I hate waste

[LuxLiving]

Exactly - when we moved here it is an old house that didn't have any cabinetry anywhere except the kitchen. For several years we used the old cabinets out of my Mom's old house that they had remodeled. At the time we couldn't afford new cabinets for the entire basement, bathroom & utility room. Those old cabinets were financial lifesavers!

Thanks Mom for not wasting them!! They moved out of the house into the workshed barn when we were done in the house with them.

[rob62521]

When we bought new kitchen cabinets a few years ago, we gave our old ones to the neighbors across the street for use in their garage. They were delighted, the guy doing our remodeling was delighted he didn't have to figure out a way to dispose of them. We already had shelves and things in our garage so we couldn't use them.

Last summer we had a new kitchen floor put in and we had this huge piece of oak that had been used to cover where a wall had been between the carpet and the kitchen floor. I kept it and almost a year later, one of the neighbors said he could use it. I was glad someone could...saved him some money and one less thing in the landfill.

[cschin4]

I thrwo "good stuff" away all the time. If I am not going to use it, then to me it is just clutter. I see no point in keeping something that I am not going to use. I tried the yard sale thing. It was a big hassle , i didn't make much and most went unsold and went to Good will. I also take boxes of stuff to Good will. However, our local GoodWill has ridiculously high prices for used things you can buy brand new at Walmart so I got tired of enriching them as well. That angered me because they get the stuff for free and are basically preying on the poor. So, now I will give some of it to friends, the rest I just toss in the trash. The trashman can pick it up if he wants it. Otherwise, good riddance.

[disneysteve]

I also take boxes of stuff to Good will. However, our local GoodWill has ridiculously high prices for used things you can buy brand new at Walmart so I got tired of enriching them as well.

Do you have any other thrift stores in your area? Many churches run their own as do some hospitals. There are also other charities that will pick up your stuff at your house like Purple Heart and American Cancer Society. You just call them and they come get the stuff.

Just something to think about before consigning it to the landfill.

[cschin4]

Steve, I know what you mean. However, even when I tried to give stuff away to people, they wouldn't show up to take it, etc. And, the drives for "stuff" often get pretty picky as to what they want.

[tabbycat31]

I thrwo "good stuff" away all the time. If I am not going to use it, then to me it is just clutter. I see no point in keeping something that I am not going to use. I tried the yard sale thing. It was a big hassle , i didn't make much and most went unsold and went to Good will. I also take boxes of stuff to Good will. However, our local GoodWill has ridiculously high prices for used things you can buy brand new at Walmart so I got tired of enriching them as well. That angered me because they get the stuff for free and are basically preying on the poor. So, now I will give some of it to friends, the rest I just toss in the trash. The trashman can pick it up if he wants it. Otherwise, good riddance.

In my area, the local SPCA has a thrift shop. Since I'm really into animal welfare, that's who gets the stuff I'm throwing out.

However flea markets are also big here, and now especially (since I'm newly unemployed), I may pay the $10 for a table and see what I can unload there.

[disneysteve]

However flea markets are also big here, and now especially (since I'm newly unemployed), I may pay the $10 for a table and see what I can unload there.

There are also plenty of regular flea market dealers who advertise in local papers who will be glad to come by and pick up your unwanted but usable items and pay you for them. They will then resell them. There are also auction houses where you can bring your stuff to be sold on your behalf and you get a cut of the sales.

Many, many options that are better than tossing the stuff to the curb.

[tabbycat31]

not to mention, when you toss things to the curb, a lot of people come and take it (most of my furniture was acquired that way)

[LuxLiving]

To me there is a VAST difference in setting something on the curb with a free sign on it rather than wastefully tossing it in a trash can.

[Scanner]

I am going to against the Frugalmeister Packrats here and tell you all that there comes a time and place for throwing out that old dry rotted rocking chair that your 35 year old child used when he was little and all those pencils you accumulated from freebies that your kids got as Christmas stocking stuffers but never used.

It costs money, time, and space to store crap, not to mention the mental energy it costs.

Oprah did a show on Hoarders and I am sorry I missed it - I did want to look into the secret lives of hoarders and figure out what's going on in their/your heads

[Scanner]

Here. . .I think everyone except cschin and I need some psychotherapy:

Why do People Become Compulsive Hoarders?

[LuxLiving]

I am not a compulsive hoarder Scanner. I sell most of that kind of good junque' in my antique booth, or I donate it to the local women's shelter if it's still usable. What they don't use they sell in their own garage sale each year. Other items go frequently to Goodwill. I offer things on Freecycle occasionally and sell others on Craigslist. I am a proponent of Flylady.net and declutter on a regular ongoing basis.

However, I do not toss usable goods into the trash.

[Scanner]

Seriously, DisneySteve. . .the forum sort of all knows me a little by now and I try to use some humor to make my points.

Let your office manager throw out the pens and sticky note pads from the drug reps cluttering up your office and closets. It's her job to keep your office organized and you are interfering with her job with some value system you have.

I know you are the boss but let her do her job and let her have her territory. It works with my staff. They know I like my treatment rooms a certain way and they don't mess with that and I generally stay out of their way and let them run the front desk. I know not to touch anything up there.

I used to micromanage but I almost entirely macromanage, unless a new employee is very needy.

Speaking as a virtual friend. . .hope I didn't offend.

[Scanner]

I am not a compulsive hoarder Scanner.

It will be hard to get you to overcome your strong sense of denial.

[LuxLiving]

You'll have to keep trying!

I do fight to keep things moving out of my house and often wonder who is dragging it in here. I did visit an older wealthy neighbors house once and wondered at her ability to only have a single chair, single picture, single table & one small TV as the only items in her large living room. It seemed mighty cold and lifeless in there to me. I do like my rooms cozy, but not overpacked.

Now books, those I seem to have a hard time passing along!