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By Mom Unplugged, June 20, 2008 9:51 am

You probably already knew that you could opt out of catalogs, but did you know that you can also opt out of receiving phone books?

Thanks so much to Hettie of Celtic Mommy for emailing me this link:

YellowPagesGoesGreen.org

I am an active CatalogChoice participant, but the phone book thing is going to be harder for me to adopt. I am old-fashioned I guess, and for some reason I like having my local phone numbers all there in a book in my desk drawer.

However I do live in a small area and my single phonebook (white and yellow pages combined) is only about an inch thick! If I was in New York City, or LA where my phone books weighed more than my oldest child, I would be ever so eager to rid myself of them forever!

But do we really need to have numerous phone books dumped at our door several times per year? I would prefer to call and ask for a book every year or two…or better yet, get used to finding my information paperlessly, online.

Of course phone books are a great source of advertising revenue for phone companies and other private companies that compile directories, so they won’t easily cease distribution. That is why if this cause is important to you, then help spread the word that such an option is available.

Here are some facts (according to YellowPagesGoesGreen):

To produce 500 million books:

• 19 million trees need to be harvested
• 1.6 billion pounds of paper are wasted
• 7.2 million barrels of oil are misspent in their processing (not including the wasted gas used for their delivery to your doorstep)
• 268,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up
• 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity are squandered

Be sure to check out the YellowPagesGoesGreen links page too.

I am off to sign up now to opt out of my little phone book and begin changing my habits to a paper-free phone life!

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By Mom Unplugged, February 23, 2008 9:20 am

We all know that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) movie ratings system is ridiculous. The MPAA is hardly a neutral party, in fact it describes itself as “the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries.” Even disregarding the fact that that MPAA is financed and controlled by the motion picture industry itself, in my mind any kind of general label to be applied to a movie could never be an accurate indicator of what is appropriate or inappropriate for all children.

The MPAA bases its ratings on age. All parents know that just because someone else’s 13 year-old can handle and enjoy a more “mature” movie, doesn’t mean that your more sensitive 13 year-old is ready for such a movie yet. Additionally, parents differ in what they want their children exposed to. Some parents are more liberal and less bothered by bad language for example, whereas others take a more protective approach.

So how can parents make informed decisions about what movies to allow their children to see? Do parents have to pre-screen every potential film themselves? That is hardly a practical solution.

My wonderfully well-informed friend Wishy told me about a website that she uses to check out family movies before either seeing them on-screen or renting the video, and I have recently added it to the “Useful Websites” category of my blogroll (left sidebar).

Common Sense Media is a “non-partisan, not-for-profit organization” providing “trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.” This organization has its own rating system whereby it determines its own minimum age for appropriateness, as well as providing a 5-star quide to the quality of a movie. Just because a movie is age-appropriate doesn’t mean you want to sit through 2 hours of nonsense, right?

Although Common Sense Media is more neutral in its ratings than the MPAA, as I mentioned above, simply assigning a one-size-fits-all recommended age is not always very helpful. In my mind, the best part of Common Sense Media’s reviews is the “Content Grid.” This is where you can find out the nitty gritty details about a movie’s Sexual Content, Violence, Language and Message (Social Behavior, Commercialism, and Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco use).

Do you want to know exactly what bad language occurs in a film and how often? Do you want to know how many times the hero picks up a can of Diet Coke? Do you want to know if there is gross comedy involving bodily functions or any potentially scary scenes? This is where you’ll find that information. Warning: this detailed information can be considered a “spoiler” for some, but as a parent seeking information, aren’t you really looking for a “spoiler?”

So go to the site, pick a movie, and read the review to see just what kind of information you can learn!

Another site that I discovered on my own while researching this post is Kids-In-Mind. I think I actually prefer this site (despite the annoying banner ads) because it doesn’t attempt to assign any minimum age or even review the quality of a movie. Instead it simply provides VERY detailed descriptions of film content. Here is an excerpt from their “About” page:

The purpose of kids-in-mind.com is to provide parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a film’s content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether they should watch a movie with or without their kids.

