I heard a story on NPR a few days ago about
http://www.catalogchoice.org/. Maybe you heard it too.
Supposedly you can sign up at the above web site with your name and
address and tell them which catalogs you no longer wish to receive.
They say they will contact the vendor and get you off the mailing
list. I say "supposedly" because I have just gone through
the process, so it is too early to see if it works.
They have a FAQ page where you can learn how to cancel catalogs that
aren't in your name (but sent to your address, of course) or are not in a
variation of your name.
According to the guy NPR interviewed and the web site, "Catalog
Choice is a sponsored project of the
Ecology Center. It is endorsed by
the National Wildlife Federation and the
Natural Resources Defense Council,
..."
Hey, it's worth a try! Those catalogs are coming fast and furious
to my house these days.
-- paula
PS. It's free.