Green Matters™
by Crissy Trask
Welcome to my blog where I share almost anything I think will help make greener living undeniable and simple. News, tips, insight and resources served up weekly. I also share my perspectives on others' perspectives and actions. Agree or disagree, I hope you will find them thought-provoking and a starting point for conversation.
Previous Post...Next Post...Information on Reprints...2010 Blog
MARCH 21, 2009 Better Yard Sales
Spring is here and improving weather means it won't be long before homeowners and renters start carting their unwanted stuff outside and putting a for sale sign on it. Yard sale signs have already started popping up at intersections in warmer parts of the country and for yard sale enthusiasts, the temptation to just take a peak is usually too strong to resist a five block trip out of their way!
But how many times have we been disappointed by a yard sale? Yard sales are either hit or miss, and mostly miss unfortunately. Don't people understand no one wants their old cassette tapes, much less the boom box that used to play them. Like it or not, lots of things have an "expiration" date, and while I applaud people who extend the useful life of things and keep them in circulation for as long as possible, yard sales shouldn't be used to try and sucker someone out of a quarter so we don't have to take responsibility for the proper disposal or recycling of some antiquated thing that's been gathering dust in our attic.
With all the other places to find second-hand goods these days (e.g. Craigslist, eBay, consignment stores, estate sales) yard salers have to work extra hard to get me to stop. A big sign doesn't do it, nor does tricky "merchandising" (e.g. spreading things out to make it look like they have more stuff than they do). I generally only stop for a multiple-households sale. More stuff just increases the chance of making a score, so I really appreciate it when an entire neighborhood has the good sense to coordinate and hold their yards sales on the same day. And this is my advice to anyone thinking about holding a yard sale this summer: buddy up with neighbors and make it worth people's time to stop and look. And please don't put out your old college yearbooks, inkless pens and lidless tupperware!
2009 BLOG INDEX
Posts by Topic
Air Quality
6/8/09, Leaf Blowers:
An Environmental Nightmare
Cleaning
4/14/09, Don’t
Be So Quick to Blame the Low-Phosphate Detergent
Energy
7/6/09, It’s Summer
Time and the Livin’ is ‘Green’!
4/7/09, Window Films Can Lower Your
Cooling Bills and Your Tax Liability
3/14/09, Bundle Your
Gadgets
Food
10/27/09, Super
Freakonomics Authors Come Down Hard on Local Food
10/22/09, Hey Foodies, What
Are You Feeding Your Pets?
Green Terms
5/26/09, A Closer Look
at the Definition of “Recycled” and Some Other “Re”
Words
Plastic, and other Trash
7/13/09, Will a
Ban on Bottled Water Lad to Bad Beverage Choices?
4/22/09, Bottled Water
Gets Reinvented
3/2/09, Inefficient Packaging
Awards (No. 1)
Perspectives
9/14/09, Gullibility
is Derailing Progress
8/24/09, Check
Your Lifestyle Before Bragging About Recycling
8/19/09, Simple
Solutions Won’t Work Alone: Comprehensive is the True Agent
of Change
2/22/09, The Unhappiest Generation
2/12/09, Inauguration
Attendees Fail to Demonstrate Change
Reduce
8/5/09, Direct
Mail Marketers Want to Force Junk Mail on Us
3/21/09, Better
Yard Sales
1/25/09, Wasting Trees:
Why I Hate Junk Mail
Reuse
10/14/09, Wrapping
with Your Butcher
5/7/09, Craigslist
Buyers are A Flakey Bunch on the Whole
Recycling
6/22/09, Not
Separating Your Recyclables from Your Trash Can Hurt
3/4/09, Recycle Your
Water Filters
Transportation
6/15/09, Avoid
Hot Car Syndrome to Reduce Emissions…and Discomfort
Water
3/27/09,
Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a
Drop…
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