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Post by threegirls on Apr 2, 2016 0:43:48 GMT
I once had a couch that I tried to donate but Salvation Army would not take it, they said it wasn't in good enough condition. So, my boyfriend and I hauled it out to the curb. The next day we took a walk. We found it a few blocks away from my house. It was on the front lawn of a fraternity with a bunch of college kids sitting on it. There was a keg placed in front of it. It stayed there as a party couch for a few weeks and then it moved on.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Apr 2, 2016 1:11:11 GMT
I agree with giving away good stuff but sometimes something might look ok but be broken.
Also we need to only donate good quality good condition clothing that can be sold in thrift shops here because our donation of stained or semi-damaged clothing is really harming impoverished nations. There are a lot of articles on this subject Google used clothes harmin Africa, etc. They need us to stop. I toss anything that is not in perfect condition now.
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Post by anniefb on Apr 2, 2016 1:18:38 GMT
Well I've thrown small stuff away too, because sometimes it's just not worth the hassle. I work a 60-80 hour week and live alone. Sometimes I just don't have time to organise stuff so I look for the easy option.
We have an inorganic trash collection once a year where they pick up from your property but sometimes it's not that easy to get rid of stuff. I've been tryng to donate a dog house for a while - advertised on Freecycle.org several times, rang someone who looks after feral cats, but no-one wants it. So I'll put it in the next collection and let them recycle it.
Also, my experience of charities is that many are pretty picky when it comes to furniture and pickups. I had a computer desk no charity shop wanted because they don't sell anymore, although I finally did manage to give it away. People won't just automatically come just because you have something to give away.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Apr 2, 2016 1:23:06 GMT
In Japan every month there is a big garbage day, but in March particularly when university is finished, people have to discard everything their parents bought for them for their unfurnished apartments. I got a new (as in no marks on it at all solid, wood wardrobe), an oil fan heater (not a mark on it), dishes and a bicycle. At the end of May/early June depending when the soedaigomi no hi (big garbage day) comes along you can find great stuff as well because that is when a semi-annual bonus is paid and people replace lots of things with bonus money. That could mean beds, sofas, anything apart from warm things like a stove, heater, electric carpet etc. Those you would find in Dec/Jan due to the winter bonus being paid then. Lots of people like to do yaritori which means they take out of their closets and hand you good stuff that they are going to replace. I furnished my simple apartment that way and it was awesome! I had to only buy my electric carpet and kotatsu and the kotasubuton (the heated table and quilt for it). It sure made furnishing an apartment easy!
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Post by epeanymous on Apr 2, 2016 1:51:48 GMT
I generally use Freecycle or my neighborhood's Buy Nothing group to get rid of unwanted items that I think have any wear or use left at all.
That said, I have become kind of uncomfortable with it, because I have come to realize that in both groups, we have several frequent fliers who are hoarders, and while I guess I should just be glad the items are out of my home, I feel fairly unhappy contributing to a person's mental disorder, and probably making it so a relative of theirs is going to have to figure out how to dispose of this item that I should be disposing of instead.
I don't put bulky items out with the trash because we get charged for what doesn't fit in the can.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Apr 2, 2016 1:58:56 GMT
I got rid of a riding lawnmower once by putting it out to the curb with a sign on it that said "Free, won't start." I just set the sign on it and was heading into the house when a man and his son stopped. He asked if he could have it and I helped him load it into the back of his van. His little boy was so excited that they were getting a riding lawnmower. He told me he fixed engines all the time and was sure he could fix it. Win-win
Of course, I also picked up a complete weight set for my son out of the trash. Weights, bars, the works. No shame in my game, free is good.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Apr 2, 2016 2:09:21 GMT
I once had a couch that I tried to donate but Salvation Army would not take it, they said it wasn't in good enough condition. So, my boyfriend and I hauled it out to the curb. The next day we took a walk. We found it a few blocks away from my house. It was on the front lawn of a fraternity with a bunch of college kids sitting on it. There was a keg placed in front of it. It stayed there as a party couch for a few weeks and then it moved on. I love this story! I'd be tickled to see my couch living on as a "party couch."
