SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. -- Many people these days enjoy the fruits of living in an era of instant gratification, a time in which people can get so many things they want quickly.

New technology has offered pay-per-view movies, fast food, high-speed Internet and overnight shipping to people, affording them the opportunity to enjoy what they want faster than ever before. So why wait for Girl Scout Cookies?

That's what the newly-merged Girl Scout Councils from south-central and western Wisconsin, dubbed the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council, are thinking, so they are hitting the streets selling cookies.

One of the best-known fundraising programs in the nation is hitting the streets several months earlier this year than in years past.

"We used to hear all the time from the girls that January weather in Wisconsin can be bitterly cold and your enemy," said Barbie Wiers, communications director of the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council. "So, it was always hard doing the door-to-door sell during that time, as well as it was right after the holidays, it always seemed to be crammed in for people."

Making sales calls in October is just fine by scouts JaGena Gleason and Courtney Black.

"It's not so cold and you don't slip on ice if there is ice," said 13-year-old Gleason.

While drumming up sales in Sun Prairie, Gleason and Black found a willing customer in former girl scout Darlene Zastrow.

"Well, I sold them when I was a little girl, so I think they're great," said Zastrow. "Anytime they come, they're good."

The door-to-door selling runs now through Oc. 18.

Another big part of the cookie drive is the Girl Scout Cookie booths. JaGena Gleason and Courtney Black from Sun Prairie Troop 2183 will join the rest of their troop at the Sun Prairie Copps on Wednesday, Nov. 25. From there, they will move on to the Sun Prairie Walmart on Friday, Nov. 27.

Each girl scout is trying to sell 250 boxes of cookies. The troops are saving up for a trip in 2012 to Savannah, Georgia, for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Girl Scouts of America.

For more information, go to the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council Web site.