Curbside Cleanup
As I was traveling to the office this morning, I noticed a lot of items piled in front of many homes throughout the city of Madera. This is because the City of Madera annually schedules something called Curbside Cleanup, in which people can get rid of items they no longer need or want — items that the owners consider “junk” or “trash.” Instead of taking items to the landfill, a truck from Mid Valley Disposal will come around to collect the “trash” from the front of your house. The City of Madera sends the schedules in the water bills, to homeowners and renters, showing a map and the range of dates when the truck will be in your neighborhood.
It occurred to me that I could furnish a whole house with the various items I saw on the streets today. I saw lots of mattresses, a few couches, chairs of all kinds, tables, a really nice antique chest of drawers, a desk, fabric, pillows, washing machines, refrigerators, stoves, patio furniture, yard tools, a recliner, barbecues, clocks, fans, heaters, calculators, lamps, toys, stuffed animals, and probably lots of other things. There were some items I believe I wouldn’t mind having for myself. In fact, I could have sworn I recognized some of the items. They may have been in my house or the home of someone I know.
My husband and I haven’t put any items at our curb yet, but we have done that in the past. It’s good for us and for the city if we put our items out fairly early. The City of Madera won’t allow you to dispose too early, but if you do get it out as early as allowed, there is usually nothing left of the pile by the time the City comes around.
I remember a few years ago, my neighbor’s husband passed away, and she decided to move to Fresno. Her four adult children came over to “help” their mom get rid of stuff. It was almost time for the Curbside Cleanup, and they made huge piles of discarded items in front of her house. She had some pretty good stuff, and a few of her items got re-homed into my house. Of course, she was happy that I wanted them, and she herself offered them to me. I had to act quickly, though, because by evening the piles were gone.
Scavenging is quite fun, but it is a bit scary having strangers coming around the neighborhoods and picking through belongings. Although the owner may have thrown it away, it still belongs to the resident until The City picks it up. We want to keep our neighborhoods safe.
To have so many useable discards on the street for Curbside Cleanup indicates to me that perhaps we are more prosperous than we will admit. If we can discard items that someone else can use, why not go ahead and give them to someone? I know I have a lot of items in my house that I do not use. Why do I keep them? To give them to someone else, of course!
Have a great weekend!
— My love to all,
Nancy
• • •
“Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own!”
— 1 Samuel 25:6
