The key to stopping unwanted advertising mail and telemarketing calls is removing your name from direct marketing lists. The following resources can help.

www.proquo.com

Pro Quo helps remove your name and personal information from thousands of marketing lists, data brokers and other organizations that send you unsolicited mail. As a convenience, ProQuo provides links to various sites for you to complete their forms. The service is currently free.

www.greendimes.com

The GreenDimes website is dedicated to stopping junk mail and its harmful impact on the environment. It provides you with a list of tools and resources to remove your names from mailing lists and refers you to several companies who can help you with this process for a fee.

www.41pounds.org

41pounds.org is a nonprofit organization working to eliminate junk mail. When you sign up for the service, 41pounds.org donates more than one-third of the fee to an organization of your choice. By simply providing your contact information, 41 Pounds contacts 20 to 30 direct mail companies on your behalf to stop the majority of bulk mail that comes to your home every day. The company also sends you stamped, pre-addressed postcards for you to send to companies that require a signature from you. The service lasts for five years and costs just $41. You can contact the company at any time with additional household names or additional direct mail companies to block.

Catalog Choice reduces the number of repeat and unwanted catalog mailings and promotes the adoption of sustainable industry best practices. Services are provided free of charge to both consumers and businesses. Consumers can indicate which catalogs they no longer wish to receive, and businesses can receive a list of consumers no longer wanting to receive their catalogs.

www.donotcall.gov

The National Do Not Call Registry allows consumers to limit the number of telemarketing calls they received. Once a number has been on the registry for 31 days, telemarketers are not supposed to call that number. If they do, you can file a complaint at this website. Registering your home or mobile phone is free.