It’s like a food labeling system which tells you what a food item contains. That’s it. We make no judgments about what is good or bad or anything else. Indeed, we do not “condemn,” “critique” or “criticize” movies. And we don’t “praise” or “recommend” movies either. We advance no “beliefs” and we do not “preach” anything. We are not affiliated with any political party, any cultural or religious group, or any ideology. The only thing we advocate is responsible, engaged parenting.

They point out that often their descriptions are so detailed as to be a bit ridiculous, but as they say: “…we’d rather err on the side of comprehensiveness. It’s up to parents to decide which details are useful to them and their family, and which ones they consider fatuous.”

I like this philosophy. Non-judgmental, simply a great source for detailed information so that parents can make their own movie viewing decisions based on their personal concerns and values, and knowing the sensitivity-level of their child. Sounds good to me!

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com and photographer Michael Connors.

Comments (7)

By Mom Unplugged, November 27, 2007 12:19 am

It is 10:00 PM and I have just single-handedly put four children to bed not long ago (one extra is here tonight). I have a few blog post ideas circulating in my head, but no energy to do a good job on them. So instead…I give you some useful Holiday-related links:

Here are some good ones left in my comments from my blog friend Andree-Meeyauw (I think she was surfing on my behalf as a form of procrastination, but I am grateful! Thank you Andree!):

++Thanksgiving Comes First post from Bostonscapes Daily Photo: “If you’d like ‘the holiday season’ to regain the meaning it once had, then let ‘them’ know how you feel. The Internet is a very powerful tool, take advantage of it.” Use your blog to help speak out against commercial Christmas greed.

++New American Dream: A really interesting site that I have to explore further. Has a good section on Simplifying the Holidays with a very worthwhile downloadable brochure.

++BetterLiving.co.nz, a New Zealand site, has some quick tips for Simplifying Christmas, instructions for making a Snowman Advent Calendar, and lots of other Christmas articles that I have not yet explored.

++The Simple Living Network, a website devoted to promoting voluntary simplicity, has a section of books to buy about simplifying holidays and celebrations (mostly Christmas, including Unplug The Christmas Machine but also weddings, and one interesting-sounding book on many holidays).

My amazing, super-organized blog friend Heather of Celtic Mommy, the guest author of Help! I Love Doing it All, But How Can I Find Time to Do it? , offered lots of great links, but these are good general simplifying links:

++Cruising Through the Holidays from FlyLady: Tons of advice from organizing to “clutter-free” gifts, to preparing and packing for travel…I have not had a chance to look at it all, but it looks good!

++Organized Christmas: For you organized people out there who think you aren’t organized enough. Printable lists, a six-week organizing plan, an eighteen-week holiday “Grand Plan”…you get the idea. Stress for us Type 1 Slackers, bliss for the Type 2 Organizers. The site also has some printable gifts, gift tags, and crafts that are quite interesting. Easy homemade gift idea: Journal prompts (for adults or children) in a jar anyone?

Finally, some sites that I can recommend:

++The Toymaker: GORGEOUS printable toys, cards, and gifts that kids could print out and assemble as holiday gifts.

++My Unplugged Toy Store list: I know there are others out there and I keep adding as I find them. These stores offer simple, high-quality toys that never require batteries. The only additional item needed is your child’s imagination. Many of them also specify where a toy was made if you are avoiding Chinese-made toys this year.

++My Unplugged Book Store list: No junky, commercially tied-in books in these stores. (Again, I am always adding new links as I come across them…but they must meet my standards in order to make the list!)

I am sure that I could come up with more, but I am tired so I wish you all good night!

