Why Throw It Out? Reuse, Recycle, Re-purpose
/“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
With a little patience, I furnished almost the whole house with used and recycled furniture and accessories.
I make no secret about my love of thrifting. For me, finding a bargain at a thrift shop is like finding a pirate’s chest of Spanish doubloons. That great pair of Levis that fit like a glove that I found at Salvos (Salvation Army, for non-thrifters). The pristine Patagonia rain jacket that I picked up at Vinny’s (St. Vincent de Paul) a decade ago for $1.00 that’s still in great shape. Fine British teapots, a grandmother clock, a cherry secretary, a rocking chair, Spode Christmas Tree china, linens, holiday decorations, kids’ clothes galore… You name it, and it can probably be found at a thrift or consignment shop or maybe a neighbor’s yard sale, for a tiny fraction of the cost of new. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
I can’t remember the last time I purchased new clothes for myself or David. I make an exception for underwear. I mean, you gotta set some limits! Although new underwear in an unopened package is fair game. When we moved into our house nine years ago, I set myself a challenge to furnish the house with used items rather than buying new ones. The dining set, the living room furniture, the kitchen table and chairs, bookcases, hutches, and desks. It took patience, but eventually I found most everything I wanted. The big exception was the family room. After several years of mismatched chairs and a swayback sofa, we finally broke down and purchased a matching set of comfy furniture and an entertainment center. For the price of new, I could have probably purchased the entire contents of a thrift shop!
My question is: Why don’t more people buy used or donate, reuse, recycle, or re-purpose instead of contributing to the local landfill? Most cities have organizations that accept donations, and many have pick-up services for larger items or large volume donations. Or why not run a free ad in your local Nextdoor or FB Marketplace for ‘free’ items? You could make someone’s day.
Our trash disposal company, Republic Services, has a bulk pick-up day every other week. We do our share of bulk disposal… the old broken tiles that we replaced with laminate flooring, 15-year-old carpeting that was beat to sh#t. And, of course, we buy new sometimes. However, we try to recycle what we can… cardboard, aluminum cans, glass, some plastics, junk mail every week. But when we advertised our old used stainless steel double sink, our old stove, or the used flooring planks for free on Marketplace, they were gone in a day. The guy who took the used flooring even sent a pic of how he used it in his little office. It was a win-win. He got usable flooring, and we got rid of something we didn’t want without sending it to the dump.
Typical bulk day offerings in our neighborhood.
As we take our regular morning walk around the neighborhood, we’re always amazed at what’s on our neighbors’ curbs on bulk days. David picked up a great piece of marble one week, which now resides as the top of our patio cart. I recently rescued an oak rocker that I plan to refinish. But we’ve also seen baby seats and kids’ furniture in good condition, dining tables, bicycles, lawn tools, etc. If it can be hauled to the curb, it’s probably been curbside on bulk day.
I know it’s easier to throw it out than to repair it or mend it. And maybe carting stuff to the donation center is a hassle. And, for many, new is always better than old. But for us, reuse, recycle, and re-purpose have become a habit that we wholeheartedly recommend.
What about you? Do you recycle? Do you hit the thrift shops once in a while or maybe regularly?