OK, so, this week I've been trying to get rid of stuff responsibly. Stuff that the donation shop won't take. And it's turned into such a pain in the ass!
Exhibit A: A sword that we have hanging on our wall. We don't feel comfortable putting it in the trash as, while it's decorative and not that sharp, it could definitely be used as a weapon and we're in a high-crime neighborhood with folks regularly going through our trash. I posted this in a few nerdy/geeky Facebook groups I'm in. Got a response Friday night. He said he can come pick it up any time this weekend. I said, great! Sunday's better for me. What time works? Complete radio silence ever since.
Exhibit B: A big stash of jewelry gift boxes (like, the kind that a store puts your jewelry in, when you buy it; small shiny cardboard boxes with a cottony liner). I posted these on a couple of crafters' forums that I'm on, offering them for free pickup, or just the cost of shipping if mailed. Got a taker right away. We set up a time when she could pick them up. She didn't show and stopped answering messages. OK then, back on offer. Got another taker. She balked at the shipping cost ($10). I offered to send her fewer boxes to get the shipping cost down. She agreed, we agreed on a price, I packed them up.... now radio silence and no payment. I'm not paying to give stuff away! I guess I'll bug her one more time and then put them in the recycling. It's too bad because many jewelry artists use these and they're in good shape.
Exhibit C: A stack of fan magazines for a musical artist. I did successfully get rid of these; they are on their way to the recipient. I offered them for the cost of shipping, which she paid. However, didn't realize I didn't have anything to mail them in; had to buy a padded mailer. It was only $2 but still, grrrr. (She wanted media mail rate so I couldn't use the free priority packing materials. Understandable as this was several pounds of printed material.)
Exhibit D: Some posters we don't want any more. I posted these to Facebook, just to my friends. I have someone interested. Of course it's my friend who lives in Sweden. Who says she'll pay for shipping.... but I don't own any poster tubes so I'll have to go get one and then figure the shipping. Which I'm certain will be more than she wants to spend.
I am starting to feel like this is turning into a ton of work and time spent, and it's not making the pile of crap get any smaller. These are just the most recent examples and I'm getting really tired of chasing down the people who say they want my stuff but then don't follow up. I am starting to feel like I should just be pitching or recycling this stuff - but, there's been so much publicity lately about how most recycling in our city actually ends up in the landfill. And I have so many zero-waste friends who get on me for discarding ANYTHING that's useful. (of course, they don't offer to take this stuff either.) So I end up feeling guilty about tossing it.
Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get rid of the sword? I've tried my friends, nerdy groups, SCA groups, bellydance groups. Really not comfortable putting it in the trash, though I guess I could wrap it up in a ton of garbage bags to disguise it? Maybe add some used kitty litter or otherwise stinky garbage so no one's tempted to dig through it?