Our friends at Bridging the Gap have some great tips for getting rid of junk mail by using any of the following resources:

• New American Dream provides a simple online form to reduce junk mail.  www.newdream.org/junkmail/index.php
• Eco-Cycle provides basic junk mail reducing strategies and steps.  www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm
• DMA Consumer Information and Preference Service provides basic how-to information for removing your name from mailing, telemarketing and e-mail lists.  www.dmachoice.org/consumerassistance.php
• Catalog Choice lets you choose which catalogs you will receive in the mail to reduce unsolicited mailings.  www.catalogchoice.org
• 41Pounds is a non-profit organization providing an 80-95% reduction in unwanted catalogs and junk mail for 5 years at a $41 fee.  www.41pounds.org

 

This is a great article from Yahoo about saving money on ink cartridges just by using a different font!  Check it out and let us know what you're doing to save money at home or in your office.

Many not for profit organizations suffered great losses in 2009.  Bridging the Gap was no exception and they need your help.  Please go to www.bridginthegap.org and donate whatever you can afford.  They accept one-time donations or you can set up regular contributions.  Your donations are tax deductible, of course. 

Your support helps them:

I recently spent an hour on hold trying to stop unwanted catalogs.  I was informed that because they're pre-printed, I would probably get 2-3 additional catalogs before they stop coming - and ALL of the companies I talked to said the same thing. What a waste of energy to call 4 different 800 numbers and spend my valuable cleaning time on hold! For $20 a year, you can stop virtually all junk mail from landing in your mailbox.  Go to http://mailstopper.tonic.com/ and sign up. I'm anxious to find out if this service stops all the direct mail from politicians!

Did you know the Capital has gone green.  I was at the KC Chamber office recently to learn more about what they've done.  Everything hasn't been perfect and the congress men and women hated the compostable service ware at first.  Learn about their practices and progress at http://cao.house.gov/greenthecapitol.  It's fascinating!

Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts donations of new and used building materials.  They sell those materials for up to 80% off what you would pay at retail.  Also, if you're remodeling, it's a wonderful place to take used cabinets, fixtures, appliances, etc. www.heartlandhabitat.org/restore    

Posted by Bridgette Steffen in Low Impact Living In a recent article for the Scientific American, Michael Lemonic wrote about the Top 10 Myths About Sustainability. The article is a great reminder that we still have a ways to go - not only in our understanding of what sustainability is, but in how to live a more sustainable life. The following is a summary of Lemonic’s Top 10 Myths. Myth 1: Nobody knows what sustainability really means. Our current understanding of sustainability was created back in 1987 by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development or the Brundtland Commission. Sustainable development means “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” So, we do in fact have a great understanding of what it actually means to be sustainable - we just may not how to achieve that. Myth 2: Sustainability is all about the environment

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