I’ve been a member of Green Dimes for a long time and they’ve changed the name to Tonic Mailstopper. Apparently Tonic is an overarching branding of a lifestyle. I’m not sure how I feel about the rest of the brand but I use Green Dimes as an example of a way to reduce paper coming into your life. It takes a lot of the effort out of reducing catalogs and junk mail by removing your name from lists all over the place – from credit card offers to grocery store circulars. Plus it plants trees when you sign up.
I’ve been doing it for a long time, and our mail has reduced dramatically. Yes, we still get the flyers from the local dentist or florist but I’d say it’s dropped by 90%. I do go out of my way to stay off of mailing lists. It’s a company I feel comfortable recommending. If you want to reduce your paper & junk mail, go to: Tonic Mailstopper.
Here’s some more tips to reduce your paper:
- don’t bring it home – my husband is notorious for picking up all of the free newspapers and flyers – wouldn’t be a big deal if he actually READ them – instead, they just get piled up
- do not sign up for any mailing lists – this seems obvious but if you get a frequent buyer card or sign up for a discount or promotion at a store – make sure they are NOT adding you to a mailing list
- anyplace you have an account such as a bank, credit card, retail store – these places have online account management where you can opt out – do it or you will be bombarded with solicitations from them
- do not send in those “registration forms” for your new electronics, toys, whatever – it’s pretty much for the purpose of sending you junk mail – hang on to it in case you need it for a return but why give the company a way to track you (this is only my opinion, but I’ve never had a problem with a return or tech support because I didn’t send in that card
- if you get a catalog you don’t want – call or email them to be removed – it may take a few months but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy enough to do
- don’t put your information on those drawings for free stuff unless you want to get added to their mailing list – if it’s a local company and you would like to receive their information – that’s one thing but if not – the reason companies do this is to collect names of potential clients, not to give you free stuff
Reducing the amount of papers that come into your home can reduce time spent wasted on dealing with it. So check out Green Dimes/Tonic Mailstopper and put your own plan into action to reduce the paper that takes over your life!
