A little over a week ago, I spent a hot, sweaty afternoon (along with a handful of family and friends) trying to stop a large amount of unwanted rummage sale items from being tossed into a dumpster. We had only minimal success.
That same day a year before, I had watched in despair as full sets of dishes, glasses, mugs and knickknacks had been scooped up by giddy teenagers waiting to gleefully smash the leftover, unwanted items at the bottom of a dumpster, and told myself that I would not allow that to happen again if I had any control over it.
This is a charity event that shall remain unnamed, but the items were all donated by people who probably didn’t realize that their unwanted items were destined for a dumpster at the end of the day. I myself no longer donate items to this rummage.
It took my Mother and I two afternoons to sort through the things we had salvaged. There were some things we kept. The rest we will spread out among the thrift stores we frequent, so as not to overload any one store. I will also try to bag things neatly and label them, categorize, remove price stickers, and even clean some things if they are dusty.
If you care about where your donations end up, you should check with your local thrift stores to see what they will or won’t take. Also, check with your local recycling facility. It’s as easy as visiting a website or making a quick phone call.
We found one store that will take worn-out clothing/fabric for recycling. I have not been able to find out exactly how they recycle it, but they even take worn-out old shoes. (Yup. I called and asked.)
Most places won’t take mattresses, and NOBODY wants broken, non-working toys/tools. Really.
And remember; as a wise friend once told me, “Landfills Are Forever”.
-Armanda
This picture was chosen to go with a more fun blog post, but I totally went on a rant! I just wanted to show how I upcycled a few of my favorite things…
