Discount Diva
Discount Diva: Don’t curb enthusiasm for Curb Day
Calling all cheapskates and recyclers: Saturday is Curb Day! What is Curb Day? Nothing short of a national holiday for folks like us. Created by efficiency-minded former teacher Mike Morone of Rochester, Curb Day is a day when residents across the country are encouraged to take durable goods they no longer need and put them on the curb for passers-by to take.
It’s meant to encourage recycling and discourage waste, saving folks time and money in the process. It also pays homage to two of my favorite pastimes— finding good homes for stuff I don’t need and getting my hands on stuff I do need for free.
Oh, what a day Saturday will be for curbside shopping!
Curb Day is also a great motivation to de-clutter.
Sure, you could sell that unused television set on eBay, but do you really want to deal with shipping something like that? You may have the best intentions when it comes to listing all your dust-gathering chotchkies for sale on Craigslist, but how long have you been saying you’ll get around to it? Sure, you intend to donate that old exercise bike to the Salvation Army. But do you really want to borrow your cousin’s pick-up truck and haul it over there?
Wouldn’t you rather just plunk it all down on the front lawn? Yeah, me too.
Here are some guidelines to follow whether you’re purging or splurging:
• Follow your county’s ordinances.
• Don’t put out dangerous items, such as weapons or chemicals.
• Don’t put out food items.
• If stuff can be damaged in the weather, don’t put it out. For example, don’t put a couch out in a rainstorm.
• To browse, put your turn signal on, pull over and turn on hazard lights.
• Watch out for cars stopping quickly or pulling over in front of you.
• If Curb Day coincides with your garbage day, label what you don’t want the garbage truck to take.
• Don’t put out garbage or things that can’t be repaired or reasonably reused.
• If you’re going to put out an old computer (ooh, how nice of you!) be sure the hard drive is completely erased to discourage identity theft. Google “scrub hard drive” for instructions on how to make sure your files are completely gone. Simply deleting files won’t do the trick.
Yeah, if no one takes your stuff, you’ll have to lug it back inside by the end of Curb Day. Or you’ll finally have to make that dreaded trip to the donation bins at Goodwill. But, chances are, if you’ve got something displayed with the word “Free” written on it, someone’s going to take it. (Probably members of my family.)
Which brings us to a good point. Don’t take stuff just because it’s free. Make sure you have a use for it or know someone else who does. Adding to your own clutter defeats the purpose of Curb Day altogether.
And don’t forget to tell your friends, especially the folks who would otherwise be embarrassed to be seen poking through someone else’s rubbish. Curb Day is a day to not only be unashamed of garbage picking, but to do it with pride!
Share your money-saving tips on the MoneySmart blog at www.BuffaloNews.com/MoneySmart .
You can also e-mailmoney@buffnews.com or call the Money- Smart consumer hotline at 849-4618.
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