Feeling Green About Checking My Mail

Nuts! I just realized it’s been weeks since I checked my mailbox here at CarryOn. Never a good move with our ever-vigilant receptionist, Judith, who’s been known to shout into the office-wide intercom with threats of fire and brimstone and throw packs of staples at people who let their mailbox get too full. So it was with trepidation that I snuck past her desk and peeked at my name on the wall lined with mailboxes. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Not a single piece of mail in WEEKS. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The truth is this sort of finding is becoming more and more frequent. Where as recently as 12 months ago I was receiving at least a dozen pieces of mail a week (at my office that is – Lord only knows how many pounds of mail I received at my house), I’m now finding fewer and fewer trees have cursed my name as they crashed to the ground.

What’s my secret? Well, first of all as a Web 2.0 guy I don’t think I’ve signed up for any sort of paper mailing in… well… ever. More importantly, I think this trend signals the long overdue realization that direct mail marketing to office buildings is about as effective as putting fliers on my windshield while I’m eating dinner. Email, RSS, social networks, evites, discussion groups, these are the ways of keeping people informed of upcoming events and new products in today’s service and retail environment.

I do have a secret, however…It’s called Green Dimes and I used it for both my home addresses and my office address. Am I the most environmentally-friendly guy in the world? No. Far from it, unfortunately. Heck, I still haven’t gotten my computers greenified. But this Green Dimes business isn’t just about eating soy products and showering bi-weekly to save energy. For a few bucks, they practically stopped junk mail coming to my house and office. Sure, I still wake up every morning to 3 Chinese menus, 2 tree trimming postcards, and a handful of Molly Maid fliers rubber-banded to my fence, but I’m pretty sure nothing short of a tiger pit is going to prevent that. This Green Dimes thing makes it much easier for me to find the few paper bills that still come regardless of my having paid them online since the first month and repeatedly selected the “Turn Off Paper Notices” option online. And it makes me more environmentally-friendly both for Mother Earth and father living room, which is where junk mail used to accumulate in my house.

Check it out – breaking your dependence on the postal service will also help turn you to the wonders of a web-based life where organization newsletters and coupons to KFC come on a largely opt-in basis.