Stop the Madness!

If you're me almost everything you do in electronic: bill paying, email, banking, you name it-I try to do it online first. Also, if you are as corny as me, you like checking the mailbox. Isn't it such a disappointment to open it up to a pile of junk mail? Not to mention TERRIBLE for the environment! I wanted to take a quick minute to list some websites where you can opt-out of mailing lists and help try to reduce your mail.

- Have your bank statements & bills to come electronically.

- You can contact the companies sending you junk mail individually and ask to be removed from their list.

- OptOutPreScreen.com : This keeps you off the kids for pre approved credit card & insurance offers. You can opt-out electronically for 5 years or print & sign the form for indefinitely.

- http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/ : Direct Mail has teamed with the National do Not Mail list.

- Email optout@abacus-us.com : Most catalogs get their addresses from Abacus. Send them an email to opt – out.

- Email privacychoices@pchmail.com to remove yourselves from Publishers Clearing House mailing list.


SOURCES:
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/junk-mail.htm
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/junkmail.htm

EASY WAYS TO MAKE AN ECO IMPACT AT WORK

1) Completely shut down your computer at the end of the day. Even if your computer is in sleep mode, it is still using unnecessary energy.
2) Use a reusable coffee cup. This will cut down on a ton of trash and costs for the cups in the break room. If you forget your cup, then get one in the morning and reuse it during the day.
3) Recycle. Rinse out your plastic bottles and cans and put then in recycle bins.
4) Reduce paper usage. Use cover sheets as scrap paper and don’t print unnecessarily. Stop and think before you print. “Do I really need to print this newsletter?” You can also open a blank notepad on your desktop and not use any paper at all!
5) Make and bring your lunch. Bringing your lunch can save you hundreds of dollars a month. Make your lunch, and use reusable containers instead of buying frozen lunches. This will help cut down on waste and costs.
6) Carpool. Whenever you can. On your way to work, school, meetings and lunch. If lunch is close enough, walk.
7) Use rechargeable batteries in your portable electronic devices. Having radios and fans plugged into our desks plugged in all the time sucks up energy. Using rechargeable batteries not only saves you cost by replacing batteries, they also cut back on waste.
8) Turn off water when not in use. Turn off the running water when you are not using it. (i.e. don’t let it run when you are brushing your teeth or lathering your hands.)
9) Reuse office products. Request used office supplies when you need something.
10) Turn of your desk lights when not in use. Make sure you turn off your lights under your cabinets when you are not at your desk or at the end of the day.