keep the junk mail away

This week I cleaned my city! Well, I cleaned my front yard. As I arrived home earlier in the week, I noticed a few pages of newspaper on the ground and decided to step out of my car to pick them up. I later realized that not only was there newspaper everywhere, but there was litter scattered throughout everyone's yards. Most of what I saw was junk mail. If you live in the Detroit area, you know of the strong wind that hit the city early this week. I remember waking up thinking that the neighbors' garbage cans or lawn furniture could come crashing through my window at any moment. These winds caused the majority of the refuse to scatter about the neighborhood.

Anyway, as I picked up the garbage, I thought of ways to stop this from happening in the future. Why not stop junk mail from arriving in our mailboxes in the first place? Here are several sites that can lead you in the right direction:

GreenDimes - This company will help remove your contact information from mailing lists and lets you select catalogs you no longer wish to receive. They will also monitor your account on a monthly basis. The cost for the service is $20 and includes the planting of 10 trees on your behalf.

DMA Choice - DMA Choice is the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) consumer information website. Here you can find many ways to add or remove your name from mailing lists. Let's face it...smart direct marketers don't want to waste marketing budget on people who feel strongly about not wanting the junk mail.

Martha Stewart's Junk Mail Prevention Tips - Even my hero, Martha Stewart, has provided information on her website on how to keep junk mail away.