Tuesday, May 8, 2007

One person's trash, is another person's treasure...

I was late for work by 10 minutes this morning, but it was 10 minutes well spent, I assure you.

There is a crazy phenomena out here in Toronto that I absolutely love - at any given time, on any given street - there are treasures to be found for FREE! Unlike Winnipeg (where I moved from and where people will try to squeeze a dime from you, however they can!), people will place well-loved items at the end of their driveway or in front of their homes, begging to be taken away. It's fantastic! AND... might I add, these items are often one-of-a-kind treasures. Often times, they are barely used items or items that have been taken such immaculate care of. So far, we've come away with the following:

- two bedside tables (one, a retro-sixties style dark wood stand with black metal base; the other, a traditional-style, cherry wood two drawer stand with gold accents from the Bombay Company)
- a small vintage sewing cabinet with two drawers (the little one uses this for various craft supplies)
- a vintage five-drawer dresser with brand new pewter, whimsical handles
- an unfinished wooden, craft table with a shelf underneath
- an oversized reproduction of a Toronto Art Exhibition poster done by a fabulous artist
- our first couch (a tanned, plush little number)
- a white bookcase (which happens to fit perfectly behind our bathroom door and now houses towels and miscellaneous supplies)

[...not to mention the many, many items ranging from vintage music papers to a robin-egg blue little shelf of boxes to books and good ole records!]

And today - a beautiful white desk with large round handles!

For those that have not been initiated to such a phenomena or those who hate the idea of using items that belonged to people they don't know, it's something that a recovering germaphobe, such as myself, has grown to love! My partner, who is the complete opposite of a packrat and who likes to refer to the phenomena as "free poison", has gotten into it, as well (somewhat). And, of course, the little person loves it just as much as I do! We will often troll Kensington Market in search of vintage stores or seek junk shops and antique fairs in Kingston, so you can just imagine what a delight this phenomena is for her! At the same time, it also gives me the opportunity to show our little person the value of well-loved goods and that shiny, brand-new items are not necessarily, the most valuable. Above all, it is time well-spent - turning a simple walk into a sudden scavenger hunt as we search for treasures and later, recall the silly stories that often accompany each item...

"Remember the time we wheeled the dresser three blocks?" or "...that time we teetered the couch on the wagon down the street?". One of my favorite memories was the time we were given a tour by one of the guys moving out of this huge house. He took us through the entire place, showing us what was up for grabs and then, telling us a bit about each person that was moving out. It sounds strange and perhaps, even unsafe, but think of it as sharing (yes, with strangers, no less but still sharing). And, of course, the key is safety but this particular situation was quite unique... Normally, the items will sit by themselves, free agents, if you will.

Next time you have an item that you no longer need, why not place it at the end of your drive? Think of all the pleasure someone could derive from this very simple act of kindness.

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