Earth Day is still a few months off in the horizon, but if GreenDimes has its way, you could help to eliminate literally tons of waste by then. The Silicon Valley-based company offers two online services: Free Me! ($20), which vows to eliminate up to 90% of your real-world junk mail (no more catalogs, yay!) and plants 10 trees on your behalf; and Green Me! ($36; pictured above), which pairs the junk-mail-killing, tree-planting base service with a kit designed to get you and yours on the road toward a greener lifestyle.
I'm digging the latter because it's packed with stuff I'll actually use, and also because it includes a book from one of my kids' favorite series, Mercer Mayer's Little Critter. I'm also digging the transparency of GreenDimes' site: The company uses a real-time stats counter to show how much junk mail it's stopped: to date, over 3.1 million pounds' worth. Take that, Pottery Barn Kids!
Specifically, here's the loot included with Green Me!: In addition to the Free Me! service (which does let you stay on catalog lists you actually enjoy), you get a reusable ChicoBag; an American Apparel tee in your choice of size and color; two compact fluorescent light bulbs; and a book, Mercer Mayer's Little Critter: My Earth Day Surprise. Slip into your shirt, pile recyclables in your bag, show the kids how to change a bulb to save energy, and end the day with a good read: voila! instant family project.
