Giving it away and getting a lot back
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- April
- 23
I just finished writing a story about using Web sites such as Craigslist and Freecycle to recycle your household goods. The idea is you get rid of unwanted stuff by bestowing it free on grateful new owners. Today, I practiced what the people I interviewed preached, and in the process eased the financial burden a little bit for a young mother of a toddler with severe food allergies.
The idea for getting rid of a leftover quarter-cord of firewood came up yesterday when my husband and I were surveying our patio in anticipation of a family gathering this Sunday. Our patio is not big, and the firewood looms large. Plus, summer is coming and we want Pumpkin to play on the patio without bumping into stacked firewood.
So this afternoon I posted a notice on Craigslist: “Free firewood. You pick it up.” In hours, I received two calls and four e-mails. The first was from a cheerful woman named Judy, who lives in Lake Carmel in Putnam County. She said her family’s furnace uses coal and firewood. Could she come by today? Sure, I said.
So, around 6 p.m., Judy, her husband, her mother-in-law, and her adorable 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Alex, came over. While the menfolk and the oldfolk toted the wood, Judy and Alex came in for a visit. Like mothers do, Judy and I traded baby stories while the toddlers checked each other out.
Like Pumpkin, Alex has never been in day care. (We keep Pumpkin at home because as a preemie, she’s been at increased risk for infections and illness.) Judy has kept Alex home because of severe food allergies that showed up when he was just a month old. Today, he still doesn’t eat a normal diet because he’s allergic to just about everything, from dairy to eggs to wheat to you name it. He consumes about $20 a day worth of a special formula. Judy, a Chinese immigrant who used to tutor people in Mandarin before she had Alex, can certainly use a break. And if my firewood saves her family a buck, I’m happy.
Here is a link to my story about online recycling. It’s a good idea for just about everything, but especially for baby and kid gear. The stuff doesn’t begin to wear out before it’s outgrown, and there are parents out there who can’t afford to buy everything from a stroller to a changing table to a bouncy seat to a sandbox. It can cost thousands to outfit a home and car for a child — even if you don’t splurge on the top of the line.
Cortlandt mom Amy Mongiello just this weekend gave away a Little Tikes playhouse using Craigslist. (That’s her at right in a photo by our staff photographer Joe Larese.) I think she said it best: “Why throw money in the garbage when it’s usable?â€?
This entry was posted
on Monday, April 23rd, 2007 at 10:22 pm by Julie Moran Alterio.
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Good post and a good issue, Julie. I feel a pang of guilt, as I’ve traditionally handed items down to parents I know personally, but who don’t always NEED these things. Otherwise, I’ve donated to Goodwill. But I like this alternative. Thanks for the suggestion.