“One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure”
I love clean up week.
I love the fact that I can get rid of an old piece of furniture that a pet destroyed or a deep clean of a closet – all without having to go to the landfill. The City of Fargo will pick it up right from my curb.
I also love “treasure hunting.” I have brought home furniture, electronics, decorations and more. Great finds from the curbs of neighbors and complete strangers. Anything that we can repurpose and keep out of the dump is a plus. We can also stretch a dollar by shopping on the boulevard. I even know a few folks who pick up broken snow blowers or grills, fix them up as a hobby and then sell them for a profit. Fueling the economy one old mower at a time.
All of that being said – STOP WITH THE DISRESPECTFUL RUMMAGING!
I am the type of person who puts garbage in bags, items that someone might want in open boxes. I did this last night and I came outside this morning to a giant mess. Overnight, people stopped and ripped open bags, dumped boxes upside down, smashed glass and pottery, put other garbage out and destroyed my well placed pile of refuse.
I also put a “Still Works” sign on anything that…well…still works so that people might find a new use for a trash compactor or wall paper steamer. But the jerks who drive around and slice the electrical cables off are just rude. You are going to get such a small amount of copper out of the wire, but making the device useless – think before you snip.
You can still find amazing treasures without dumping materials that will now end up in my lawn. I want to make sure to really get the message to the person who ripped open a ziplock bag of old screws that now are buried in my grass.
The topper on everything was the person who flicked their cigarette into the pile and started a cardboard box on fire – real class act there.
We are all in this together. Making sure that we don’t let greed get in the way of courtesy is important. I like your garbage and I want you to like mine – but after getting burned on the mess this year, it makes me want to wait until I hear the garbage truck coming to put out items next year. And you know what…someone might miss out on a great entertainment center because a few bad apples spoiled the garbage barrel!
Additional Content by JJ Gordon:
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KFGO Blog – How I Learned the States and Their Capitals
KFGO Blog – The Most Embarrassing Picture From My Youth
KFGO Blog – The Blenders Release New Cover of “Lean On Me”
KFGO Blog – A Tale of Two Murders
KFGO Blog – The Three R’s of Remembering My Father
(Listen to JJ Gordon every weekday from 11am to 2pm on It Takes 2 with Amy and JJ . On the Mighty 790AM KFGO or on our app!)
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