In the country, taking possessions to the dump is a last resort. This is a world of thrift and consignment stories, lawn sales, and the use of curbs as marketing opportunities. A friend asked us to store these plastic bins when she moved, and they have been gathering dust in the barn for some weeks.
We had baskets of extra dahlia bulbs that we had no room for in our gardens. All of this went onto the curb in front of the house, everything but one basket of bulbs was gone within minutes. We line everything up, post “free” signs on the bins and wait an hour or two.
People stop and look at stuff like that around here, and if it isn’t broken or filthy – we don’t put out anything that is broken or filthy, that’s part of the honor system of the underground economy. If there is any chance it can be used by anyone, put it out on the curb.
“Things” are usually useful. I feel like most are mindful. In NYC we have a swap shelf by our entryway, a free trading zone. When we first moved into our building 8 years ago a certain man was up in arms about this scenario. “What is going on with this bazaar!!!,” He exclaimed. Bazaar…beautiful, beautiful. Keep spreading the love!
Last autumn I convinced my husband to put four orphan snow tires on rims that were cluttering our storage shed into my SUV with the intention of giving the wheels away. He said that no one would pick them up, not being new, so it was up to me to haul them back down to our house.
I left them at the corner of our street and a small highway, with a “free” sign which included the car make. I went to the grocery store. They vanished during my 45-minute food shopping expedition – my husband was flabbergasted!
Offering free stuff for reuse is always worth a try, just be willing to remove the offering if there are no takers.