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Post by lostagain on Feb 9, 2010 17:08:06 GMT -5
Hi all. Well I am here to discuss amnesty.
There are some things I think to myself "these are still good" - how DID I end up with FIVE extra lamps that I NEVER use anyway??
Do I toss them, or donate?
I have a growing donate pile. I keep telling myself...I will add to it, keep it growing...haven't contacted anyone to help pick it up.
Two fishing poles, that haven't been used in nearly 20 years. Would anyone even want those?
Somehow it feels about a million times more painful to throw it out than donate it.
Help?
xo
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Feb 9, 2010 18:40:32 GMT -5
I agree about tossing being more painful than donating!
What's keeping you from donating the stuff now?
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Post by messymimi on Feb 9, 2010 18:57:17 GMT -5
You are not saving the world from having more stuff in the landfill by turning your own home into an extension of the dump.
You are not helping people by piling your donations up for someday.
Throw it out, or put it by the curb and let people help themselves. If you have a Freecycle in your area, find out if they let you send out "I saw such-and-such by the side of the road on XYZ street" messages. If they do, put one up for your stuff, without telling anyone that it is your stuff, and let people drive over and take it away.
You have amnesty to do whatever it takes to make your personal environment livable, and then you can worry about recycling or donating to the perfect place, etc.
messymimi
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Post by lostagain on Feb 9, 2010 19:14:37 GMT -5
As far as what is keeping me from donating - hmmm. Well I guess part of it is that I don't have a car. So I think about having them come pick it up - a thrift store will do that. But then I think I should have a LOT of stuff to donate if they're going to come all the way over to pick it up. So I make the date for like two weeks in the future. Then I get all anxious and stressed, going back through everything and taking stuff out again! I am not sure why I do this!
Thanks for the amnesty. I am trying. Right now I am throwing out the TRASH and really hoping I can do it with the "could possibly be donated" stuff.
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Post by zinnia on Feb 9, 2010 20:30:36 GMT -5
Get those things OUT of your home!  When possible "donations" create an additional problem, put those things in the trash. When your house is tidy, you will be in a better postion to handle donating and recycling. |
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Feb 9, 2010 21:15:03 GMT -5
Maybe you could call the local charities and ask them about their pick-up process? You might be surprised. At least you'll have more information.
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Post by gettingsomewhere on Feb 9, 2010 21:18:40 GMT -5
i found i had to toss stuff to enable me to get my mind in the right place. sometimes the process of donating is what causes the anxiety issues. and the time for the pile to sit there awaiting collection is very difficult. toss babe. time and stuff will be available for donations another day. make life simpler at the moment though so you can get to those other days happily. or at least happyishly. xxx
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Post by houseworkhater on Feb 9, 2010 21:20:40 GMT -5
We have been putting things out to the curb a few days before weekly trash pick up and weather permitting, and they always disappear...especially household items. Would that work?
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Post by lostagain on Feb 10, 2010 9:28:12 GMT -5
Thanks all...still paralyzed BUT getting rid of obvious trash, so that helps.
xo
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mamamcd
New Member
Joined: February 2010
Posts: 25
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Post by mamamcd on Feb 10, 2010 9:41:05 GMT -5
The longer you look at it the more indecisive you will become and the pile will shift and shrink and grow and shrink etc and so on. If you just take a few items and curb them maybe they will disappear and you can at least get a more manageable pile? Is the stuff boxed? If not, maybe boxing it will make it easier to get out the door because you can't see/ponder?
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Post by dailystruggle on Feb 10, 2010 11:09:30 GMT -5
Rent a small U-Haul one weekend to haul it to the donation place? Do you have a friend with a truck or van that would help? If not, lots of people go "dumpster diving", so I doubt that all of your stuff would end up in a landfill. Just put a big sign next to it that says, "FREE!". Also, I've seen the trash guys here pick through garbage for stuff that they like and they leave it and load it up on a different truck later. I don't care so long as it's out of my house and sight.
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Post by Peach on Feb 10, 2010 11:45:49 GMT -5
Lostagain -- Follow the Freecycle link below my SooS signature. It goes to a thread that explains how simple it is to freecycle stuff. There's also another link within that thread that will take you to my thread where I list everything people have picked up.
You do not need a car. You do not need to let anyone inside your house. You do not need to have a lot of stuff all at once. Just one item at a time. Put it on the porch or in front of your house and it will get picked up.
We also just put stuff out to the curb a couple days before trash pickup. It disappears quickly.
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Post by Evelyn on Feb 10, 2010 12:17:31 GMT -5
This is the the SOS Fairy Godmother, waving her Magic Wand of Amnesty over Lost:   (It may look like a feather duster, but what else would the SOS Wand of Amnesty look like?) As the Magic (and non-dirtying) Amnesty Dust falls gently and absolvingly over our un-lost Lost, the SOS Fairy Godmother invokes these words: "Unto Thee is Amnesty granted, to throw any object, "perfectly good" or otherwise, into the garbage. If, and only if, thou wisheth it; thou mayest place said object at the curb, with or without an attached sign bearing the magic word "Free," whereupon it may magically disappear. Be thou wary of the Evil Minons of Clutter, who may whisper to thee and seek to induce thee to take said object back into thy home; but know that amnesty is increased each time an object is returned to the Discard Pile. Go now ye forth, my dear un-lost Lost, to declutter and cleanse, with all Blessings of Amnesty upon thee." Thus has it been said, and thus is it now written. |
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Post by gifted on Feb 10, 2010 15:47:28 GMT -5
I am also carfree. You already are saving fossil fuel and natural resources by not owning a car. I donate to Vietnam Veterans of America. Even one full bag is enough for me to trip over. I often call them BEFORE I have anything, because I hope it will inspire me to have the deadline. They do pick-ups five days a week in my area: 800-775-VETS www.scheduleapickup.comIt must be worth their effort to make these pick-ups, otherwise they wouldn't do it. I am sure that their drivers plan the routes with some efficiency, and not drive around, willy-nilly back and forth all over town. But ultimately, the stuff in your life will cause you stress, which could lead to health problems, so clutter is not a "sustainable" lifestyle. Your impulse to do this "perfectly" is meanwhile depriving someone from the use of your "stuff." If one of those five lamps breaks before you make the call, it will wind up in the landfill anyway. So dump away, dear. You need to do it any way you can! |
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Post by Butterfly on Feb 10, 2010 19:27:25 GMT -5
Just like MessyMimi and others have said, Throw It Away! Forget about donating for now. It's not working because it's causing you stress and your house is still cluttered. As MessyMimi (my new hero!) said, once you've decluttered and are in maintenance, then you can recycle and donate. But right now it's just leading to more procrastination. And, I say all of this as someone who is currently where you are and is benefiting greatly from this amnesty.  |
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