Friday’s Game Plan: Be Green!
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to be “more green.”
So far my attempt at being green is going well. I started with something simple; I have never shut the water off while brushing my teeth, but the reality is we can’t afford to waste water so I started shutting it off. If you brush for two minutes, twice a day and run the water the whole time, you actually are wasting quite a bit of water! This weekend I plan on “greening my mail.” A staggering 4 million tons of junk mail is sent in the United States every year and that excludes bills and other mail from companies you work with.
This weekend I’ll be making an effort to reduce my footprint on the earth by getting rid of all this extra paper! Below are some simple steps to make “being green” a reality:
• Go to each of your credit card, bank account, and investment accounts and sign up for “electronic billing.” If you find yourself paying online for most of your bills, you most likely view your statement online anyway. There is really no purpose in having one sent to you. Make sure to sign up for email alerts so you’ll be notified when statements are available!
• Start gathering and looking through the mail you receive. What companies are sending you the most junk mail? Keep a folder near where you sort your mail and at the end of the month you can reach out to the companies and request not to be solicited.
• In regards to all the catalogs you receive, call the company’s 1-800 number and have the label handy. Call and request to be removed from the mailing list.
• Credit Offers: Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT and request to be removed from receiving offers.
• To opt out of all junk mail, send a postcard or letter to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO BOX 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643. Include your complete name, address, zip code, and a request to “activate preference service.” For up to five years, this will stop mail from all member organizations that you have not specifically purchased products from.
Remember to recycle anything that somehow slips through the cracks and lands in your mailbox unwanted! Does anyone else have any unwanted paper eradication techniques? Happy Greening!
