In fact, she's so ‘over' her mail that often, when she arrives at home late after a long day at the office and a workout or dinner afterwards, she often leaves it in the box until the next morning when she can sort through it with a fresh eye. She usually stands right next to her paper recycling bin and dumps all of the financial offers, unwanted flyers and catalogs into it. It makes her a little nuts to see just how much unwanted paper she gets every day and even more so, knowing that with the threat of identity theft, she's got to shred or tear up every one of those credit card offers and pre-approved applications before throwing them out.

Lamenting to a Super Pal, she discovered that there was one thing she could do to slow down the flood of unwanted credit card offers. There's a website she can go to that – just like the “do not call” list for telemarketers – will get her off the lists released by Consumer Credit Reporting Companies that credit card companies use to decide who to send their offers to. All she needs to do is visit the site and choose from three options: to opt-out for five years, to be removed permanently or to opt back in (for people who have previously asked to be removed from the lists). If she chooses the permanent option, she's led to the same form as the five year opt-out, but after completing it she needs to print it and mail it because legally the reporting companies can't take her off the lists permanently unless they receive the request in writing. But in the meantime, the form she submits gets her off the list for five years and her status will be changed to permanent once the mailed-in form is received. If she opts out today, and decides in a couple of years that she'd like to change her status, she can always opt-in again by visiting the website.

Less junk mail equals less paper, and that makes Girlawhirl feel good about saving a few trees.

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Apr 3, 2007:

Girlawhirl makes sure her phone number is on the national do not call list. read full entry