A few weeks ago, I ranted about all the @#%&*$! phone books we are subjected to. Then I set out on a quest (no, not Qwest) to find out what I could do to eliminate them from our lives–stopping them at the source, not just recycling them.

Actually, I asked Ted at Greendimes to help me find out what we can all to to get rid of our unwanted phone books. You see, Greendimes does such a great job helping folks stop incoming junk mail that I thought they could be of help on the phone book front as well.

Here's what Ted suggests:

What I ended up doing was calling a few companies and talking to a customer service representative.  Unlike many catalog mailing companies, the various phone book companies don't make it that convenient to remove your name and address from their mailing list.  It seems to require a phone call, which isn't necessarily lengthy (unless you're put on hold), but certainly isn't as convenient as filling out a form online or submitting an email.

For the two major phone books companies I spoke with, here is the relevant information:

SuperPages (Verizon), call 888.266.5765
Yellowpages.com (AT&T), call 800.288.2020 for residence, or 800.499.7928 for business listings

In both cases the rep assured me that calling them was the way to remove my name and address.

So there you have it: a recipe for ridding your household of a tremendous source of wasted paper. Assuming the other offending companies in my neighborhood have customer service numbers (I don't care if I have to pay for the call), I'll be calling all five Jackson-area intruders and asking them to stop the madness.

THANKS to Ted and Greendimes for the tip!

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