Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Phone Books


How often do you use a phone book? No ... I'm not talking about using it as a door stop ... nor am I talking about using it to boost your child up at the dinner table. I'm talking about actually opening it up to find a phone number.

Every year, three phone books show up at my door. I set them by the phone ... dust them ... get sick of seeing them so move them to the bedroom ... dust them some more ... and eventually, when new books arrive, recycle them. Maybe (and this is a big MAYBE) I open one of them ... usually just to see if my name is there.

If everyone receives three ... or even one ... that's a lot of phone books. Sure, we can recycle them ... but wouldn't it be better not to get them in the first place? After all ... most people have access to the Internet or a cell phone ... both of which are fast, efficient and inexpensive resources for looking up phone numbers and addresses. So ... here's what we can do: opt out of phone books. Brilliant! Here's a link that will get you started:


This site also includes an "opt out" link for junk mail.

If you live outside the U.S., I suggest either calling or emailing your phone book provider and asking them to discontinue distribution to your address. If you find a link to opt-out ... let us know ... we'll publish it here for others to use.

One note: this is the first year that I've opted out of receiving a phone book and while I'm hoping that my door step will forever be free of those lovely yellow dust collectors, this method isn't yet tried and true. So ... should they grace my door again, I'll be on the phone ... calling to get them discontinued.

As always ... I'd love to hear from you!