clair098

I wish I had come up with this great title, but I didn't. It's actually from an article on Mother Nature Network , which caught my eye, because I am interested in living ecologically as well as inexpensively and was glad to see an article about those aims often being one and the same. You can read their six basic tips for yourself (and I'm sure Coop readers will be able to come up with many more), but I want to discuss one in particular, #4: Ditch the Disposables . It makes sense that anything you use once and then throw away would not be a sustainable choice, yet how many of us think of it as a poor economic choice as well? We'll list a few disposables we can do without and invite readers to add more suggestions of their own: Paper plates, plastic knives and forks : Even if you don't use these at home, you may be seeing them in the workplace. If so, can you convince the powers-that-be at you place of work to ditch the disposables and stock up with some reusable ...

Just when you think you've got it under control, junk mail creeps up on you again. If you order something online, you will generally begin getting regular catalogs from the company, even if you had previously asked not to. If you wrote to an organization like the Direct Mail Association, asking to get off mailing lists, be aware that they keep your name in their database for only 5 years. So it might be time to make that request again. Food for thought: Americans spend 8 months of life opening junk mail; 90 million trees are leveled each year to provide the paper for mostly unwanted mailings; out of 5.6 million tons of mailings generated each year, 4.3 million are thrown in the garbage; 340,000 garbage trucks are needed to haul away all the junk mail that doesn't quite make it to the recycling bin.* In your letter, request your name and address be deleted from all mailing and marketing lists. Provide them with all possible ways of spelling your name, as well as the names of a...

To Receive a lot of Junk Mail!!! The average American receives 41 pounds of junk mail per year and about 44% ends up in landfills. Most of this mail is not made from recycled paper to begin with, so this represents the loss of a great many trees plus water and energy to produce and transport the mail. Why not opt out of junk mail with one of the free services available, Catalogue Choice or 41pounds.org . You should see a noticeable improvement within 6-8 weeks. Some companies print their mailing labels months in advance, so it may take a while for these to stop coming. After 16 weeks, your junk mail should be eliminated by 80 to 95%. In addition to the environmental benefits, opting out of junk mail offers protection against identity theft as junk mail provides thieves with valuable information about you. Start the new year right: 41 pounds of junk mail lighter !