Trash or Treasure

A few days after Christmas a few years back, I was walking with my beloved Border Collie, Rollo, when we spotted something rather odd. Piled upon a large snow-filled tree planter was a box of brand new dinnerware and a lovely small white vase. Remnants of tissue and wrapping paper were still in the boxes. Clearly, these were discarded gifts. Maybe a scorned lover couldn’t stand the sight of them post nasty break-up, or a frustrated spouse or adult child was disgusted that these were not her taste. For whatever reason, these brand new beautiful, useful objects were now trash. Well, not really. That lovely small white vase is now on permanent display in my living room (after a thorough steaming hot wash.)

In my eight years in Tribeca I have collected more than that white vase walking the streets. I gleefully saved a fabulous pine book case, found a new home for a really cool porcelain jug, repurposed some construction materials to shore up holes in our dog run, and picked up an interesting book or two. I have spotted a few chairs and promptly alerted friends, and nearly dragged home some pristine heavy plastic storage bins but couldn’t carry them on my own. 

It’s not that I can’t afford to buy my own vases, bookcases or books; it’s more that I can’t stand to see something that still has life and value go to waste – especially when you consider that garbage is taking up a lot of valuable real estate on earth.

I just don’t understand how people can throw out undamaged, working items. It boggles my mind. And, as the years go by, the usable trash issue seems to be getting worse as a younger, richer generation slowly becomes the majority in lower Manhattan.  But, in all honesty, every neighborhood, every culture has their share of good garbage.

At my former job, we all had to pack up an enormous office (an entire floor of a large midtown building) we had occupied for more than a dozen years to move across the street. Because we couldn’t afford to hire professional movers for this part of the dirty work, staff had to spend extra time each day going through desks, closets, filing cabinets etc. and toss or pack literally tons of papers, supplies and weird miscellany. As the weeks went by, people got hastier and lazier with this task and just began chucking stuff without much thought. I was both mystified and angered. How could someone toss a gross of padded envelopes – something we’d surely need across the street – just because it was too bulky? As, a non-profit, this was not just wasteful, it was unethical, I thought. So each day, at the end of the day, I’d take a step stool and I’d search through the large bins to rescue envelopes, pens, cassette tapes, stuffed toys, sets of unused still-packaged beauty products, paper clips, staplers, tons of reference books and even the step stool I was using.  As coworkers watched me they chose to ridicule me rather than pitch in. Fine. I knew I’d never run out of supplies.  And those dictionaries and other books were sent to libraries in poor communities.

It doesn’t take a lot of research to find new owners for useful objects. Having cleared out two homes of deceased loved ones and undertaken my own kitchen renovation, I’ve become a bit of an expert on what to do with stuff you no longer want, need or have space for. In most cases, you don’t even have to leave your home to make the stuff disappear. And, in other cases, you might have to make the short trek to the post office of local thrift shop. Ironically, I found those dishes and vase one block away from our local Housing Works Thrift Shop. I know they would’ve been delighted to receive these objects and earn some funds for their cause.  

For large bulky items like sofas or electronics that you can’t hoof over, Housing Works, Goodwill and the Salvation Army will come collect it. But beware; they all have their own rules and restrictions. Housing Works will only take wooden furniture and might want to check out anything upholstered, (hello bedubugs!) Salvation Army won’t pick up items other than furniture, so if you’re getting rid of an entire household of stuff, you might want to go elsewhere. I used Goodwill to clear out whatever was left in my mother-in-law’s home that my friends, family and neighbors couldn’t use. They came and carried out an entire household of furniture, clothes, tchotchkes, books, cookware, electronics and more. They came when they were scheduled, were efficient, quick and polite and I got a substantial tax deduction.  Whomever you chose, it’s a win-win-win: you get rid of things, someone gets something they like on the cheap and a worthy cause gets to help others with the proceeds.

Maybe you want to cut out the middleman and just make sure you find a new home for your vintage stereo, trampoline or waterbed, then there’s Freecycle. The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,107 groups with 9,394,089 members around the world. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers and membership is free.

If you’re feeling more mercenary there’s always Craigslist, Ebay and other resale sites.  When I said sayonara to my office job a year ago, I was left with an extensive wardrobe of strictly work-appropriate clothes along with the lack of a steady income. My dear friend Marilyn turned me on to Poshmark, a clothing consignment app with a social media component. If you have a smartphone or tablet and some time each day to market your stuff (really easy) then you can turn your cardigans into cash – not tons of cash, but enough to finance the purchase of some more appropriate garb such as shorts and sandals.  For those of you interested in my gently used apparel you can check out my Poshmark closet: kazeez315.

And for my bibliophile friends, the Strand is still buying back books. Of course, you’ll have to cart them to their Union Square location and deal with their snotty staff, but at least the books are no longer taking space on your shelves you get some latte money. Amazon also offers to buy back textbooks and I’m sure other online retailers will do the same – maybe even for other books.  Senior centers and hospitals will likely be interested in adding your unwanted books to their library too.

If you’re lower tech-oriented there are still community bulletin boards to post items. My condo has one and I nearly bought someone’s entire bedroom set that was listed (the dresser was too big sadly.) Check out churches and school – they can usually direct you to people in need as well. I have a friend that needs to unload a grand piano and I directed her to three of our local music schools.

If I haven’t convinced you yet not to just throw away your stuff, please consider this: the plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean is now floating along as an island larger than the state of Texas.  The largest dump in America, the Puente Hills Landfill, has risen to a height of a 50-story building. My fevered brain is obsessed with these thoughts. Does that mean I have ceased my use of all plastic? No, but I recycle every bit of it I can – along with every piece of paper, cardboard and metal. But, in a gleaming ray of hope, our own Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island -- which covers more than 2200 acres -- will soon be a new community park and entertainment center.  Which just goes to show that the damage can be reversed of we use our hearts and imaginations.

So I urge you, before you toss something just think about it. Consider the energy that went into creating it, the value it might have to someone else and the space it will take up in our dumps or oceans.  And see if there’s something else you can do with it other than abandon it on Warren Street for me to collect.

If you have something today you don’t want, feel free to post it here and see if someone else will give it a good home.  Also, please post other ideas to reuse or repurpose unwanted usable stuff. Thanks!