I was taking the trash out this weekend behind my Cleveland Circle condo building, when I noticed some shelves, a mattress, a bunch of framed prints, a couple of stacks of clothing, all leaning against our trash barrels. In my building, a combination of units that haven't changed much since 1924 and overpriced renovated units housing Longwood transients for a few months at a time, this isn't an infrequent occurrence at the end of the month. At the end of every month since I've lived in Brighton, I've found myself trying to understand the mindset of people who leave a houseful of almost new items for the trash collector when they move. I mean, I'm finally at a point in my life where if I moved, getting $20 for my couch is hardly worth the hassle. But the idea of leaving a perfectly usable item for the landfill is just unfathomable to me when so many nonprofits will come and pick things up with a phonecall or e-mail.
This month it really crossed the line though. As I was glancing at the pile of housewares to see if anything interesting jumped out at me, I saw...
...an iMac.
Yes. There was an actual living breathing iMac sitting out there amongst the boxes and trashbags and furnishings. I actually waited a day before grabbing it, just to see what would happen. I wanted to make sure it had really been placed by the trash, and I also wanted to prove what I suspected, which is that dozens of people would walk by and just leave it there. Which they did. So I grabbed it. I know of several repair places that will give me $200 for the thing on the spot.
What's next, people leaving their old worn-out cash behind the building?
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Comments
Time to revive an old idea?
By Ron Newman
Mon, 02/28/2005 - 3:23pm
When I first lived around here in the late 1970s, someone had placed large wooden boxes labelled "Free Box" in Cambridgeport and other neighborhoods. If you wanted to get rid of something useful, you opened the box and put your item in it. If you wanted something, you could open the box and look for something you wanted or needed.
I don't know who built them or maintained them, or why they went away. But perhaps someone should try this experiment again.
Meanwhile, if I want to get rid of something, I just walk it down to Goodwill in Davis Square. They'll take anything.
Boomerangs!
By eeka
Mon, 02/28/2005 - 3:51pm
My preferred charity is Boomerangs, but yeah, I just like to see things go somewhere they can be used. Even if people would just leave their perfectly wearable clothes at the curb in a bag that said FREE CLOTHES instead of tossing them into the trash barrel like I often see, I or someone else could pick them up and walk them over to Boomerangs instead of them ending up in a landfill.
This makes me curious actually...how many places in the US allow people to leave out an unlimited amount of trash and/or large household items? In Snohomish, King, and Walla Walla counties (Washington), there is a limit of two large trashcans or one of those wheelybins per household per week. Your can has to have your address written on it in the denser areas where it isn't obvious what house it's in front of. They won't take anything that doesn't fit in the barrel. If anyone asks what they're supposed to do with furniture and so forth, any one of your neighbors will tell you to call one of the many nonprofits that run thrift stores. If you have remodeling waste or anything like that, you pay to get it carted away or you take it to the landfill and pay to put it in there.
Is Washington just a bunch of weirdo hippies (well, yes) or do other places do this?
Recycling furniture
By Ron Newman
Mon, 02/28/2005 - 4:10pm
I like the idea of recycling furniture, and I've been both the giver and taker at various times. But I recall a warning from some public health officials recently that if you take furniture off the street, you may be importing bedbugs into your apartment ;-(
Bedbugs beware!
By eeka
Mon, 02/28/2005 - 4:35pm
If it's just wooden/plastic/veneer/etc furniture, like shelves and things, a good hosing off and a bit of Windex should get them. If it has removable cushions, toss them in the washer. Upholstered stuff is a bit more risky, but there are still a variety of nontoxic bug sprays that you can douse the thing with that aren't sticky or gross or anything.
Bedbug Novice
By Anonymous
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 11:24am
You, dear soul, are a bedbug novice. A good hosing off and bit of Windex will do little to bedbugs except, perhaps, cause them to laugh at you (especially on wooden surfaces). As for upholsterd stuff, it isn't just a bit risky, it's downright crazy. Nothing save the services of a professional exterminator and there superchemicals can render a infested couch usable again. And even then, it is not at all uncommon to require multiple treatments to solve the problem, partly due to the fact that most exterminators are unfamilar with the proper way to treat for bedbugs since there return is a relatively new phenomenon (they were pretty much erraticated in the US for the first 30 years after WWII) and partly dut to the fact that these are superbugs. