As part of our current austerity program, I’ve resolved to not make any unnecessary purchases.  For now, we’re just buying the necessities.

These good intentions are not helped by receiving a stack of catalogs in my curbside mailbox everyday.  But, I’m never going to find the time to call each company to ask them to cease delivery.  I can barely get around to hitting “unsubscribe” when I receive company newsletters in my email inbox.

Fortunately, I’ve found a way to stop unwanted catalogs and junk mail using a free service called GreenDimes.

You can pay to have them clear your name off mailing lists, or you can use their links to do it yourself.  I chose the latter.

Consider involving your kids in this process.  They can learn about one way to protect our environment by reducing paper waste, while helping the family avoid the daily onslaught of consumerism.

When you’re in Green Dimes, be sure to join the ecoists on the eco-mmunity where you can take the green quiz to determine how green is your lifestyle, email ecommunity cards, or find more ways to take action to help the environment.

And, in addition to clearing your daily mailbox, Green Dimes offers you a choice of giving you a $1 for stopping the junk mail, or they will plant a tree for you.

Of course, we chose the tree option.

For more wired world ideas that you can share with your family, be sure to visit previous Friday Finds:

Kids Cooking Activities - Ideas and resources to inspire budding chefs.

Wordle - Turn your words into a work of art

Animoto - Create a music video with your photos.

Instructables - Discover instructions for all kinds of projects - from recipes to robots - or post your own.

Mr. Picassohead - Unleash your inner abstract artist.

Hulu - Watch a movie or catch up on your favorite TV shows on your computer.

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