Is your mailbox getting a little fat?

Like many others, we’ve always received hordes of direct marketing junk mail. Even more so since we bought a house. One night I thought about starting something profound like a “Green Advertising Initiative.” I ran it by Carrie and she said there are already companies like this in place but a paid membership is required. Why didn’t I already know this?

I Googled “do not mail list” and found the Direct Marketing Association has a list that you can register to be removed from certain mailing lists. I haven’t registered yet but plan to as soon as I’m done with this post. I am involved in internet marketing so I’m fully aware of my counterpart, direct marketing. DMA is in my mind, the authority on direct marketing best practices, they are a very reputable organization. I urge people to register with the DMA Do Not Mail List for starters to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive and reduce the impact of unwanted, excessive waste.

Green Dimes is another “stop the junk mail service.” They offer a few different packages to choose from, the basic package is free….they will actually pay you $1 to register and it is totally safe. You then have to do the data entry through your Green Dimes account to be removed from major junk mail lists. Purchase a package and Green Dimes will do it all for you.

There are several other do not mail list registrations, which like we said, require a paid membership. You’ll have to review each for yourself and decide whether you feel it’s safe to register with any given list, as it could result in even more junk mail if you register at the wrong place.

If you know of other safe “do not mail list registrations” please share/post the information here.

Camping may already be a low-impact vacation compared to what a hotel stay might consume. But is your camping style up to par with your at-home green lifestyle?

Here are some tips to make sure we are only leaving footprints and taking nothing but pictures.

1. Ditch paper plates and pack up some melamine dishes. They are super durable and reusable.

2. Forget the plastic ware and stop by the thrift store for some fancy silverware to eat with while dining in the world’s finest campground.

3. Complete your tableware with some reusable cups. We recommend plastic because they pack and store easy.

4. Leave the paper towels at home and toss in cloth hand towels. This will help reduce waste and you’ll need them for drying dishes anyway.

5. Spend at least one morning picking up all of the bottle caps and cigarette butts around your site. We believe in leaving a place better than how we found it.

6. Do dishes away from any natural water sources. Even if you are using earth-friendly dish soap, those little bubble still need the soil to make it bio-degrade.

7. Don’t burn plastic trash and certainly don’t leave your fire pit smoldering. Just a handful of campsites with smoldering pits can make for a bad air day…let’s be the good guy and just put out the stink.

8. Even if you aren’t camping in bear country, put your food up so the other little creatures don’t get it. Human food just isn’t good for those little guys.

9. If you think it might rain make sure you bring a tarp big enough to fit just under your tent and a full rain fly. When you set your tent up check out the lay of the land and don’t put it close to what looks like a small, dry creek bed. This will help you avoid the work of digging a trench and will ensure that we leave a small footprint.

10. If there aren’t showers available pick up a solar shower. These are wonderful since you can have a heated shower rather than dipping in the cold river or lake. You can even make it private by putting a tarp up around trees. This once again keeps that earth-friendly soap moving through the soil so it has the opportunity to bio-degrade.

There are a ton of ways to green up our camping experience, the most obvious is to reduce the usage of products. Hopefully these ideas will help the campsites you visit be even greener when you leave.

Looking for more adventure than just camping? Head for the river and experience white water rafting with green companies.

How do you reduce your energy usage, enjoy some quiet time and save over $150. Setup a clothes line. There is really nothing better than clothes dried naturally on an outdoor clothes line… the sweet smell of a breeze and the sun. And it’s amazing how the sun naturally bleaches stains out.

Building an outdoor clothes line is inexpensive and will only take you a couple of hours…

Read more…

Giving green gifts at Christmas time doesn’t have to cost as much money as you might think. There are more ways to green up your buying than just considering the product materials and the manufacturer. Buying locally or making some of your own handmade gifts will green up your gift-giving in no time. Read more…

Have you ever wondered what your impact on the earth is? Take a carbon footprint test and find out. This site asks the best questions that can really give an accurate score. Taking a carbon footprint test can help you determine if and how you can reduce your impact on the earth by reducing your carbon emissions.

Our Score
We live in a 3 bedroom house with 2 adults and 2 children (the test only asks for adults though.) Read more…