I absolutely can’t stand junk mail in any form. I receive so much junk mail both through email and by regular postal mail, that I have to spend at least 3-4 hours a week deleting, shredding and throwing out both types of junk mail. I am sure this is the case for most of us today, we get bombarded by spammers, emarketers and direct mailers all the time.

There are spam filters for our emails, however it much more difficult to control paper-based junk mail.

Here are some startling facts about paper-based junk mail according to donotmail.org, every year Americans receive close to 104.7 billion pieces of junk mail which requires to produce 6.5 million tons of paper. More than 30% of junk mail usually ends up in landfills.

Well, now there are some solutions for reducing paper-based junk mail.

I recently came across Catalog Choice that can help in reducing mailbox clutter, specifically catalogs that usually fill up my mailbox. Catalog Choice helps to eliminate catalogs that you don’t want to receive which can help to reduce paper waste and save trees, plus it is free. It is a great concept and I highly recommend it.

There is also GreenDimes that helps to reduce all your junk mail not just catalogs, which is also another good solution. GreenDimes also plants trees on your behalf when you sign up to their premium service.