And, maybe, annoyance.
I will be moving two times between now and July 1st or September 1st.
For as much decorative accumulation/obsession we have (dozens of pieces of artwork, close to one hundred pieces of pottery, about 80 candlesticks, hundreds of large format art books) we tend to be pretty poor "consumers" of most things.
I would never even consider buying holiday decorations that get thrown out when the holiday is over, for example, I never buy anything inexpensive and decorative thinking I can get rid of it without guilt, and I wear a virtual Uniform when it comes to clothing.
I wear scrubs, white underwear and socks and a pair of sneakers all week long. I have a series of coats and jackets for every season that are either all grey, navy or black, and some of them are 20 years old. My best dress shoes were bought when I interviewed for my doctoral or post doc programs and are 20-25 years old. I wear leather gloves, dress scarves and ties and such that have been in my family (believe it or not) for as long as 70 years.
We do not consume like a lot of folks do. We both tend to buy it once or buy it right and use it until it disintegrates. No car for either of us, etc. etc.
I am not saying this to sound superior or green or anything like that. My father just replaced a 25 year-old fridge that my parents hated since the day it was put in (it was the only type that fit) and complained that "No @$#*( thing is made to LAST anymore." I come by it genetically.
So anyway we have to move twice in rapid succession in the next year.
I am finding it VERY DIFFICULT on multiple levels to get RID of things.
1) I will think nothing of spending $100 to go out to eat if I feel like it, (only to biologically eliminate $100 worth of food and drink fairly rapidly). But to throw away unused or partially used items that cost a dollar really rubs me the wrong way. It's wasteful
2) Some things people will NOT EVEN TAKE FOR FREE. I have things like old bed linens that I bought in 1989 for a twin bed that are in perfectly fine condition. They are burgundy and I currently have no twin bed. This stuff goes into a landfill because no one wants it. I have had pieces of furniture that places like Goodwill would Not Take, because they were painted. ("It might be lead paint") From 1992? Really? I think the guys were too lazy to carry it down the steps. There is a furniture place near me that will take Anything but I despise their mission statement and politics.
Sometimes I put things out on the sidewalk just so they will get taken and used, but if I homeless person rummages through it and scatters it all over the sidewalk (1) no one else will touch it and (2) you can get fined for littering if they can figure out where it came from.
3) It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE for someone who lives in a Condo, In a City to get rid of potentially hazardous substances. We have private trash pickup. My own condo association and the private trash company do not even agree with each other as to how to arrange for hazardous or bulk pickup. Both have told me the other party is wrong. To get rid of paint through community sources involves a car, a drive of 20 miles round trip and specific dates on a very limited schedule of a couple of times a year.
Many people I know in this situation just bury poisonous, flammable, or hazardous materials as deep as they can in their regular trash and hope they get away with it.
Not only does this rub me the wrong way, but I am the person who would get caught.
But for as much lip service as is given to responsible disposal of things and reuse and recycling, it is almost systematically set up to make it so difficult as to be nearly impossible.
This post was edited by palimpsest on Sun, Dec 2, 12 at 16:39
palimpsestOriginal Author
graywings123
Related Professionals
Carlisle Furniture & Accessories · Des Moines Furniture & Accessories · Hoboken Furniture & Accessories · Potomac Furniture & Accessories · Sudbury Furniture & Accessories · Van Nuys Furniture & Accessories · Carpinteria Furniture & Accessories · Batavia Lighting · Green Bay Lighting · Kendall Lighting · South Miami Lighting · Tampa Lighting · Cleveland Window Treatments · Hanover Park Window Treatments · Oakland Window Treatmentscamlan
madeyna
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
palimpsestOriginal Author
madeyna
chickadee2_gw
palimpsestOriginal Author
k9arlene
EngineerChic
duvetcover
katrina_ellen
palimpsestOriginal Author
dedtired
katrina_ellen
sochi
jane__ny
sovra
mtnrdredux_gw
trancegemini_wa
chickadee2_gw
debrak_2008
juliekcmo
kitchenwitch
Diane Smith at Walter E. Smithe Furniture
mpmg46
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
bronwynsmom
allison0704
palimpsestOriginal Author
maire_cate
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
sis2two
trancegemini_wa
beekeeperswife
maire_cate
Annie Deighnaugh
Annie Deighnaugh
hilltop_gw
palimpsestOriginal Author
tinam61
lavender_lass
myfoursquare
marcolo
Annie Deighnaugh
peegee
palimpsestOriginal Author
mtnrdredux_gw
Diane Smith at Walter E. Smithe Furniture