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,318
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Apr 2, 2016 2:11:34 GMT
Wel, I donate to a charity group as often as possible. However, laws here don't permit used toys to be sold at thrift/charity stores, and my preferred charity (one that helps women escaping abusive relationships) doesn't always take everything. For example, they only accept very small pieces of furniture, so I have tried taking those things to Salvation Army. However, Salvation Army refused to take a really good, sturdy buffet (furniture) that was in good condition, but had some scratches. It was very minimal damage. So DH ended up taking it to the dump, and it made me sick to have it thrown out. They also refuse to take books that I had purchased at a library sale because they were originally library books. I no longer donate to SA. They are a long drive, and they want stuff in perfect condition. The best stuff now goes to someone else.
I have tried freecycle.org multiple times and each time gave up because of no-shows and other problems. I also noticed that it was almost always the same people who want to take the stuff. There seems to be a very small pool of people on freecycle now. Occasionally it works, but I got fed up with all the flakes. We are trying to get ready to move halfway across the US after living near DC for 36 years. Trying to find homes for still usable stuff was taking more time than we had, so some of it has gone to the dump. I would dfinitely have preferred for it to go to someone who could use it.
Even putting stuff out at the curb with a "free" sign doesn't always work.
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Post by papersilly on Apr 2, 2016 2:35:04 GMT
My brother is one of those people. Our large trash bin at work that never gets full and he will come and dump stuff over the weekend. Perfectly food furniture, appliances, party dresses my nieces have outgrown, new books, you name it. You can't imagine how many times I've climbed in there and fished stuff out to take to the goodwill. I tell him to have a yard sale or just donate it and he won't.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 2, 2016 3:16:07 GMT
We have many curb shoppers in our area so if something is still in working order it gets taken out of our garbage pile long before the garbage truck rolls through. Last summer my sister has a sofa and chair she put out with a free sign on them. After two days nobody had taken them so she put a sign on them stating they were for sale for $100. Someone "stole" them that very night! LOL. When we were getting ready to move, we had some metal mesh patio chairs that had a plastic coating that was peeling off. We didn't think Goodwill would take them in that condition and we didn't want to hassle with trying to get the rest of the plastic off to paint them, so DH put them out on the curb next to the trash cans the day before pickup day. The next morning the chairs were gone, and we thought, "Great! Now we don't have to pay the trash hauler to take them!" Yeah, NO. The day AFTER trash pickup, the chairs reappeared on our curb with a note taped to them that said, "No thanks." Seriously, WTH? It's not a garage sale dude! You took 'em off our TRASH pile, you KEEP 'em! It was so weird!
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Post by chaosisapony on Apr 2, 2016 3:43:49 GMT
I've been decluttering lately and I have thrown away some items that I'm sure many people would think don't belong in the trash. As others have said, Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc are quite picky with what they will take. I understand that as they need items that will sell not just sit in the stores. But that does mean that some things go in the trash. Just because they may be usable doesn't mean they have value to anyone and if I don't want it in my house what else am I supposed to do with it?
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paget
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,032
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Apr 2, 2016 4:27:03 GMT
I don't get how stuff just sitting in a "museum" no one sees is really better than a landfill...
I no longer so Craig's list and free cycle- it's too much trouble. I like to donate if possible but only if it's a decent item otherwise I trash it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 1, 2024 22:34:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 5:45:36 GMT
I just threw away 20 romance novels. Yeap 20. They were in a shed with mouse droppings. I wasn't going to clean them up, so out they went.
