I’m a minimalist at heart. I’m not big on having a lot of stuff. I like functionality. I like simplicity. When I imagine my dream home it has only a few sparsely furnished rooms plus a detached painting studio. That’s actually more than what I have now, but still minimalist on American terms.
That said, I seem to collect a lot of stuff. One day I’ll turn around and wonder where the pile of crap came from. People give me things. Sometimes I find things and bring them back to the house. Sometimes I’ll purchase something and I’ll wonder at a later time why I did.
So I’ve been spending the last year or so downsizing my stack of stuff. Mostly in fits and spurts. I have moments when I agonize over throwing things away. There must be better options than the dump?
Yes, there are. Sometimes your trash is another’s treasure. Sometimes your trash can be turned into something else completely. A few of the options that I have found are:
The Garage Sale: the most obvious option. Just take everything out to the front yard or the driveway, price it and wait for people to drive by, stop, and shop. Or you can get more organized and plan it in advance. Some local newspapers list weekly garage sales in their classified ad section. Craigslist is also a good place to advertise your garage sale! It’s amazing what people will buy for a nickel.
Put your stuff up for sale or barter on Craigslist or eBay: if you’re not all that excited about having have the neighborhood traipsing around on your lawn, then use the online version of a garage sale.
The local Thrift Store: this one might seem obvious, but sometimes thrift stores fall off of people’s radar. Besides the national Goodwill or the Salvation Army thrift stores, there are smaller community ones that dot even the smallest towns. Churches often run them. Often times you can get a receipt for your donation so that you can write it off later on your taxes.
Alternative recycling options: Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have a few places like The East Bay Depot For Creative Reuse, Urban Ore, and Ohmega Salvage. The Depot For Creative Reuse takes anything from fabric and paper scraps, to washed yogurt cups and the toilet paper cardboard. What may appear to be broken or unusable to you may be perfectly usable in someone else’s art project. Urban Ore takes almost anything from buttons to bathtubs. Ohmega specializes in architectural salvage. Maybe there are similar businesses in your area.
Other ideas: Give your nicer caste-offs to friends. If you are going to give things away, that might be your first option. I know I like it when friends ask me first if I could use something. When you are cleaning out your filing cabinet, shred your old papers and either put the shreds in the paper recycling, or in the compost. Or think about how your item could be reused in your own environment. Maybe you don’t really need to get rid of it, maybe it just needs a new purpose.
Veggies and Our Nation’s Kids
OK, so these kids aren’t representative of the entire nation … I’m not one for promoting prime time television shows, but I have to admit that this is one show that I’m glad will be on a national network in prime time rather than hidden on cable or on PBS.
I was raised by a family that composted and gardened, maybe only a hundred or so miles from the town where these kids live. I’m shocked that these kids didn’t know even one vegetable from the over laden table. These kids aren’t stupid. So what’s wrong with this picture, or rather, video?
Jamie Oliver’s new show, Food Revolution, will be premiering Friday, March 26th at 9/8pm on ABC.