Take out homeschool and WAHM and insert "i'm always at work and reachable there if i'm not at home" and you have me.
I love tracphone. I also have no long distance or any extra's on my home phone. So if you call and its busy - call back. I don't know how but I'm always finding awesome longdistance card deals where the minutes cost about 1/5th what my AT&T would.
...will I shop somewhere where they intentionally rip you off, the person in charge yells at their people and no one within the company wants to handle customer issues.
I need to return something to WM - its here ya go with a smile. Kmart - ha!
I need to ask someone to find something that was advertised at Target but I can't find - sure, no problem. Kmart - ha!
WM and Target I've never once been charged the wrong price. Kmart - happened 3 times in 6 trips.
WM and Target - plain speaking, non-fraud ads. Kmart - ha! Never once have I gone in for an advertised special and gotten the deal expected.
I don't have a Target nearby but stop when I'm near one. My Kmart is 2 miles from home and WM is 9. I go to WM if I can't get something at a local store.
There is a reason there is never a parking problem at Kmart - people are getting smart.
Thankfully, we live in an area where hunting and fishing is not only viable - but needed. Deer populations reach epic levels each fall in various parts of Ohio, leading to desperate calls to either cull the herds now... or watch them die in droves by starvation and illness.
Venison, goose (cooked right, its better than roast beef), wild turkeys, and fish of all stripes add a welcome boost to my family's protein intake. The cost is minimal: permits when needed, some cost to help with the processing (yes, most of us CAN get a buck from field to table... but its worth the cost of having some of the work done elsewhere) is really the biggest outlay. The guns and bows are old - but well maintained. The rods and reels? The product of either years gone by... or a way to while away an evening puttering while making the next "perfect" fly. The ammo? Most of my family's hunters will spend a lazy afternoon making bullets, arrows, and loading shells in their workrooms - not hard if you're patient. And far cheaper than buying it made.
Saves a ton, since we don't talk much on the cell phone, but I like having it just in case. I would like a camera on the cell phone, though, and am considering getting a Tracfone with a camera. The extra expenditure (about $50) would make it worth it to me, since I've missed a number of precious moments while camera-less.
In these parts, all the K-marts I've seen are in questionable parts of town (as in I wouldn't drive through there with my doors unlocked, much less get out of the car). Any shopping center where a WalMart goes in is also likely to be in a downwardly mobile neighborhood, but at least the one near us doesn't feel unsafe. I won't shop in WalMart, but I do shop at the Costco and the Target that are in the same aging shopping center.
I used to go into K-mart with a friend who liked to shop there. Never could see the appeal: Merchandise was a mess, with clothing strewn on the floor and never picked up by employees, displays unappealing and jumbled, bathrooms filthy, and employees only grudgingly polite (if that). While I often bought inexpensive clothing for the kid, knowing he would outgrow it about the time it wore out, I expect my own clothes to last at least a year and preferably much longer. For that reason I'd rather own fewer things of higher quality than lots of stuff of K-mart quality.
It's so sad American's been eating junk for too long to know what's good. I am from China, while China is even worse in many ways now, my parents' gen still remember how good things tastes when they were farmed/raised the "old ways" (organic, likely higher standard than USDA ones, since in China you don't even have anti biotic, hormones etcs, back in 60s and 70s) tasted so much better. And a recent trip to a remote mountain area with people who still farm the old way, everything from veggie to chicken to pork, they all taste better. I don't need researcher to tell me if there is a difference or which one is better, a real organic farmed product is far superior. Now the question is how good is USDA's standard?
Probably one of the cheapest is homemade hummus, which can be served with pita bread that is toasted and cut into wedges.
Just drain a can of chickpeas and put in a food processor or blender with chopped garlic, juice from 1/2 a lemon, salt & pepper, and a T of cumin. Add 1/4 cup of tahini, or, for a less expensive option, a T of toasted sesame oil. Process, adding olive oil in a stream through the top of the blender until it's of dipping consistency. Or serve it with tortilla chips.
Making your own tapenade with kalamata olives is a snap in a food processor, and so much cheaper than purchasing it. Whiz together a small jar of drained, pitted olives, a bit of anchovy paste (or, cheaper version: a tsp of fish sauce!), a clove of garlic, chopped, and again, drizzle in some olive oil. Spice it up with a dash of crushed red peppers. So yummy on homemade crostini: thinly sliced baguette toasted in the oven.
Another inexpensive spread for crostini is sundried tomatoes. Rehydrate in some boiling water for 15 minutes. Put in food processor with dried basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil as you process the mixture.
