkmail.com will let you choose which catalogs you wish to keep; the group will contact the others repeatedly until they have removed you from their lists. 

4) Stop 85-90% of all unwanted catalogs and junk mail for 5 years for $41 at 41pounds.org.

For more ways to reduce catalog clutter, see all ten tips here.

Forest Ethics calls junk mail an 'environmental crisis.' You can sign their petition to end junk mail here.

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