Monday, March 9, 2009

garbage

Hula! I got your gift today!!!

I'll post info tomorrow, it's too late for photos.

Thank you so very very much!

On another note,

They just don't do yard sales here. I love a good yard sale, and where we lived in Canada we had an annual street sale that was great....you got rid of a years worth of junk, nothing EVER came back in the house...ever ever ever....and maybe you made a little cash. Plus you hung out with the neighbours all day, and we had a big fat pot-luck/bbq to end the evening off.

Wonderful.

Here where we are that just doesn't happen. Totally different system in fact.

I may have mentioned it, but the system is quite simple. You don't want something, you put it out. Whoever may want it, takes it home...no dumpster diving stigma here!

You see, we don't have door to door garbage pick up, instead there are communal neighbourhood bins, which I just love...no more running out the door half nekkid at 6:47 am because you can hear the d*mn truck coming up the street and you are going to have to store all that rotting compost for another week if you don't make it out in time...

Nope, saunter out whenever you feel like it and drop it in the bin. Most civilised.

Plus it serves as a community large-garbage depot.

Don't want something anymore? Just put it out by the dumpsters, and chances are it'll be GONE.

Large garbage gets picked up TWICE A WEEK! Get a load of that!

Anyway, it means that with a little patience you can often find what you might otherwise pick up at a garage sale. It also means that a certain amount of community work is put into play. You let other people know that you want something if it is getting desperate...eldest's bed frame for instance....and then they scout for you too!

We just picked up a new rocker that we have on trial, and a dining chair for a friend, to see if she will like it or not!

Photos to come...too late tonight. Gotta go read my horrid book....may just quit this sucker soon.

8 comments:

contemporary themes said...

I haven't been to a good garage sale in years. We have some good ones in my neck of the woods too. If I weren't trying to simplify, I'd make that a priority. They are fun! But I need to host a garage sale in spite of the fact that I have no garage!

I like the "put it out on the curb" idea! Have you ever been to the freecycle.com where you can request what you are looking for? It's pretty cool.

Beth said...

The garbage/yard sale set up there? I wish! I’m just at the point where I’m trying to empty this place of years of accumulated junk and I’m going to have to pay to have it taken away! (Even Goodwill won’t take some of this stuff.)

Jason, as himself said...

I like that system. I have at times put things out on the curb with a sign that says, "free" and it vanishes very quickly.

But I like how everyone picks stuff up, and I like how you're just trying the rocker out to see if you want to keep it.

It's freecycling!

Anonymous said...

Yes that garbage system is a much better way to do things!

That pre-dawn garbage-day-dash that we do around here is no fun, especially when there is two feet of fresh snow to wade through - ugh.

Hula Girl at Heart said...

Great! I told myself last night it should be arriving any day.

Love that garbage system and the fact that the chair is on a trial basis. Around here, the garbage truck comes VERY early on a Friday morning. Once last summer it came at 4am. Trying catching that in your pajamas.

mmichele said...

Our back lane is amazing for giving stuff away. We've saved many a trip to the goodwill store.

I haven't been as lucky with finding stuff... I should probably go for more early morning walks.

Boo and Trev said...

Isn't your birthday in May?
At work we have a "for sale" email where you can buy or sell stuff or give stuff away. I've used it a lot. People sell everything from cars to dvds. But obviously only effective if you have a large workforce!

oreneta said...

She, Free cycle, no I hadn't heard of them till you mentioned it. I find yard sales are more fun to host than to go to, especially those neighbourhood ones.

Beth, it is weird how hard it is to get rid of some stuff. Have you contacted women's shelters? They often take stuff because the women have to set up new apartments once they get on their feet again.

Jason, those curb signs that say free are often very effective, love it.

Trish, I HATE that pre-dawn garbage rush, and then there is the one when you are all dressed up for work and you are trying to haul the dripping grungy mess to the curb without getting dirty yourself...yuck yuck yuck...

Hula....I didn't take photos, I'll have to tomorrow before I am too tired. and 4 am is inhumane.

Mmichele, I thought you would relate to this post what with all that you've been up to lately...

Boo and Trev, not a birthday issue, I sent her some hand cream for her dry and cracking hands, and so she sent me a little gift, just because she's nice that way. That is a really cool idea with a larger company....I've never worked anywhere big enough, but it could be neat.