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Grom Pea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,944
Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Apr 2, 2016 6:13:32 GMT
I don't get how stuff just sitting in a "museum" no one sees is really better than a landfill... I no longer so Craig's list and free cycle- it's too much trouble. I like to donate if possible but only if it's a decent item otherwise I trash it. I think the sanitation workers enjoy getting to see it, like creating a collection, making the collection can be done of the most enjoyable parts of having a collection. Like would those furbies be better off in someone's basement? At least someone gets to see these.
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Post by miominmio on Apr 2, 2016 9:00:41 GMT
I agree with giving away good stuff but sometimes something might look ok but be broken. Also we need to only donate good quality good condition clothing that can be sold in thrift shops here because our donation of stained or semi-damaged clothing is really harming impoverished nations. There are a lot of articles on this subject Google used clothes harmin Africa, etc. They need us to stop. I toss anything that is not in perfect condition now. Where I live, several stores (including H&M) also want clothes that are damaged. Perfect clothes are sold in second hand stores, and from the others, the fibers are recycled. You can now buy yarn that are made of 100% recycled fibers.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 1, 2024 22:34:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 11:37:29 GMT
My brother is one of those people. Our large trash bin at work Gary ever gets full and he will come and dump stuff over the weekend. Perfectly food furniture, appliances, party dresses m nieces have outgrown, new books, you name it. You can't imagine how many times I've climbed in there and fished stuff out to take to the goodwill. I tell hm to have a yard sale or just donate it and he won't. That is just sad. Thank you for saving the items from the trash. One of my friends has several rental properties. They have renters leave stuff all the time when they move out...furniture! appliances! valuable items!! My friend then needs to figure out what can be donated etc. It is shocking that some of them give no respect to the properties they are renting and leave them needing repaired but some do not even put value on their OWN belongings.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Apr 2, 2016 11:51:06 GMT
I agree with giving away good stuff but sometimes something might look ok but be broken. Also we need to only donate good quality good condition clothing that can be sold in thrift shops here because our donation of stained or semi-damaged clothing is really harming impoverished nations. There are a lot of articles on this subject Google used clothes harmin Africa, etc. They need us to stop. I toss anything that is not in perfect condition now. Where I live, several stores (including H&M) also want clothes that are damaged. Perfect clothes are sold in second hand stores, and from the others, the fibers are recycled. You can now buy yarn that are made of 100% recycled fibers. Interesting I had not heard of that. I am still very wary of donating clothing, but if I knew for sure all of the donation was being recycled into yarn that would be cool.
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Post by sbartist on Apr 2, 2016 13:15:04 GMT
I call it free furniture day - once a month there is a bulk pickup. Some of the stuff I see even I would take if only I had a place to put it, but I don't.
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Post by melanell on Apr 2, 2016 13:43:39 GMT
I got rid of a riding lawnmower once by putting it out to the curb with a sign on it that said "Free, won't start." I just set the sign on it and was heading into the house when a man and his son stopped. He asked if he could have it and I helped him load it into the back of his van. His little boy was so excited that they were getting a riding lawnmower. He told me he fixed engines all the time and was sure he could fix it. Win-win Of course, I also picked up a complete weight set for my son out of the trash. Weights, bars, the works. No shame in my game, free is good. We got a free child's outdoor play-set from a curb once. Not in the trash, but out with a "free" sign. The plastic ones with places to climb, slide, crawl, hide, etc. DS & his cousins loved it for a few years, and then we passed it on once again. There was also someone having a "FREE! cleaning out their garage sale". That's what the sign said. (They also added that the tables were not included and not to take them.) They were cleaning out their garage all day, and just kept setting stuff they didn't want at the end of the driveway, and people kept stopping by and taking it. We got 2 sleds for the kids.
