A well deserved break

These bags were on the curb by a charity-run thrift store on St Hubert.

Inside one of the bags were a bunch of clothes, many of which looked perfectly fine, unused even. It’s a shame to see these good clothes being thrown out, especially considering they were probably made by wage-slaves in Asia.

It’s easy to blame the charity but in all likelihood they are overstocked with clothes and just don’t know what to do with them.

Chances are that these clothes were gifts that someone didn’t really appreciate. Everyone has a “look” and it’s hard for someone else to predict what someone might want to wear (or what size they are, for that matter).

I think we’d consume (and waste) a lot less if when giving gifts we admitted to ourselves that we have no idea whether or not someone will like what we give them. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but I think for clothing it’s often best to give a gift certificate, or at least offer the receipt so that the item can be returned or exchanged if the gift giver guesses wrong.

Anyways, just a thought on how we the consumer can help offset this surplus of clothing! If we buy less maybe we can give those workers in Bangladesh a 15 minute break or something.

Yesterday was another dry day in what’s surprisingly been a dry week. I believe it’s probably just a small sample size variation and that I’ll find a tonne of good trash next week. Regardless, I need to start making some finds if I’m going to make sustenance wages again this month and not fall too close to dead-brokedness. I still have to have a yard sale as I have a bunch of random stuff that I can sell which should make me a decent chunk of cash. It’s just a pain in the ass because I don’t really have a front stoop to easily set up on and I have to carry all my stuff around 100 metres to get to a nice spot.

Regardless, I came across this wooden box in the alley next to Brebeuf. It was next to some garages and the contents were all wet. I think it was probably leaked on during the recent barrage of rain.

Still, these wooden masks were in fine shape. There was also a very rusty metal mask which I also took, it’d still be a cool outdoor decoration. Not for me, personally I find these things kind of unsettling, but there’s definitely people out there who appreciate this kind of stuff.

Hopefully next week provides a bit more treasure!