Friday was an incredibly balmy day here. Temps into the 50ºs.
The snow was retreating from the backyard and deck.
It was warm enough in the sun to take our lunch outside to eat.
Dan spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon removing a wire fencing in the backyard. I worked in the afternoon to remove snow from the deck and cleared quite a bit.
Today though we woke to snow - a dusting - and bitter cold temperatures. As I write this Dan says it's 10º outside. Don't know what the wind chill is.
As to that wire fencing and the metal stakes, Dan rolled it up and placed it on the side of the road in front of the house. As he was doing this two women walked by and one stopped to ask if we were giving that away. The answer was yes. In NH that's what you do with free items - put them out on the side of the road. It's probably a little early in the season to do this but as it happened the woman wanted it. When she returned from her walk she got her car and Dan helped her load what she could into the car. She took our phone number to let us know if she would be back for the rest. She did call then to say she'd have a truck on Sunday and would take it then.
Sunday Dan worked on setting up his workspace in the cellar where the new concrete floor makes a great space. There was a long cabinet once in the kitchen that he set up as his work bench and an existing peg board over it provided a wonderful spot to organize his tools that had been in small boxes in the utility closet upstairs. Older cabinets that he'd had to move in order for the concrete to be poured, he moved to the edge of the road - free for the taking.
By 3:00 Sunday the woman had not returned nor called again and a young couple stopped by and asked if we were giving away the fencing. Answer was yes and that though someone had spoken for it she hadn't shown up yet so they were welcome to it.
Well, an hour later the woman called to say they were coming and I had the heartless task to tell her that someone else had taken what was left. Did I do the wrong thing? Is there some etiquette to roadside free stuff?
As the afternoon and evening progressed we wondered if anyone would want the wooden cabinets made of knotty pine. We figured we'd be hauling it to the recycle center on Saturday.
This morning Dan left early for blood work and when I glanced out to see where the newspaper had landed, I realized the pile of giveaway cabinets was gone! No tire marks or footprints. Had someone come by in the night? We were both amazed.
One person's junk is another person's treasure.
9 comments:
Our apartments' laundry room had a folding table (for folding your clothes) which sometimes is used to give away things. But the types of things are kind of limited. No opened things...nor electronics. I have a big bag of Epsom Salts that I used once before my doctor told me it would dry my skin out even more. Will put it out by recycling things, and tape closed the top, so maybe someone will take it. I have a printer that doesn't work (ink jets are clogged and it's too expensive to repair). I don't know what to do with it yet. Sometimes there's a collection point in a parking lot where electronics and plastics can be collected.
In answer to your question, Marcia, I do not think it was wrong to give away the remaining fencing to the second couple. You did wait until mid-afternoon for the first woman to return and there is the adage of first come-first served. Glad that all the items, including the cabinets were picked up. When we were clearing out my late mother's home, I also placed some free items curbside and they were all claimed, better than having to trash things...and you said it right that one person's junk is another's treasure. Look no further than eBay as well!
You are correct: One person's junk is another person's treasure...
That's definitely an easy way to get rid of things you don't want.... We don't do that here.... That would probably be against the rules of our Community Club!!!!! ha
Have a great day--way up there in New Hampshire!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
...with things at the road, the best policy is "first come gets it."
So nice to recycle things and not have to add them to the landfill! Different places I have lived have different (unwritten) rules for items placed on the curb. In Minnesota people put a handmade sign out with the items so people know they want to share them. Here in Georgetown we haven’t quite figured out if it’s okay to put things out or take things from the roadside or not as there are no signs.
I agree with everyone else. It was perfectly OK to give it to the 2nd person. It's such a great feeling to give away something you don't need to someone who can make good use of it.
After my daughter's breakup, we found a great dining room table just up the street for her.
One person's junk is another's treasure indeed. And first come first served! Warm greetings.
I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like she paid for it. We live in the middle of nowhere, so nobody drives by to see what we have.
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