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I've had an idea for a new TV Show. The Thrift Shop Roadshow.
The point of it being to stop donors as they're handing off their donations (or "Dumping" as is often the case) and going through their boxes and quizzing them about the items they're donating.
- "What is this? Two thirds of a Salad Spinner? Why have you decided to give this up?"
- "This raku-made-to-look-like-a-rock with 'Believe' on it, you haven't lost your faith, have you?"
- "3 New Cock Rings? You haven't even tried them on? Were they all too big?"
- "Did you know you could take these empty soda/beer tins to the bottle depot and get a refund?"
- "How much do you think we should charge for this 1/2 tin of cat food/3 pretzels/half a ream of coffee filters/stained sofa cushion?"
- "How did you come by this resin hobo teddy bear? It says it's collectible....are you sure you're ready to give it up?"
- "When did you stop being the world's greatest Mom/Lover/Dad/Grandmother/Teacher/etc.?" While holding up and reading their coffee mugs...
- "Eat - Pray - Live - Laugh - Love -..." You no longer need the constant reminders? Do you teach or have a Yoga Studio?"
Anyways, sorting through and quizzing people about their donations would stop a lot of trips to the dump. And save a lot of man-hours rifling through rubbish - it would be doing the whole second-hand business a huge favor...but I don't think it's ever going to happen.
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Via CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/who-covid-pandemic-china-data-1.6483210
Not saying I told you so, BUT...
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And this I find offensive, all the gilt edged crockery, china, ornamented glasses, that we throw out, surely there must be a way to recover it? Refine it, rescue the gold?
So a little bit of researching and I find out that it's not considered worthwhile. At all.
And I'm a bit disappointed, then I reconsider, this advice is for the person trying to save a few pennies of gold off a single china set, but I'm talking hundreds a month, crush 'em all up, melt it all down...
Still not viable. And so for now I'm just shovelling gold into the ground...rather against my better instincts, as you might well understand...
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A long day but I made great progress. Perhaps cleared a third of the kitchenware/knick-knacks area. And - with luck, tomorrow the next third.
Anyways, the usual - a few dozen kitschy Salt N Pepper Shakers, coffee mugs, dishes, picture frames, etc, etc. The high point was discovering a 3-size pack of Spartacus Cock Rings.
Anyways, picture frames, by and largely absolute rubbish, but you notice the unboxed baby picture frames - "Sterling Plate" - ornamented with teddy bears, babies, etc, most still in the original box, unopened, I've found so far hundreds of these and have yet to see a picture of a baby in a single one.
They fall into the class of "Obligatory Rubbish" - that stuff we buy people when they get married, have a kid, anniversary, etc, etc. "Obligatory Rubbish". Nobody knows what to get them, nobody wants to look cheap, and so they buy them this tat that is just costs them money in storage before it finds it's way to the landfill.
Weddings, Anniversaries, with their customized engraved wine glasses, champagne flutes, nobody every uses them again, they're as disposable as a paper cup, only not as environmentally friendly. "Happy Mothers/Grandmothers/Fathers/Grandfathers" Day mugs and picture frames are the same. Single use to prove you thought of them, they appreciated it, then on their way to the dump. Don't donate them, nobody wants them.
Anything with "Eat, Pray, Laugh, Love, Grow, Hope, Charity, Etc." - be it plaque, coffee mug, picture - dump, dump dump. What an idiotic fashion that was.
Brand names, unless they're on the product they are selling - eg: Starbucks on a Coffee Mug, Nike Swoosh on Nike Sneaker, Louis Vuitton Logo on Louis Vuitton Bag or wallet - it's all bound for the dump. Companies that pin their brand on promotional gear - T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, Travel Mugs, Key Chains, etc. - off to the dump with it. It would be kinder to the planet if you just burned your money.
And don't get me started on Easter, Valentines Day, Halloween & Christmas. So much rubbish manufactured for a single use only.
My rant for the day. Don't buy into this commercialism. If they can't eat/drink/consume it in the next 24 hours they don't need it. And that applies to everything. And we have to get away from gift giving because EVERYONE is getting it wrong...
Final Note - the previous rant on the resin angel child with bunny. I was having a laugh with a volunteer about it in the back when an employee came in, overheard us and told us some woman had discovered it and it moved her to tears. She loved it and bought it. And I know this to be true because I looked for it on the shelf today and it was gone.
Bloody hell. There's something for everybody, I guess.
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Unboxing, carefully wrapped kitsch. Far too carefully wrapped. Keepsakes, those vintage ceramic salt and pepper shakers made to look like pigs, pineapples, bananas, anything you can possibly imagine. Souvenirs. And - finally - a resin figurine, you know the ones, like the ceramic "Hummels" or Royal Doulton figurines, "Collectables", but done in China in a cheap poly resin, then painted and shipped overseas. Even they can't stand them.
This figurine, a child with wings petting a bunny rabbit in a flowery meadow.
WTF?!!
And I'm trying to think of "Why?" when it dawns on me that this is the perfect dollarama gift for the newly bereaved parent. "Yes, your little ... is now an Angel in Heaven ministering to the bunnies....". Like - WTF.
Anyways, the world is largely preposterous until you figure it out, then it's just...
Well, sometimes even WTF doesn't cover it.