Give Your Stuff Away Day

What's Rusting in Your Garage?

Raise your hand if you've done this:

You buy something new. You move the old something to the garage / basement / closet / junk drawer / etc.

Sometimes we sell the old thing, give it away, or donate it. But mostly we move it around. We do this repeatedly, resulting in a nationwide stockpile of billions of wonderful and useful items - just cluttering up everything.

On September 15, 2012, let's break the hoarding cycle and help others by taking some of this stuff to our curb for others to take. It's simple, it's easy. It will work. It will help millions of people, while reducing clutter. It will spark more giving and less hoarding. It will reduce landfills and lower municipal hauling costs. It will be Give Your Stuff Away Day - the world's largest recycling event. 

What about the mess?  Yes, it's going to be messy for a little while. Christmas and the Super Bowl are messy too - should we cancel those events?

What about the items left over?  Whatever's left over after several days of curb-sitting will truly be junk and worthy of a landfill, not someone's home. So it will take some short-term resources to haul these items away. But in the long run, millions or billions of items will be kept OUT of landfills - saving money.

OK, put your hands down and get busy. Throw me a "Like" on Facebook, and tell 100 other people, including your local leaders. I would love to collaborate with them to bring Give Your Stuff Away Day to your area. 

Get going. 
 

Guidelines:

• Obey local ordinances
• Place ONLY the allowed items on your curb (see below)
• Do NOT put out trash or recyclables on Give Your Stuff Away Day
• Do NOT donate recalled products – visit www.cpsc.gov/ for details
• Do not put dangerous or illegal items on your curb
• Be careful driving that weekend - many drivers will be frequently stopping
• Be prepared to retrieve what’s left over

Acceptable Items to Donate!

• Appliances
• Computers (with hard drives scrubbed)
• Electronics
• Bicycles
• Sporting Goods
• Toys (nothing with lead paint or dangerous parts)
• Tools (be careful with sharp blades)
• Yard and Garden Equipment
• Tables
• Chairs
• Desks
• Musical Instruments
• Books
• Clothes
• Shoes
• Kitchen Utensils
• Lamps
• Plants, Potted Trees, etc.
• Building Materials
• Other Durable Goods

Prohibited Items:

• Any products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission: www.cpsc.gov/
• Garbage or Recyclables
• Weapons of any kind
• Dangerous items
• Chemicals of any kind
• Illegal Items
• Food items

To the Left, To the Left...

Throughout the year, on garbage day, think of Beyonce's song “Irreplaceable”. That will remind you to place valuable items you’re discarding to the left of your normal trash. That will make it easier for others to salvage items from your curb year-round. No longer will they have to sort through a pile of garbage to find the salvageable items.

Other Resources 

• Palcycle.com
• The Story of Stuff Project
• freecycle.org
• craigslist.com (free section)
• Recycle-a-Bicycle
• International Bicycle Fund
• You Have I Want
• Planet Green
• Listia
• and about 12 million other sites...