Just how many phone books do you need in one house? I don’t know how many you receive, I was just recently sent, not one, but two new phone books. When I got the first one I stuck it in the office, where I keep such things and pulled out the one from last year and dropped it in the recycling bin. Then a strange thing happened, I got another one within just a couple of days, from a competing phone book company. What waste.
I don’t need two phone books. I’m sure the numbers in the first one are as equally correct as they are in the second one. In fact, I really don’t need any phone books come to think of it. I tried to think of the last time I used a phone book to find a phone number for someone. I can’t remember cracking one open for at least 5 years.
Funny how computers have changed the way we think and do things. When I need a specific phone number, I google it. Recently while my husband was traveling, he called and said he wanted to find a health food store near him. I typed his location and health food store into Bing.com and found 9 of them within 20 minutes of him. Complete with phone numbers I might add.
I checked online to see how much paper is consumed producing phone books each year. Banthebook.org informed me that over 5 million trees are cut down each year just to make the white pages, then you have to add in all the multiple copies of yellow pages that no one even asked me if I wanted. The other sad fact is that only 22% of people recycle their old phone books.
The recycling bin is just where I decided to put both new copies of my phone books this year. No more just sticking it in the office on the off chance that I might need it. I am vowing to keep my phone number searches forever paperless.
But what do I do to stop all these phone books from showing up on my door? I have found the secret to stopping phone books at least the yellow pages. I found www.yellowpagesoptout.com/. You start by entering your zip code and in just a few moments of your time and a few clicks of your mouse, you too can be phone book free.
Ah, the freedom, it feels good. What better way to celebrate Spring than saving a few million trees?
