Do You Give Stuff Away?

[JanH]

I am a firm believer that generosity returns back to you. I give away, not expecting anything in return. (not patting myself on the back, but an outlook I am trying to cultivate.) But then good things come back to me in other forms. I, too, am decluttering and I think that giving stuff away has helped me "find" so much I didn't realize I still had. That in itself, is frugal, cos you don't buy them again!

[BCHGRL]

Yes, I offer it to family first. If family doesn't want it either goes to goodwill, consignment, or yard sale.

Many of the things in my mom's closet were once in mine. Sometimes she take something and will not tell until she gets back to her house. It is cute, not stealing, because she always takes things that I would never know are missing if she didn't tell me. If I don't use something, she considers it is fair game.

[lrjohnson]

Originally Posted by JanH

I am a firm believer that generosity returns back to you.

I absolutely agree. I bring things to work all the time to "give away", from extra wooden spoons to magazines to jewelry I don't want. And, often I get hand me downs from folks thye same way. There's no tally or scorecard or hidden intent, we are all just happy that for all the items, there is a satisfied owner!

[kealina]

yep... first i check with family and good friends, then i try to sell it. if neither works, then i find somebody to give it to... i think it's not too bad frugal-wise either... i love getting stuff passed on to me and passing stuff on to others...

[shelbylovesmelby]

I was going to do a rummage this past spring, but then dh was like.... lets do it in summer then he said fall would be ok. So I'm sitting on all this stuff I'd like to make a few pennies on rather than donate to goodwill (yes I know about freecycle but I don't like the idea of strangers comming to my home or taking things they shouldn't -- there's been a few issues in our area w/ that). But I'm pretty po'd right now & I need to get the basment cleaned out & i'm tired of looking @ the stuff. So if I mention it to dh I bet he'll say........ "what about the rummage you wanted to do" & I'll say it was only something I wanted to do & because you don't want to do it, it's not going to happen & I can't do the rummage & watch two toddlers on my own @ the same pete pick'n time.

(sorry bout the rant)

Originally Posted by syracusa

I read somewhere on this forum about someone who was taking some extra toilet paper with her from public bathrooms so she/he (?) could use it at home and thus buy less TP. Another poster responded "you're kidding, right?" And said person said no.

I used to do the same thing ... well not from restaurants, but from campus bathrooms because we were running out at home and I had no money to buy anything for a week, but then I felt bad and though, what if someone needs to go and there's no more tp left in there because of me, so I never did it again and never will if I can help it.

[vishenda]

Every valentine season, the whole morning of Feb 14, my friends and I have this "hearts for the children" day where we would go to the streetchildren's area and play with them, give them stuffs and things that they can use and wear (our belongings). We give them things that are of more value than money. This is our way of giving stuff.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Could there really be a person who _never_ gives anything away? That would seem like some sort of mental illness to me.