Today the kids and I had fun rummaging through free boxes of books and misc. homeschooling supplies.  Someone offered to take whatever was left after a recent used curriculum sale, and after she went through the things, she generously made the items available to other homeschoolers.  She did the same thing last year, and we happened to meet at the only curriculum sale I ever had a table at just a week or so before that.  We chatted only a few minutes then, but when I emailed her later last year regarding coming to look at the free things she had in her garage, she remembered me and told me to come before the crowd arrived because she liked me.  And this year she did the same thing, so I got to enjoy browsing through everything without worrying about getting elbowed out of the way!  (And we enjoyed chatting for a while, too – it’s nice to spend time with other homeschool moms and talking honestly about some of the challenges that you can’t share with those who aren’t homeschooling.)

We came home with games, activity kits, music and story cassettes, and books!   My 7 and 9 year olds especially enjoyed being able to get whatever struck their fancy.  We got something for everyone – I think what I am most happy about finding was two Landmark biographies.  I’ve seen these referenced as wonderful books for a long time, but the libraries don’t have them (at least not around here), and this was the first time I came across any.  What a treasure!  They are interestingly written and engaging, something I appreciate because why should history be dull?

We’ve actually gotten a bunch of free stuff recently: I told you about the portacrib, etc but there’s more!  Soon after that score, we received a notice that a large dumpster would be placed in a central location in our neighborhood to make it convenient for people to get rid of their odds and ends (not regular trash); they do this once a year as a neighborhood service.  It was there for Saturday and Sunday, and it was interesting to see how much usable stuff was being thrown away, instead of passed on to others or given to Goodwill, which is what we do.  By the time Sunday came, the huge dumpster was overflowing. 

My daughter noticed some things at the very top when she walked by on Sunday afternoon, and suggested we go together to see if we could get them.  When we got there, someone was industriously pulling out metal to sell for scrap, which I thought was great!  Why should usable materials be piling up our landfills?  Anyway, he saw us glance at a toddler riding toy and generously offered to get it down, along with a perfectly good cooler that was also on top. (That will be helpful for when I make my monthly trips to buy raw milk.)   A little later, my daughter saw (it was placed just a few houses down from us so our kids go back and forth all the time) a baby bath seat, put to the side and still in it’s original packaging, so she snagged that; our 10 month old is at the perfect age for it.  If someone was willing to go through the pile on Saturday, before it got so high, they probably would have made out like a bandit (I saw a number of heavy duty plastic storage boxes that I love to use for clothes). 

Then a day later, someone called us and told me her daughter was cleaning our their basement of toys, and would we like them?  I said, sure, why not?  So she brought over several bags of stuff, most of which honestly weren’t toys I’d keep around (so much so that I told my kids I didn’t think I’d say yes again if she asked in the future). 

Why do I say ‘yes’, if I don’t know exactly what is being given?  This is a concept that I got from The Tightwad Gazette and agree with – when someone offers you something for free, always say yes.  Even if you can’t use what they give you, you can pass it on or give it to the thrift store, or throw it out, if it’s really not useful – I always tell people that if they give me something that doesn’t work for us, I’ll give it to the thrift store to be sure that they don’t have a problem with it.  Many people have good stuff that they no longer need, but are often hesitant to offend someone by offering it.  When they find someone who is comfortable having it passed on to them, the gates are open and they know they can ask you in the future.  Most people would rather give their belongings to a family than to a thrift store, it’s more personal and they enjoy knowing the person they give it to. 

So back to the free stuff – two days later, the same woman called and said now she was cleaning her house of toys, could she bring some over?  What do you think I said? Yes, of course!!  This time the toys were much more suitable for our family.  Toy trucks that are just right for the 2 year old, puzzles for the 6 year old, rolls of brand new wrapping paper, and two potty seats.  I asked her at that time why she called us, of all people, since she hardly knows us.  She told me that she hates wasting things, and she realized that I was open to being given things in the spirit in which they were offered (ie, not as charity but as a win-win situation for both sides). 

How did she realize this (since I don’t go around with a sign saying, ‘I’ll take your free stuff!’)?  She happened to speak to a very close friend of mine a week earlier, and mentioned to her that she had a number of guests for the weekend, which resulted in lots of leftovers that she put into the freezer immediately.  But it was much too much for her and her husband, who would end up eating leftovers all week long and then some, because there was so much.  My friend also has a big family, and told the woman she was welcome to bring it over to her house, since she knows a lot of people and would pass along whatever she couldn’t use.  So my friend called me and asked if I wanted some since she didn’t have room for all of it – I got a 9 x 13 pan of chicken that I used for dinner that night.  When I saw the woman who made the food (who had no idea that I got part of it) later in the week, I went over to thank her and tell her that my kids enjoyed it (it had a sweetener on it so my husband and I didn’t eat it).  It was my ‘thank you’ that made her think of calling me when all the toy decluttering happened.

Avivah