Avoiding the catalog crunch: How to keep the paper jam in your mailbox at bay

NEW YORK -- It happens throughout the year, but this time of year more than ever: Piles of catalogs hit your mailbox. So many that sometimes it's hard to find your "real" mail, right?

What do you do? For most of us, it means a stop at the trash can on the way in from the mailbox.

It's hard to feel good about throwing that much stuff away. In fact, catalogs are estimated to consume some 8 million trees each year, not to mention the carbon footprint of all that paper processing, mail distribution and eventual trip to the recycling center or landfill.

I try to stay aware of -- and control -- not only what I buy but also what I throw away. And I know it just doesn't make sense, for me or the catalog marketer, to have me throw so much away. There's a win-win here somewhere.

So what to do? Here's my 15-minute tip.

Catalog choices

OK, time to act. Time to cut down the flow of catalogs. Up until now, your only choice was to save a copy of each offending catalog, then when you had nothing better to do sit down and dial 1-800 numbers one at a time to request removal from the mailing list.

Time consuming? You bet. Especially when you get marketing messages before you even talk to an agent, or when they beg you to stay on board.
There must be a better solution, right? Indeed, I think I've found one.

'Do Not Catalog'

Wouldn't it be nice if the Federal Trade Commission set up a "do not catalog" registry similar to the widely used and wildly successful Do Not Call Registry solving a similar problem with telemarketers?

Well, so far, the FTC hasn't gone there, but I found out about a new nonprofit organization known as Catalog Choice that has. Check out the Web site.

Catalog Choice brings a mission to "reduce the number of repeat and unsolicited catalog mailings, and to promote the adoption of sustainable industry best practices."

Right on.

With Catalog Choice, you simply register, then select the catalogs you no longer want from among their list of hundreds of catalog providers. If a catalog you want to eliminate isn't on their list, you send them an email requesting them to contact the company.
Catalog Choice works closely with catalog companies to help them reduce their costs.

I also like how they "spread the word" -- by asking participants to add their logo to their own personal or business Web sites or blogs for others to see.

A fresh start

If you're like me, you probably don't like the idea of ditching all your catalogs. They're full of good ideas, and it's relaxing to flip through once in a while for that gift or "what-if" idea. So I recommend a fresh start -- cut off your catalogs, then decide which ones you want to get again.

Fortunately, there are some handy ways to "shop" the catalog the landscape:

• Catalogs.com. This catalog portal lists almost everything. You can "shop a world of catalogs" and sign up for what you want. You can view catalog samples if you'd like.
• SkyMall. Maybe I travel too much, but I do spend idle time leafing through this catalog of catalogs. If some turn you on, why not get them at home too? You'll at least get the complete selections.
• GoogleCatalogs. Google apparently tried the catalog portal thing as an experiment. Some of it is outdated, but you can see samples and make choices, and I wouldn't be surprised if the search engine renews its effort.

So take 15 minutes, save some trees, avoid the garbage can, clear the landfill and get the catalogs you really want.