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Post by melanell on Apr 2, 2016 13:45:50 GMT
I agree with giving away good stuff but sometimes something might look ok but be broken. Also we need to only donate good quality good condition clothing that can be sold in thrift shops here because our donation of stained or semi-damaged clothing is really harming impoverished nations. There are a lot of articles on this subject Google used clothes harmin Africa, etc. They need us to stop. I toss anything that is not in perfect condition now. Where I live, several stores (including H&M) also want clothes that are damaged. Perfect clothes are sold in second hand stores, and from the others, the fibers are recycled. You can now buy yarn that are made of 100% recycled fibers. I've heard and read about both of these as well. Makes it difficult to really know what to do with the items unless the donation center guarantees the use of the items donated. Mostly, for us, though, we donate good clothing, and turn damaged clothing into rags. We go through a lot of rags around here between the fact that we don't use paper towels and that we do a lot of messy activities with the kids. (Speaking of, does anyone remember the days when a rag man used to come around town?)
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Post by Woobster on Apr 2, 2016 13:47:09 GMT
We have a few regular pickers, so I have no problem putting things out on the curb.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 1, 2024 22:34:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 14:11:22 GMT
I think that it could be because yard sales and Craigslist can be a pain, but also donating isn't that nice either. I've tried to donate gently used (shows some wear) items, especially furniture and the places around here don't want them, or you call to make sure they take certain items only to be turned away when you show up with said items. I've seen stuff in their stores in worse condition, so I have a hard time donating. (I don't like to trash stuff either, so I try to find new homes with friends for as much stuff as I can.) I've had to take working TV's to the dump because no one wants them. They aren't flat screens just regular TVs. This post sums it up for me also. To have a charity come and say they wont take a used piece of furniture because it needs something to pretty it up is annoying at best. If I wanted to take the time to pretty it up then I would not have called. So now, I will push something to the curb and put a note on it saying "free, please take me" everything I do this with someone takes.
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Grom Pea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,944
Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Apr 2, 2016 15:08:41 GMT
Where I live, several stores (including H&M) also want clothes that are damaged. Perfect clothes are sold in second hand stores, and from the others, the fibers are recycled. You can now buy yarn that are made of 100% recycled fibers. I've heard and read about both of these as well. Makes it difficult to really know what to do with the items unless the donation center guarantees the use of the items donated. Mostly, for us, though, we donate good clothing, and turn damaged clothing into rags. We go through a lot of rags around here between the fact that we don't use paper towels and that we do a lot of messy activities with the kids. (Speaking of, does anyone remember the days when a rag man used to come around town?) dh makes rags out of old worn clothing. My mom used to dust with old underwear but donated clothes. It's kind of funny to see old p.j. pants and t shirts every time there's a spill, which is all the time with two little kids. He had me turn old ripped cargo pants pockets into a stuff holder for the kids in the car. We use so many things until they're dust here.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 1, 2024 22:34:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 16:20:52 GMT
In addition to the swap shop, our dump has about 20 donation bins, I can get rid of clothing, shoes, books, small household items, etc. in those too. All the bins are marked with the charity's name and what they take. And the boy scout troop takes deposit bottles, which a LOT of people donate to. They make about $1200 a month turning in bottles. I'd rather my $0.50 would go to them than have to remember to take them back.
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Post by mari on Apr 2, 2016 19:18:17 GMT
I try to donate things when possible. I definitely avoid throwing away things that are in perfect condition.
I don't really get the point of the 'trash museum'. I get keeping things out of a landfill but if they can't be used for personal use, why couldn't they be donated? They aren't doing anyone any good sitting in a private warehouse.
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Post by Patter on Apr 2, 2016 20:03:27 GMT
We have many curb shoppers in our area so if something is still in working order it gets taken out of our garbage pile long before the garbage truck rolls through. Last summer my sister has a sofa and chair she put out with a free sign on them. After two days nobody had taken them so she put a sign on them stating they were for sale for $100. Someone "stole" them that very night! Oh my gosh, that is hilarious! I wouldn't have thought to put a price tag on it to get rid of it. And we have a curb shopper that comes through every week with his pickup and trailer. He must load up because he always bring the trailer. I generally try to donate so I never really have anything for him.
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