Read all the Christmas/Holidays Unplugged posts here.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, November 24, 2007 11:25 pm

I get (a conservative estimate) 1,095 catalogs/year…my husband (at our other home and on fewer mailing lists) says he probably gets about 300 catalogs/year. We get about 1,395 catalogs/year. Let’s conservatively round up to 1,500 for the ease of calculation and to include any Holiday excess that we may have. I calculate that MY FAMILY ALONE, is responsible for the death of 4.2 trees per year. How do I figure that? Read on.

This time of year is catalog time of year. One of the many commercial aspects of Christmas that I find depressing is heaving a 100 pound stack of catalogs out of my mailbox every day, piling them in a wagon, and hauling them off to the recycle bin. OK, I exaggerate slightly, but 19 BILLION catalogs are sent each year in the US, and at this time of year, it feels like every single one of them passes through my mailbox (that equals 53 million trees by the way, in case you were wondering). Do the math like I did, how many trees do you unknowingly kill per year?

Now to the real point of my post. Heard on NPR yesterday: There is a new website which allows you to opt out of catalogs that you don’t want, yet still keep the ones you like!

I could go to Direct Marketing Association, theoretically opt out of everything, and then see how that reduces my catalog intake. But I confess that there are some catalogs that I actually LIKE to receive. Plus, living in the boonies forces one to engage in some degree of catalog and internet shopping.

Usually these days I choose quick and easy internet shopping, but there are some catalogs I like to slowly peruse “in person.” Just like real books for example (in case you were considering it, please don’t buy me a new Amazon Kindle for Christmas).

The solution for semi-catalog lovers like me? The Catalog Choice website (www.catalogchoice.org … make sure you spell it right, if you add a “ue” to the end of “catalog” then you’ll get a shopping site which is not the idea here). Here you can opt out of catalogs that you don’t want.

The site also allows you to enter a Customer Number from the back of a catalog to be sure you get rid of it, or you can enter different names and addresses (for example if you get the same catalog as: T. Brown, Teresa Brown, Sam Brown (your partner?), and Lysander Wojtasik (the former resident at your address), then you can opt out of them all.

There is a chance that you could be put back on the mailing list if you buy from the company etc. But if you request an opt out and after 10 weeks you still receive a catalog, then you can report that as an infraction.

Apparently even some major retailers are supporting this endeavor. It costs them an average of $0.80 to send a catalog. I imagine that they’d love to have you gone if you really have no intention of buying from them.

From the NPR story, I learned that this project is supported by several nature organizations including the National Wildlife Fund.

Give it a try, you’ll be helping save trees as well as your own holiday sanity, what could be better!

Listen to NPR story: The Greening of the Holiday Catalog (3 minutes 32 seconds).

ADDENDUM: Please visit Jules at Andamom.com. Her post Minimize the Clutter Before it Comes into Your Home has lots of great ideas!

Read all the Christmas/Holidays Unplugged posts here.

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer solrac_gi_2nd for this photo.

Comments (6)

By Mom Unplugged, November 21, 2007 10:28 pm

This is all an alien concept to me, “Slacker Holiday Mom.” So I asked my very organized and holiday-loving bloggy friend Heather of Celtic Mommy to help out with ideas for organizing (thank you Heather!!!). All you “Holiday Prep-Loving Type 2′s” out there might need some hints for how to get it all done in time to enjoy yourselves, so hopefully Heather has some good ideas for you here (plus, she put in lots of great links):

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Heather says:

“Before I had children… before I got married… before I moved out of my mom’s house… I was a holiday organizer. I have always been an organizer. I think part of the reason may be that my mom is completely UNorganized. Yep, she cannot tell you where the wrapping paper is… where the scotch tape is, where a pen is! But she knows where her heart is, and that was all that really mattered.

Even though my mom’s way was successful for her, I still did things my own way (made lists, made a budget, shopped early, sent cards early, etc.) and that worked for me.

These tips work for me. Some may or may not work for you. It all depends on each individual’s personality… so take each tip with a grain of salt. Also, all the links I use are included.

