As the adage goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Instead of taking unwanted things to the dump, I always try to find a home for it first. Let me tell you, our house cleaner adores me! But sometimes, I've got something large or unweildy to unload. In those cases, there are two places I go before I donate to Goodwill or a similar organization. Don't get me wrong, I think Goodwill is an acceptable 3rd option. But I much rather give my used belongings directly to someone who can use them, instead of someone that's going to resell them. (Have you seen Goodwill's prices lately? They are such a rip-off. You can buy new things cheaper at Target or WalMart. So Goodwill doesn't really help with the ecology like it could.)
For green-values people "in the know," the new term for transferring your unwanteds to people-that-want-them is called FreeCycling. Don't you just love it? It's so catchy.
When you freecycle stuff, it's understood that the recipient is to come and pick up the item(s) with the intent of reusing, not just reselling. This is actually better than Goodwill, in that you don't have to haul your stuff off. The eager recipient comes and takes it away. It's such a fair deal!
There are 2 wonderful resources I use for FreeCycling:
1. FreeCycle.org is truly a green resource in that subscribers to the local groups convene to consciously keep junk out of the landfills.
2. Craigslist.org's Free Stuff category (in the For Sale section) isn't as consciously "green" but it's a fantastic bulletin board. Most of the time I've posted free stuff, someone was there to pick it up within an hour or less. It's like magic. Presto-chango, your unwanted stuff is gone.
So don't throw it away... give it away!
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