Frugality is a virtue

[gwendally]

I find pennies on the ground all the time.  I find them in parking lots when getting out of my car, on streets that I'm crossing, on sidewalks that I'm walking.  This is besides the redeemable bottle or can that I find on nearly every walk.  I usually carry a cloth bag on my walks to collect these cans (and carry any poop bags I might acquire, and

Comments

[kittles]

Oh I love buying used crap. I grew up on goodwill clothing and sheets from yard sales. Actually sheets from yard sales are the best because they've been laundered so many times they are super-soft. But now I buy things like yard sale towels for mop-up rags. I also really enjoy passing along my things to people who will use them rather than tossing them if they're still serviceable. It pains me to do something like buy a cheap made in china vanity (still feeling the guilt!) just because I want something new that looks nice. So in penance, my old one will hopefully go to someone else.

[wyllenn]

The upstairs neighbor in the apartment we are renting throws all of his many beer cans in the recycling bins each week. Often neatly bagged up. He doesn't have a car, but loads of friends with cars are there all the time. I wonder why none of them think to redeem them! I now redeem them for myself-- and it can be up to $4 a week that he's losing out on. Between his bottles and mine I am saving up for either a "redemption dinner..." or maybe some other treat somewhere down the line

[evelynne]

Did the commenter think selling used stuff was tacky, period, or only when it was really crappy? "Used toiletries" and "worn-out junk" is way different than something that's in good shape and still has use in it.

Poindexter and I argue all the time about whether something is still useful. Putting it at the curb for pickers settles it. I always win. :P Now I'm wondering, if I put all those hair products at the curb, the ones that didn't work on my hair as advertised, will someone take them? ;)

Unless something is un-clean-ably smelly or bug-ridden, it seems criminal not to offer it to someone else at a low price or free. It's basically just hand-me-downs from people you don't know. Everything that furnished my first apartment was hand-me-downs from family, some of which I'm still using today. When we replaced it, it was with stuff we liked better, not because the hand-me-down had reached the end of its useful life. Better that it went to someone who used it!!

[rawrin]

I bet the hair products would go. A few of us at work had a "hair product swap" not long ago - bring in the products that didn't work and shop through the stuff others brought in. It was a great success. Sometimes folks will bring in other things, too, like tea that wasn't quite as delicious as expected but someone else might enjoy. Every so often, a box of tampons will show up in the staff bathroom. These things always get taken.

[gwendally]

Well, she specifically referenced offering for sale "used toiletries and worn-out junk" reducing her respect for the seller, but, yeah, I can see offering a tampon holder that still had some tampons in it for sale.

My all-time favorite thing I ever sold was all the cloth diapers and diaper covers that my three children wore. When we were all finished I turned around them sold them for over $100 on eBay. Stained used diapers. But they were really good diaper-service quality diapers and someone got something really useful for a deeply discounted price because they were stained.

So I think I pretty clearly fall into the category of people who do things she doesn't respect. :-)

It's okay, I just wanted to try to expand the thinking past "scumbags do things" to "people value things differently than I do."

[coercedbynutmeg]

Yes, Evelynne, thank you for astutely recognizing the difference between half-empty bottles of body wash/lotion or stretched out nursing bras and outgrown toys. If others had your sense of discernment, (today's gem: $2 for "about half a bag" of C&H sugar), the world would be a far duller place.

And no, the sugar isn't junk, but do you know how much a new 4 lb bag of sugar costs? Just give it away!

[andrewducker]

Not selling stuff on seems criminally wasteful to me - there's no reason to create more things when the stuff we have can still be used!

[gwendally]

The only crime comes if there's compulsion. I have never felt compelled to purchase something a friend was selling at a tag sale.

On the other hand, I've felt compelled to purchase NEW things a friend was selling at one of those party-sales things. Tupperware or Mary Kay or once it was some costume jewelry whose name I forget. Oh, and some chef's tools thing, too. I've bought a fair amount of brand new crap because of peer pressure.

It ends up deeply discounted at my tag sales. :-)

[andrewducker]

Oh, I don't mean literally criminal - I mean that throwing things out rather than recycling, either to charity, friends, or selling second-hand is not good, morally speaking. It's consumptive for no gain (I have no objection to consuming resources to produce things, but consuming resources when we already have said things seems wasteful).

Thankfully, I haven't been socially pressured into buying things in a while - being gluten and sugar intolerant means I can avoid work bake sales (much though I really wish I could take part...)

[smjayman]

OMG, I buy and sell used stuff all the time! Ebay and other sites are my go-to for anything I want or need.