Trash talk

There are three children’s car booster seats sitting out by the curb waiting for the trash guy to come.

They are Century booster seats in perfect condition. Someone could use them, but I have no idea who.

I keep wanting to go outside and rescue them. Drag them inside and try to sell them or donate them or do SOMETHING other than just throw them away.

But the truth is I don’t know WHAT to do. My husband is tired of waiting for me to come up with a plan. He wants the obsolete booster seats out of the garage.

The booster seats are just the beginning. There’s the curio shelf that hung for a time in our house in the U.S., was taken down when we rearranged things, moved to Belgium, and then left languishing in the storage room. It's time to get rid of it.

There’s an old computer, monitor, and printer up in the attic that we don’t use but haven’t managed to give away. I think there are still files on the hard drive that I want to save but haven't sorted through.

My kids took piano lessons for three years and then abandoned them and never once looked back. What to do with our electronic piano/keyboard, case, and stand?

And what about the extra TV we inherited from E’s mom? Works fine, but like the computer and electric piano/keyboard, it has an American plug. What to do with that?

Then there’s the three boxes of cassette tapes that helped us survive many a car trip with the kiddos. Children's tapes. Classical music. Jazz. Christmas songs.  Does anyone listen to cassette tapes anymore? Can I part with my favorites?

I have BBC recordings of classic books on tape. Can I really trash Winnie the Pooh read by Alan Bennett? The All-of-a-Kind family series? Understood Betsy? The original Dr. Doolittle? The Wind Boy? Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon?

And yes, I have two boxes of VHS children’s tapes that I'm ready to part with.

In the U.S., I had so many outlets for shedding belongings. The church and the school both had annual garage sales. There was a thrift shop just down the road that accepted donations. I consigned our better quality clothes to a shop downtown and  sold items through the free classified ads in the local paper, generating a few hundred dollars a year. I passed toys and clothes onto family members and friends. I donated books to the library sale.

Here it’s so much harder. Sure there are organizations that take items but with the language barrier, contacting someone and coordinating for drop off or pick up is a bit daunting. I don't know who to support or who to trust. Plus, when I see an address or postal code for an organization, I have no idea how close it is to my home, whether we can get there without going crazy, or even how we can transport all the stuff that won’t fit into the car easily.

I need to just deal with it and quit waffling, get rid of my piles and my indecision or drag it all out to the curb and hope somehow, some way, it gets recycled.

April 16, 2007

Copyright Veronica McCabe Deschambault and V-Grrrl in the Middle. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Angela]

Can you put it all out on a table by the curb with a sign that says "Free"? We've done that on several occasions with household items we didn't need anymore but didn't want to cart off to a charity but didn't want to just throw away. Each time the item was gone within 24 hours.

[Di]

'Oh darling', writes the kiwi ... 'very interested in cassettes with stories on them' :) Very very interested, so if you do decide to tip them, we'll come be your trash collectors.

Meanwhile I'll ask Gert about where old stuff goes and he can even be your go-between guy.

We bought Shannon's American computer and have an adaptor/transformer thingie ... hmmmm, if Gert doesn't know, them I'm thinking the integration people might know some immigrants/political refugee types interested in appliances that only require transformer things.

Ignore me if it's all in hand :)

[Lori]

I'd be happy to buy a booster seat and the box of VHS tapes. Just let me know when!

[nina]

Do they not have garage sales Belguim? I can't imagine a world without garage sales, however do you manage?!

[furiousBall]

Do they have the equivalent of the Salvation Army there?

[Amber]

Babe! Ebay that shiz! I'm telling you, people will buy it all and it will cost you nada. Can you do that?

How much would it cost to mail the "pinanno" (as lil'g calls it) to California? Probably more than one would cost to buy here, huh?

EBAY. Do it. You will make money.

:)

[Inside Out]

Wow, I wouldnt have thought about it. that is a challenge. I am with the ebay idea. whoever bids and wins pays for the shipping cost. The curb is a good solution. I would asume people pick up good items just like they do here...I/O

[Mary-LUE]

Well, you are probably overwhelmed with suggestions, but I did have one thought--which might be completely undoable. Is there anyway to transfer some of the favorite tapes to CD? (My husband, with the proper equipment could do this himself. I'm not sure how to go about looking for a place to do it for you, which is why I say it might be completely undoable.)

Ultimately, this post isn't about the practicalities, is it? It is about letting go, and know when and where, I think.

[javacurls]

Oh, no! I should have taken the booster seats with me the last time I saw you!! If they haven't already been picked up I PROMISE I will take them with me the next time I see you.

[Shirley]

Have you checked out the Belgium Freecycle group? Not sure if there is one close to where you are, but I know there is one in Belgium from doing a quick Google search. We have really appreciated Freecycle here for giving away stuff (e.g., an antique treadle sewing machine I no longer wanted) and occasionally getting stuff (e.g., picking up lamps today for my son's first apartment and previously got two large bags of Chico clothes I absolutely love). You get to choose who gets your donations, whether it's a new mom wanting baby clothes or a girl scout group looking for a file cabinet. I can tell you more info on how it works if you are not familiar and you email me. The biggest thing about decluttering is getting in the mindset to do it, but once you get rid of stuff, it is pretty much self-perpetuating--you just want to get rid of more and more. The old do I love it, use it, or does it make me smile question gets so easy to answer and follow through on. I am amazed at how empty and wonderful my closet is now. I can actually see all my choices--woohoo!