I don't know anything about any particular indoor gardening unit, so I can't help specifically.
The main thing the garden needs, though, is sunlight. If you've got south-facing windows that get good sunlight for many hours a day, you can probably have a successful indoor garden without even needing a special device--just a set of shelves to hold some boxes of dirt would do the trick.
If your windows don't get good sun, then you'd need to go with grow-lights of some sort. I doubt if that would ever pay for itself. The big win of a garden is that it turns free energy into food.
I've got a love-hate relationship with Kmart as well. Right now the closest Walmarts are 20-30 minute drives, so I am usually faced with a choice between Kmart and Target. Parking makes a difference to me, too, in that at the closest Target, parking is always a zoo (it'd be ok if you *could* park in outer mongolia, but there's simply not enough parking, period!) while the Kmart always has ample parking.
Kmart usually beats Target on price, so it surprises me when people say their prices are higher (maybe that means they are higher than Walmart?). But the stores can be such a mess. (Of course, the closest Target to me is also always a mess, as are both the Walmarts within a reasonable distance!) Target always looks more up-to-date, but I sometimes feel with their clothing lines that they get *too* much into following the latest fashion trends, and if you don't happen to like the "hip" style that year, it's hard to find anything you like.
Those are some good books you mentioned. I've got How to Survive without a Salary right here next to me, and referred to it a time or two while writing the recent series. Ragnar's Guide to the Underground Economy is a book that I've previously reviewed here on Wise Bread:
Great series Philip. The hunter-gatherers of the past were able to get everything they needed for food, water, clothes and shelter from their natural surroundings. Last spring we went morel mushroom hunting and fished all spring and summer. On our way fishing we would pass and eat off of wild mulberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc. We have a garden every year and freeze and can the excess. I would hunt if I had to. I would encourage your readers to research homesteading. A few other books I like that are more specific to your topic are Making a Living Without a Job by Barbara J. Winter, How to Survive Without a Salary by Charles Long and Ragnar's Guide to the Underground Economy by Ragnar Benson. Thanks again for a well thought out series.
I really, really love game meat. My best friend hunts (I believe that between hunting lease costs, licensing, ammo, processing, etc., it's not really worth it from a financial standpoint) and he generally donates meat to my freezer. It's lovely.
There are some instances, though, where I think it's financially more viable. Small game hunting and people who live in rural areas are probably more effective than the rest of us who live in urban areas which aren't viable for hunting. Also, some farms and orchards do not charge a hunting lease because the animals that get on the farm eat the produce being sold.
I know just outside Houston there's a farm which allows free hunting of the wild pigs. As far as I am aware, they charge only a minimal fee for deer hunting too. I'm sure there are places like this all over the country.
On the freecycle mention, yes it is intended to go both ways. If you join with the mindset of "gimmie free stuff" many people will go out of their way to ignore your posts. Freecycle works best if you look at it as a way to simplify and clean out your house while maybe getting some things you need in return.
We routinely put toys and clothes our kids outgrow on Freecycle. We gave away probably 50 working computer monitors, some printers, fax machines and at least 20 working PCs. We had piles of this stuff we had gotten from companies we worked with so it had little value to us personally. For those trying to find a computer it was a big boon more than I realized. I had someone give us enough marble tile to do our bathroom. They said they gave it to us specifically because we had given them a computer when they were really in a pinch financially and needed the computer for school. I hadn't even remembered it until they mentioned it. The tile was not going to work for the remodel they were doing. The person that gave us our waterbed was looking for a PC for their kids the next summer. So we dug one out of the garage and reloaded the operating system and gave it to them.
Freecycle is a great thing as long as you look at it as a big picture reuse concept and not a charity.
I served a not for profit organization that serviced the deaf and hard of hearing for 5 years. now I have picked up appointment with the federal government. Presently I have kids that are in school. what I presently make will not be enough to take care of the kids left alone pay my student loan. what options are out there for loan forgiveness for me?
At the moment, when only the occasional oddball tries to gather food from the wild, it's actually not too hard to find stuff. My wife gathered mullberries this year. In years past we've gathered wild grapes and wild strawberries. None of these were important sources of sustenance; we just gathered them because we could.
Where gathering can make a difference is for people who are hungry but not starving. Especially if you have a diet that's lacking in variety or nutrition, the addition of even a small amount of gathered food can make a real difference.
