Trash or Treasure?
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Homemaking on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 1:04 PM
My mother in law lives next to the dumpster in an apartment community that is prone to frequent moves. She has lived there for several years - I know the owners love her because she takes such pride in her home and keeps the outside areas around her looking great, even going so far as to help with the landscaping. Since people are moving in and out so frequently, they often leave large, usable items adjacent to the dumpster near Norma’s apartment. Norma has rescued lawn chairs, patio umbrellas, bookcases and more if they are in clean, functional shape. I think it kills her to see people throw away perfectly good items that could be donated to a service organization or reused.
Since Norma is a generous person living in a small home, she frequently offers us these items. Her son, my husband, Greg is an anti-clutter kind of guy. He’s more likely to be the one getting rid of stuff that’s still good than rescuing it, so he always gently declines his mom’s offers. But this week, Norma spent time with our 13 year old Adam and offered him her latest find: this lovely work of art (not!). I’m no connoisseur, but this particularly ornate work doesn’t exactly fit in our home. Adam, however, fell in love with the piece and immediately began making plans to hang it in his room - perhaps it was the lovely strip of avocado green velvet surrounding the gaudy gold frame that cinched the deal for him! Adam’s an artist, and the thought of someone throwing away this painstakingly crafted work in oil was more than he could bear - I’m sure the original artist would be happy to know that her work was saved from the dumpster.
Being the mean mom and pragmatist that I am, I tried mightily to dissuade Adam from the art acquisition. “We already have more pictures than wall space,” I pleaded. “I’ll take something else down,” he rebutted. A long discussion ensued, with much emphasis on how we don’t need more “things” just for the sake of having them. In the end, Adam decided that art falls outside the category of clutter and into the realm of treasures.
Trash or treasure - you decide. (I know what I think!) In the mean time, Adam’s acquisition prompted me to look around our home and find a few gently used items that need to be donated to our local Catholic Charities organization. Do you have treasures around your home that might be of use to someone else? Why not share the wealth - your trash might just be someone else’s treasure!
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