Not even joking, I came home tonight to find the EIGHT catalogs pictured above crammed into my mailbox. This has GOT to stop. Seriously. Like I've EVER purchased anything from Frederick's of Hollywood EVER? ("Like I would ever shop at Judy's?" Clueless fans??) Boston Proper -- NEVER EVEN HEARD OF IT! Green Mountain Coffee? REALLY?!?!? MOMA Design? Purchased something online about 17,000 years ago, like before the dawn of the Internet Age, but, hand to God, you will fucking stay signed up for shit you didn't ask for AN ETERNITY if you don't make a conscious, concerted effort to get off catalog mailing lists...Anyway, I was horrified upon receiving an absurd onslaught of SO much wasteful paper, and clearly I did NOT sign up for this excess trash, which only serves as a reminder of how wasteful we can be without even trying. Fortunately, I remembered I'd signed up for Catalog Choice earlier this summer...
Catalog Choice isn't failsafe, but it's a step in the right direction. You sign up/ on for free, and you search for all of the catalogs you receive and want to stop receiving. For example, I opted out of the Delia's catalog -- I'm pretty sure I no longer receive it, whereas I still receive the Viva Terra catalog even though I did opt out. Tonight, I tried opting out of Fossil and Restoration Hardware, but both companies aren't yet signed up with Catalog Choice, but Art.com was. However, Catalog Choice will apparently contact unregistered companies on your behalf...
Anyway, like I said, it's not a perfect solution to reducing your catalog waste, but it's a good start. What's the point of receiving wasteful paper catalogs when clogging up your inbox wastes nothing but the two seconds of your time it takes to click "deeeelete"?