It’s that time of year again. I don’t mean the holiday music or the decorations, the parties, or the baking. I mean that time of year when your mailbox, if it could talk, would be begging for help.

Last year at this time, my mailbox was loaded, daily, with junk catalogs. Of course, it started in July.

Then I found Catalog Choice.  I created an account and recorded the numbers from the backs of the catalogs. Catalog Choice has taken care of the rest.

To date, of the 31 catalog companies I have recorded, 17 have “confirmed”. This means I will not be receiving any more catalogs from them. 6 are “not participating”. This means they responded, but they are ignoring my request. (Catalog Choice provides you with the 800- number to call so you can cancel your catalog by phone.) Finally, 8 have still not confirmed. Of those, I received catalogs from about half, which I canceled by phone.

The problem is not just that it’s a pain in the you-know-what to recycle all that junk, but the fact that the catalogs are usually printed on the worst glossy, enviro-offending material, and with nasty inks. In this day of Internet shopping, catalogs are wasteful and unnecessary.

My mailbox tells the real story. There are days when I receive, well, just mail. Now if I could only figure out how to get off the mailing lists of those companies that send bills!

If you’ve got the time this Friday night (Nov. 21, 7:30), head to Concord to hear Bill McKibben speak at Trinitarian Church on Walden Street.

He’s a very active environmentalist who seems to have made it his mission to inform the world about global warming and the need of energy alternatives. From what I hear, you leave his talks feeling fired up to make a difference!

You’re going through your closet and find the perfect holiday outfit- only to look a little more closely and see it’s looking pretty rough. Never did quite make it to the cleaners after last year’s bash.

Did you know, though, that most dry cleaners are keeping a dirty little secret? It’s called perchloroethylene (perc, for short) and this nasty little chem combo has recently been listed as a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency. Not so great for the environment, either.

Most cleaners who still use perc will argue that there is no harm, as long as it is used correctly. If you don’t feel like taking the chance, however, there are alternatives.

Of course, the best alternative is to find clothing that doesn’t require dry cleaning. Fortunately, fabrics are being designed better all the time, so fewer items require dry cleaning these days.

The next best alternative, according to Consumer Reports, is wet cleaning. This is most gentle on the environment as it uses biodegradable elements, though not always great for clothing. It also requires expensive machinery, so not many cleaners offer it.

One of the newest alternatives is called Green Earth Cleaning.  It’s gentler on clothes and the environment than traditional methods. Fortunately, if you live in or outside Beverly, Boston, Charlestown, Concord, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Lexington, Lynn, Marblehead, New Bedford, Wakefield, Westford, Weston, Woborn, or Worcester, you’re in luck! You have at least one cleaner who offers this service.

Watch for cleaners who offer “organic” cleaning. This term is not regulated and some might advertise this way in the hopes of charging more money. (Like it doesn’t cost enough, already!) Most of all, remember that your newly-cleaned clothes should never smell like chemicals. If they do, take them somewhere else.

Lastly, one other “green” option is to ask that your dry-cleaning not be bagged in plastic. Of course, you risk getting the reaction I did today…You don’t want what??? Well, you’re going to have to come right away because there will be dust all over your clothes….
Yeah, like all that dust that collects on my clothes as they sit in my closet, for years. (Sigh…it’s not easy being, well, you know.)