While we’ve been on the subject of planting trees and saving paper, eliminating junk mail seems to be the next logical topic. That being said, I hope you’ve all been clicking on that bubbly box up top there. ProQuo is a free service to manage the unwanted junk mail that inevitably clogs your mailbox (and recycling bin!). When you sign up, ProQuo sets you up with a personalized dashboard, where you can pick and choose which publications you want to see - or never receive - in your mailbox. It includes coupons and weekly circulars; credit reporting bureaus; marketing lists; and various other junky directories.

It works like this (verbatim from Erik at ProQuo) - “ProQuo acts on your behalf to request the removal of your name from a wide variety of data broker lists, coupon books, catalogs, etc. Depending on the organization, we either electronically fill out a web site form, send an e-mail, direct them to a third-party site, or have the consumer print out and send pre-populated templates. ProQuo follows whatever opt-out procedures the organization requires. It takes one to three months, and will reduce anywhere from 50 percent to 90 percent of junk mail. ProQuo is currently the No. 1 free site for reducing junk mail and managing catalogs!”

Pretty impressive! My favorite part of ProQuo is their new service specifically for catalogs. Pick which catalogs you want to opt out of - or, if you’ve been itching to browse, say, the latest L.L. Bean catalog, sign up to have it sent to you. You can change your selections at any time, and add other members of your home or additional addresses. It’s a revolutionary way to manage the mail you never believed you had control over!