I saw on article today on how to dump dud holiday gifts. It didn’t really share any new information: swap, sell or donate/deduct it. One thing that the more mainstream media outlets avoid or discredit is freeganism. I am not a full-blooded freegan but I have taken my share of free things (often new and unused free things) from the area near the dumpsters in my building. I have other friends who live in condo buildings who do the same thing.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Christmas is over but I am already thinking of finding a way to capitalize on all of those free offers for sample items like sachets of coffee (oftentimes good for one pot of coffee) or trial size body washes etc., for stocking stuffers for Christmas this year.

The reason I mention this is that I have found and even been the recipient of free things or things that were passed on by other people. The people I know are really open about regifting and so we pass things on to a better home quite liberally. Honesty is not always the best policy when you receive a gift that you don’t know what you will use it for.

I already know that I can send in several proofs of purchase and receive either mugs or T-shirts free. I don’t even have to pay for shipping.

Part of the problem is that if people publicized freeganism, then more people might find some aspects of the lifestyle appealing or at least rethink our consumerist culture. Dumpster diving for food does not appeal to me. Though buying “overstock food” or purchasing reduced food on the day of the sell by date can get you some goodies on the cheap.

One aspect of our consumerist society which makes frugality appealing to me is to buy quality. There are many new items that are not reparable or it costs less to repair something than it does to buy a newer one. I understand that and have had that happen to me. My first dvd player stopped after about 5 years of ownership and use. To buy a new one I paid less than half the price. To have a repair tech even look at it, not necessarily fix it would have cost about $50. If possible, buy something that can be fixed. How do you know if something can or cannot be fixed? You can’t always tell. Of course there are lemons but if you buy something with the intent of keeping it until it dies, not until you get tired of it, then that will make an impact on the world that we live in.

Read this article from GroovyGreen which delves into the freegan lifestyle. After reading this you may want to adopt some new habits and rethink what you buy and what you dispose of.