When it would fail is if the economy got so much worse that large numbers of people were all trying to gather food from the countryside. The population density if just too high anywhere around a city. In ordinary hard times, though, there's a lot of food growing wild, free for the taking for people willing to go to the effort to learn about it, and then go to the effort actually to gather some. (Surprisingly few people are. Even surprisingly few hungry people are.)
I think it's a rather simplistic view to say that you can supplement your diet from the countryside.
It's the 21C. There is not the same access to wild fruits, etc. Plus we have the problem of contamination from pesticides and various other things including traffic.
Also what do you do in the winter when there is very little about?
Regarding clothes. I doubt whether anyone really desperately needs to replace their clothes. Clothes last for years.
Children of course outgrow theirs but adults they could get by.
Thanks Steve for the tips. I have been used to creating spreadsheets for myself (only) that after making ones for Wise Bread readers, I kept seeing ways to make them more user-friendly.
Lucille, I feel the same way as you do. I wish they could get everything right (consistently good products and service, maybe better in-store visuals) or more things right because the company has some redeeming qualities. Controlling retail execution at the store level is tricky but sometimes it seems like they aren't even trying.
Also, just to clarify about the socks -- (there may be more than one type of Joe Boxer socks), I have been getting the athletic socks for my sons.
So I am one of 50 customers that gets a free 5 ream case of paper every month. When I go in last week to get my December paper I'm told that it isn't just one 5 ream case but two that are free....???? Okay, why argue so I walk out with 2 free 5 ream cases.
Am I the only person who has a love hate sort of relationship with Kmart and wishes they would kind of clean up their act and meet their actual potential as a retailer?
Sears owns them and seems to be like a boat anchor dragging them down. They were supposedly going to revamp all the stores and update the product offerings to be competitive with Target and Walmart. They put in new signage on our big Kmart in town and bought new black shopping carts, otherwise it was still run down with the same fixtures and flooring from the early 70's. Then they tore it down a year later.
If Kmart actually really updated some of their stores and started offering Kenmore, Craftsman and Lands End in some way at Kmart stores I think I would actually shop there quite often.
If the big three were not OPEC controlled, and if Exxon et. al., were not OPEC controlled, if the boards of these and other "American" companies were free to do so without offending major shareholders like the Saudis . . . America could produce and use fast light Euro-style diesels instead of gas engines. Euro-diesels are up to 40% more efficient than gas engines and DO NOT require additives or cracking to burn fuel, two major areas of savings for American customers and a FORTY PERCENT REDUCTION in fuel costs across the board. Modern well tuned diesels with scrubbers do not stink and are safer and longer lasting than gasoline engines - a fact! Instead, we stick our heads up our nether-parts and pray for an "Obama Miracle" a miracle where we don't have to change, and everything will be alright! It Ain't gonna happen that way America! The humongous social and economical paradigm shifts driven by the (GRD) great republican depression are just starting to be felt by the unemployed or otherwise disenfranchised in America! Before the GRD is done with us, even the "American Dream" will have undergone changes we can't even imagine now! All of this is in the face of China's unending, self-regenerating, 55 cent and hour, 14 hour a day, 7 day a week army of female workers, trained already by GM to build Buick Lesabre's and ready to fill the docks at Shanghai with Eco-Box cars to be sold on the American market for $6000.00 a copy at a Walmart near you! UPS'es effort is applauded, but too little, too late, to say the least!
I like that you specified that some free things are free only in rich countries.
I just heard on NPR about poor trash pickers in India and the Philippines, who pick through mountains of trash for recyclables. Sometimes, people die when the trash collapses onto them. It made me feel sad and angry.
@Liz
I've given away a lot of stuff through our local freecycle and craigslist.
People have asked for computers on my freecycle, and, because I had gotten some from the trash and fixed them up, I've given away computers. I've also asked for computers for people who needed them, and found more than I can use. So I think it's OK to ask for computers.
I've also given away a broken car online, though I forget how. I was happy to have it taken away.
Other things given away or sold at a very low price: broken camper, motorcycles, old scrap metal, lumber, broken appliances, power reel mower. Stuff we inherited.
I was happy to have it hauled away for free, or purchased for a few dollars. (I charged for it because people who want freebies are often flakes who don't show up. Charging $5 or $10 weeds out the flakes.)
Take out homeschool and WAHM and insert "i'm always at work and reachable there if i'm not at home" and you have me.
I love tracphone. I also have no long distance or any extra's on my home phone. So if you call and its busy - call back. I don't know how but I'm always finding awesome longdistance card deals where the minutes cost about 1/5th what my AT&T would.
