Sharing Our Abundance

A short reflection today about the nature of our abundance here in middle class USA. As my family and I prepare to move across the state, I am confronted daily with our modern materialism as I attempt to sort through and pack up all of our household belongings. Over and over again, I am reminded of how, when I was living in a small village in Africa as part of the Peace Corps, local children would sort through our trash each week before we burned it. They would scamper away happily with all manner of items, including empty match boxes, tomato paste tins, old newspapers, empty spaghetti boxes. There was no telling what each one of these things might become in the hands of children accustomed to playing primarily with sticks and the mud they scooped up from giant termite mounds.

So this time around, I am determined to conduct an "environmentally responsible move", for lack of a better term. For example, we have made endless trips to our local grocery stores for empty fruit boxes (banana ones are the best!). I have been hoarding newspaper from recycling bins for wrapping delicate items, and using clothing, towels and scarves for that purpose as well.

We also wanted to avoid throwing away all the things we that don't want to bring with us to our new place. How much stuff does the average household contain that is truly extraneous? The answer, for us, was appalling. Instead of simply filling up the trash bags, we are making a serious effort to pass along or upcycle everything we don't need. Boston Boys and Girls Club picked up a large load of baby clothes, furniture, toys and books recently. They will sell the items and use the proceeds to fund their youth programs. A selection of textbooks and classic fiction was mailed to a group that ships them to African libraries. I also hosted a clothing swap a few months ago with friends and donated any items that didn't get swapped to a local thrift store that supports HIV outreach efforts. If we weren't moving, I had planned to organize an art/craft supply swap this fall to clear out that cluttered part of the house.
Over the past couple weeks, I've spent many hours posting descriptions of items to Craigslist, our community Freecycle group and parent listserv. Friends and strangers alike have come to claim things as diverse as frozen yogurt containers of home-cooked black beans, boxes of extra floor tiles languishing in our basement, and repurposed styrofoam coolers that have already had a second life as yogurt fermentation vessels. The parade continues... right now my front porch holds neatly labeled bags for pickup: suede couch pillows, a maternity belt, a dust buster, yoga videos, kitchen cookware, travel guidebooks, brass mail slots and the deadbolt from our old front door. They will all go home with someone grateful to have saved themselves both a stressful trip through traffic to the mall and a bit of their hard-earned cash.

As for us, after these efforts I know we will sleep just a little better in our new home, knowing that we didn't fill a small landfill to get ourselves there. For now, though, all is chaos!!!

http://www.freecycle.org/ (Give stuff to people in your neighborhood)
http://www.booksforafrica.org/ (Donate books to overseas libraries)
http://www.goodwill.org/get-involved/donate/ (Donate used clothing, home goods for resale)
http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx (Donate surplus home fixtures, building materials for resale)
http://www.actrecycling.org/ (upcycles VHS tapes and provides jobs for the mentally disabled)