Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Power of Generosity


It started out pretty simply:  I had a large entertainment stand in my family room.  It took up a lot of space, because it had to be placed diagonally to avoid covering up the windows.  It worked well for many, many years.

Then, my daughter recommended that I replace the entertainment stand with a smaller TV stand, and I thought it was a really good idea. I didn't know what to do with the old stand, so I decided to give it away.  I have a lot of downsizing to do, and I have decided that trying to figure out the right places to sell things will make it harder for me to downsize.  The local charity does not want furniture that large.  So I went back to trusty Freecycle to see if anyone wanted it.

Freecycle, if you don't know, is a newsgroup where people in your local area post things they want or are offering for free.  It is a great way to avoid putting so much in our landfills.  In the past, I have given away empty jars to someone who sold soy candles, magazines to a church group for crafts projects, etc.

I posted my ad, and while I was there, I decided to look at the other postings.  I saw a posting for free quilt magazines, and jumped on that offer.  The lady gave me three huge boxes of quilt magazines spanning many years.  I have gone through a very small amount, and am waiting for the opportunity to go through even more.

To pay it forward, I looked for the wanted ads.  I saw a post where someone wanted some perennial plants, namely peonies.  Well, I am trying to reduce my gardening space, so I happened to have them available.  It turns out that the lady who was getting the peonies was also a quilter, and gave me this big box of fat quarters.

The moral of the story is this: The more I try to give away, the more things that I want come back to me.

4 comments:

mary truax said...

Hi Shasta. Just love that story. Will have to try freecycle. Happy quilting!

Lorna McMahon said...

How nice to read about your adventures. What a lovely treat to receive a treasure trove of quilting books and those beautiful fat quarters!

Tanya said...

Isn't that neat how you are all linked together! I don't know what I'd do with a stand but I can always use fabric!

Diane said...

I don't know if we have FreeCycle in our area, but I really like the idea of finding new homes for things rather than trashing them. Enjoy the new fabric and reading material!