...will I shop somewhere where they intentionally rip you off, the person in charge yells at their people and no one within the company wants to handle customer issues.
I need to return something to WM - its here ya go with a smile. Kmart - ha!
I need to ask someone to find something that was advertised at Target but I can't find - sure, no problem. Kmart - ha!
WM and Target I've never once been charged the wrong price. Kmart - happened 3 times in 6 trips.
WM and Target - plain speaking, non-fraud ads. Kmart - ha! Never once have I gone in for an advertised special and gotten the deal expected.
I don't have a Target nearby but stop when I'm near one. My Kmart is 2 miles from home and WM is 9. I go to WM if I can't get something at a local store.
There is a reason there is never a parking problem at Kmart - people are getting smart.
Thankfully, we live in an area where hunting and fishing is not only viable - but needed. Deer populations reach epic levels each fall in various parts of Ohio, leading to desperate calls to either cull the herds now... or watch them die in droves by starvation and illness.
Venison, goose (cooked right, its better than roast beef), wild turkeys, and fish of all stripes add a welcome boost to my family's protein intake. The cost is minimal: permits when needed, some cost to help with the processing (yes, most of us CAN get a buck from field to table... but its worth the cost of having some of the work done elsewhere) is really the biggest outlay. The guns and bows are old - but well maintained. The rods and reels? The product of either years gone by... or a way to while away an evening puttering while making the next "perfect" fly. The ammo? Most of my family's hunters will spend a lazy afternoon making bullets, arrows, and loading shells in their workrooms - not hard if you're patient. And far cheaper than buying it made.
Saves a ton, since we don't talk much on the cell phone, but I like having it just in case. I would like a camera on the cell phone, though, and am considering getting a Tracfone with a camera. The extra expenditure (about $50) would make it worth it to me, since I've missed a number of precious moments while camera-less.
In these parts, all the K-marts I've seen are in questionable parts of town (as in I wouldn't drive through there with my doors unlocked, much less get out of the car). Any shopping center where a WalMart goes in is also likely to be in a downwardly mobile neighborhood, but at least the one near us doesn't feel unsafe. I won't shop in WalMart, but I do shop at the Costco and the Target that are in the same aging shopping center.
I used to go into K-mart with a friend who liked to shop there. Never could see the appeal: Merchandise was a mess, with clothing strewn on the floor and never picked up by employees, displays unappealing and jumbled, bathrooms filthy, and employees only grudgingly polite (if that). While I often bought inexpensive clothing for the kid, knowing he would outgrow it about the time it wore out, I expect my own clothes to last at least a year and preferably much longer. For that reason I'd rather own fewer things of higher quality than lots of stuff of K-mart quality.
It's so sad American's been eating junk for too long to know what's good. I am from China, while China is even worse in many ways now, my parents' gen still remember how good things tastes when they were farmed/raised the "old ways" (organic, likely higher standard than USDA ones, since in China you don't even have anti biotic, hormones etcs, back in 60s and 70s) tasted so much better. And a recent trip to a remote mountain area with people who still farm the old way, everything from veggie to chicken to pork, they all taste better. I don't need researcher to tell me if there is a difference or which one is better, a real organic farmed product is far superior. Now the question is how good is USDA's standard?
The link doesn't work, but I found a working sign up banner at www.mysurvey123.com
The cellphone companies must hate WiseBread people!
Probably one of the cheapest is homemade hummus, which can be served with pita bread that is toasted and cut into wedges.
Just drain a can of chickpeas and put in a food processor or blender with chopped garlic, juice from 1/2 a lemon, salt & pepper, and a T of cumin. Add 1/4 cup of tahini, or, for a less expensive option, a T of toasted sesame oil. Process, adding olive oil in a stream through the top of the blender until it's of dipping consistency. Or serve it with tortilla chips.
Making your own tapenade with kalamata olives is a snap in a food processor, and so much cheaper than purchasing it. Whiz together a small jar of drained, pitted olives, a bit of anchovy paste (or, cheaper version: a tsp of fish sauce!), a clove of garlic, chopped, and again, drizzle in some olive oil. Spice it up with a dash of crushed red peppers. So yummy on homemade crostini: thinly sliced baguette toasted in the oven.
Another inexpensive spread for crostini is sundried tomatoes. Rehydrate in some boiling water for 15 minutes. Put in food processor with dried basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil as you process the mixture.
These spreads make great hostess gifts, too.
I don't know anything about any particular indoor gardening unit, so I can't help specifically.
