The holidays bring unwanted catalogs, advertisements and mail that add waste and clutter to your home. Metro and Catalog Choice offer a free online service to help stop the waste.

Get started in these easy steps:

1. Sign up for a free account at oregonmetro.catalogchoice.org. Catalog Choice never rents, sells, or releases your name for any purpose other than fulfilling your specific mail preference request.
2. Once you are logged in, search for companies you no longer want to receive mail from (or for phone books, enter your zip code). Catalog Choice works with more than 4,000 companies, including mail order catalogs, donor solicitations, financial offerings, phone books and coupons.
3. Find a company, follow the prompts and submit your request. Catalog Choice takes it from there. You will receive an email once the opt-out has been received by the company. The opt-outs take a few weeks to process, so you might receive a few pieces of unwanted mail in the interim.
4. Track your opt-outs online and see which have been delivered and which are still pending.

Find other resources to buy smart. Learn how to plan ahead to save money at the store and cut clutter in your kitchen. Start thinking about local options for gift giving this holiday season.

Do you have a community resource where you buy smart? Share it at Be Resourceful.

The City does not endorse or assume responsibility for businesses, companies or organizations listed by the Be Resourceful program.