Why Organize? ( FlyLady’s Cruising through the Holidays and Organized Christmas)
I organize for selfish reasons. I want things done early so I can enjoy the holiday season, period! Sure, I’ve had frazzled years where I am up until 4 a.m. wrapping gifts… and I never want to do that again! Do you like being up until the crack of dawn knowing something you just lovingly wrapped is about to be torn open… my guess would be no. AND, by getting organized, you make time for yourself and your family and for those other things that matter:

Stringing popcorn for the tree. Playing the dreidel game. Taking walks as a family. Baking together. Visiting with neighbors, family and friends. Hot cocoa and s’mores by the fire or under the stars. Watching the mail for holiday cards and reading them with your family each evening. Making your own wrapping paper. Green alternative to wrapping paper. Touring local houses strung with lights . Snowball fights, snowman making and sled riding…

Sound inviting? Here’s how I do it. Again, take what you can from this for this year and add a little on next year and the next… find ways to make the holidays a fun time, not chore time.

Calendar: Right now (End of November)

If you send out cards, start getting them ready now if you haven’t already. Buy stamps online or when you are at the grocery store rather than brave the post office lines.

Write down your family’s measurements (shirts, pants, shoes, etc.) and keep in the same place as your shopping lists. Now is also a great time to go through old clothes and toys and donate to charity. This works on several levels such as teaching charity to children.

Make a shopping list! Not just for people but for all holiday items including postage and cards, tree budget, food budget (if baking gifts or having dinners), travel budget if applicable.

I do mine in Excel for easy keeping and then take a printout with me when shopping. This way I know what I’ve already bought and what I still need to do. On my list, I have:

+ Gift recipients’ name
+ Things they like (colors, games, books, movies, food)
+ Ideas I’ve written down throughout the year (If something was mentioned in July, I added it to my spreadsheet)
+ If making homemade gifts, what needs to be purchased (i.e. yarn, fabric, paint)
+ Money budgeted
+ What has been bought already
+ Money spent already
+ Homemade items completed (YES/NO)
+ Shopping completed (YES/NO)
+ Items wrapped (YES/NO)
+ I also have past years gifts listed so I know what I bought.

Every time I go to the grocery store, I grab an item or two that I will need for my big baking weekend (an extra pound of butter, a jar of a spice I will need) so that it doesn’t bust my budget.

If I am out at the bookstore or my local mall for some reason, I check my list to see if I can pick up anything on my list. Otherwise, I try to buy online as much as I can. Most places give free shipping for a standard small fee and I can track everything from home. And, items are almost always in stock right now!

When I get home, I put on holiday music and some holiday socks, make a fresh pot of mint tea or hot cocoa and I wrap a few gifts (about ½ hour to an hour). If I can’t do it right when I get home, I do it in the morning when the babies are asleep or in the evening while something is in the oven… or when the hubby is watching the kids in the bathtub. The point is to do a little each day so that you are not overwhelmed come mid-December.

I get out the boxes of decorations and check for broken items or if anything needs to be replaced and take care of that now. Also, we have many many craft projects in this house. So, I organize things like felt, glitter, glue, markers, paint, etc. that we’ll be using in the next few weeks. (More on projects later)

I take 1 to 2 hours (sometimes more, sometimes less) each day to work on the homemade items I am giving this year. For me, the handmade gifts are a way of customizing with love, a little something for each person. And, a little money goes a long way when you make it yourself!

That’s it for now… the main point of all of this is to do a little each day! This thousand mile journey begins with one step… and by getting a little more done each day, you will have time for those things listed above. Or, if you don’t feel like stringing popcorn and it’s too hot to make a snowman, tell us what holiday tradition you would like to do this year.

Heather
Celtic Mommy”

Read all the Christmas/Holidays Unplugged posts by clicking here.

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer gracey for this photo.