The main thing the garden needs, though, is sunlight. If you've got south-facing windows that get good sunlight for many hours a day, you can probably have a successful indoor garden without even needing a special device--just a set of shelves to hold some boxes of dirt would do the trick.
If your windows don't get good sun, then you'd need to go with grow-lights of some sort. I doubt if that would ever pay for itself. The big win of a garden is that it turns free energy into food.
I've got a love-hate relationship with Kmart as well. Right now the closest Walmarts are 20-30 minute drives, so I am usually faced with a choice between Kmart and Target. Parking makes a difference to me, too, in that at the closest Target, parking is always a zoo (it'd be ok if you *could* park in outer mongolia, but there's simply not enough parking, period!) while the Kmart always has ample parking.
Kmart usually beats Target on price, so it surprises me when people say their prices are higher (maybe that means they are higher than Walmart?). But the stores can be such a mess. (Of course, the closest Target to me is also always a mess, as are both the Walmarts within a reasonable distance!) Target always looks more up-to-date, but I sometimes feel with their clothing lines that they get *too* much into following the latest fashion trends, and if you don't happen to like the "hip" style that year, it's hard to find anything you like.
This gardening talk reminds me -
Are indoor-gardening devices (e.g. AeroGarden) cost-effective?
They are moderately pricey (~$150), plus there are operating costs (electricity plus supplies/seeds/seed pods/nutrients).
So, would one of these things pay for itself in a year?
Those are some good books you mentioned. I've got How to Survive without a Salary right here next to me, and referred to it a time or two while writing the recent series. Ragnar's Guide to the Underground Economy is a book that I've previously reviewed here on Wise Bread:
http://www.wisebread.com/book-review-ragnars-guide-to-the-underground-ec...
I haven't seen the Barbara Winter book, though. I'll have to track down a copy. (I always enjoy a good book on the topic of getting by without a job.)
Great series Philip. The hunter-gatherers of the past were able to get everything they needed for food, water, clothes and shelter from their natural surroundings. Last spring we went morel mushroom hunting and fished all spring and summer. On our way fishing we would pass and eat off of wild mulberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc. We have a garden every year and freeze and can the excess. I would hunt if I had to. I would encourage your readers to research homesteading. A few other books I like that are more specific to your topic are Making a Living Without a Job by Barbara J. Winter, How to Survive Without a Salary by Charles Long and Ragnar's Guide to the Underground Economy by Ragnar Benson. Thanks again for a well thought out series.
I really, really love game meat. My best friend hunts (I believe that between hunting lease costs, licensing, ammo, processing, etc., it's not really worth it from a financial standpoint) and he generally donates meat to my freezer. It's lovely.
There are some instances, though, where I think it's financially more viable. Small game hunting and people who live in rural areas are probably more effective than the rest of us who live in urban areas which aren't viable for hunting. Also, some farms and orchards do not charge a hunting lease because the animals that get on the farm eat the produce being sold.
I know just outside Houston there's a farm which allows free hunting of the wild pigs. As far as I am aware, they charge only a minimal fee for deer hunting too. I'm sure there are places like this all over the country.
On the freecycle mention, yes it is intended to go both ways. If you join with the mindset of "gimmie free stuff" many people will go out of their way to ignore your posts. Freecycle works best if you look at it as a way to simplify and clean out your house while maybe getting some things you need in return.
We routinely put toys and clothes our kids outgrow on Freecycle. We gave away probably 50 working computer monitors, some printers, fax machines and at least 20 working PCs. We had piles of this stuff we had gotten from companies we worked with so it had little value to us personally. For those trying to find a computer it was a big boon more than I realized. I had someone give us enough marble tile to do our bathroom. They said they gave it to us specifically because we had given them a computer when they were really in a pinch financially and needed the computer for school. I hadn't even remembered it until they mentioned it. The tile was not going to work for the remodel they were doing. The person that gave us our waterbed was looking for a PC for their kids the next summer. So we dug one out of the garage and reloaded the operating system and gave it to them.
Freecycle is a great thing as long as you look at it as a big picture reuse concept and not a charity.
I served a not for profit organization that serviced the deaf and hard of hearing for 5 years. now I have picked up appointment with the federal government. Presently I have kids that are in school. what I presently make will not be enough to take care of the kids left alone pay my student loan. what options are out there for loan forgiveness for me?
At the moment, when only the occasional oddball tries to gather food from the wild, it's actually not too hard to find stuff. My wife gathered mullberries this year. In years past we've gathered wild grapes and wild strawberries. None of these were important sources of sustenance; we just gathered them because we could.
