#BeIntentional Every Monday Matters - Week 6 - Decrease Junk Mail

Thank you, TheGraphicsFairy.com for the vintage image.

100 million trees are needed to produce the annual supply of bulk mail - that's the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months. 
-Every Monday Matters:  Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza

I absolutely love getting mail. Every single visit to the mailbox makes me happy - and then I sort through and see that the majority of it is bulk mail - sometimes called junk mail.  In fact, in Every Monday Matters, the authors estimate that, on average, everyone gets 1.5 pieces of personal mail per week compared to about 10.8 pieces of junk mail.  Almost half of that mail never gets opened and goes right into the trash. 

Every Monday Matters authors, Emerzian and Bozza, state that 5.6 million tons of this mail ends up in our landfills annually.  Time to start putting those discarded pieces in the recycle bin!  

Did you know that there is a National Do Not Mail List?  You can complete the form on the website in less than 5 minutes.  I completed mine right before I wrote this post.  You enter your information and then are directed to a page where you can opt out of all special offers or select the categories you do or do not wish to receive.  I'm sure it will take several weeks for the request to take effect - I don't see that information on the website .  

I do think that requesting to be left off these bulk mailing list is worth the effort.  I'm glad that I made a decision to Be Intentional to decrease these mailings.   I want to  stop my contribution to the destruction of trees for the paper and my contribution to the landfill space to deal with the waste.  

In the meantime, put the junk mail you do receive to good use!  I did a Pinterest search for Junk Mail Crafts and got a LOT of hits.  Everything from recycling the paper to make notepads to homemade paper to gift card holders to jewelry!  

So let's get out to that mailbox and Make Monday Matter - I would love to hear if you get a lot of junk mail and turn it into useful treasures...drop me a comment and let me know!  

Tomorrow is the day we spend in the barnyard and I will focus on caring for those hardworking creatures that guard the barn - our barn cats!  I hope to see you then....

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp 

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  It is a great way to support your favorite hobby farm blogger.  Thank you!