Your kitchen counter, near the telephone, on the dining room table, all over your desk, even on your bed! We cannot seem to escape paper. It finds us even when we haven’t asked for it! We all grumble about this paper but did you know you can do something about it? Here’s one way to take action against the mail delivered to your home:

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is a global trade association of business and nonprofit organizations who use and support direct marketing tools and techniques. The also have a consumer side which advocates consumer choice. This is the side you want to pay attention to. This is the way to reduce the paper coming from the US Postal Service to your door. Simply go to http://www.dmachoice.org/ ,then click on preferences.

The Mail Preference Service (MPS) can remove your name from DMA’s member prospect lists. You can do this one of two ways:

1. Fill out the online form with all required information. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. The cost is $1.oo. OR
2. Complete the mail-in registration form. Print the form and mail it with a $1 check or money order (to cover processing), payable to the Direct Marketing Association, to the address on the form. Processing your request by mail takes longer than online registration.

I have also discovered http://www.catalogchoice.org/. I have not used this service, but Catalog Choice is a free service that allows you to decline unwanted catalogs, reducing the number of catalogs in your mailbox and the number of trees that get sent to the paper mill. Their site only offers opt out requests for individual catalog titles –which means, unfortunately, there is no way to stop all catalogs with just one click.

This is just one way to start managing the paper in your life, stay tuned for more tips in the weeks to come!