Where gathering can make a difference is for people who are hungry but not starving. Especially if you have a diet that's lacking in variety or nutrition, the addition of even a small amount of gathered food can make a real difference.
When it would fail is if the economy got so much worse that large numbers of people were all trying to gather food from the countryside. The population density if just too high anywhere around a city. In ordinary hard times, though, there's a lot of food growing wild, free for the taking for people willing to go to the effort to learn about it, and then go to the effort actually to gather some. (Surprisingly few people are. Even surprisingly few hungry people are.)
I think it's a rather simplistic view to say that you can supplement your diet from the countryside.
It's the 21C. There is not the same access to wild fruits, etc. Plus we have the problem of contamination from pesticides and various other things including traffic.
Also what do you do in the winter when there is very little about?
Regarding clothes. I doubt whether anyone really desperately needs to replace their clothes. Clothes last for years.
Children of course outgrow theirs but adults they could get by.
Thanks Steve for the tips. I have been used to creating spreadsheets for myself (only) that after making ones for Wise Bread readers, I kept seeing ways to make them more user-friendly.
Lucille, I feel the same way as you do. I wish they could get everything right (consistently good products and service, maybe better in-store visuals) or more things right because the company has some redeeming qualities. Controlling retail execution at the store level is tricky but sometimes it seems like they aren't even trying.
Also, just to clarify about the socks -- (there may be more than one type of Joe Boxer socks), I have been getting the athletic socks for my sons.
So I am one of 50 customers that gets a free 5 ream case of paper every month. When I go in last week to get my December paper I'm told that it isn't just one 5 ream case but two that are free....???? Okay, why argue so I walk out with 2 free 5 ream cases.
Am I the only person who has a love hate sort of relationship with Kmart and wishes they would kind of clean up their act and meet their actual potential as a retailer?
Sears owns them and seems to be like a boat anchor dragging them down. They were supposedly going to revamp all the stores and update the product offerings to be competitive with Target and Walmart. They put in new signage on our big Kmart in town and bought new black shopping carts, otherwise it was still run down with the same fixtures and flooring from the early 70's. Then they tore it down a year later.
If Kmart actually really updated some of their stores and started offering Kenmore, Craftsman and Lands End in some way at Kmart stores I think I would actually shop there quite often.
If the big three were not OPEC controlled, and if Exxon et. al., were not OPEC controlled, if the boards of these and other "American" companies were free to do so without offending major shareholders like the Saudis . . . America could produce and use fast light Euro-style diesels instead of gas engines. Euro-diesels are up to 40% more efficient than gas engines and DO NOT require additives or cracking to burn fuel, two major areas of savings for American customers and a FORTY PERCENT REDUCTION in fuel costs across the board. Modern well tuned diesels with scrubbers do not stink and are safer and longer lasting than gasoline engines - a fact! Instead, we stick our heads up our nether-parts and pray for an "Obama Miracle" a miracle where we don't have to change, and everything will be alright! It Ain't gonna happen that way America! The humongous social and economical paradigm shifts driven by the (GRD) great republican depression are just starting to be felt by the unemployed or otherwise disenfranchised in America! Before the GRD is done with us, even the "American Dream" will have undergone changes we can't even imagine now! All of this is in the face of China's unending, self-regenerating, 55 cent and hour, 14 hour a day, 7 day a week army of female workers, trained already by GM to build Buick Lesabre's and ready to fill the docks at Shanghai with Eco-Box cars to be sold on the American market for $6000.00 a copy at a Walmart near you! UPS'es effort is applauded, but too little, too late, to say the least!
I like that you specified that some free things are free only in rich countries.
I just heard on NPR about poor trash pickers in India and the Philippines, who pick through mountains of trash for recyclables. Sometimes, people die when the trash collapses onto them. It made me feel sad and angry.
@Liz
I've given away a lot of stuff through our local freecycle and craigslist.
People have asked for computers on my freecycle, and, because I had gotten some from the trash and fixed them up, I've given away computers. I've also asked for computers for people who needed them, and found more than I can use. So I think it's OK to ask for computers.
I've also given away a broken car online, though I forget how. I was happy to have it taken away.
Other things given away or sold at a very low price: broken camper, motorcycles, old scrap metal, lumber, broken appliances, power reel mower. Stuff we inherited.
I was happy to have it hauled away for free, or purchased for a few dollars. (I charged for it because people who want freebies are often flakes who don't show up. Charging $5 or $10 weeds out the flakes.)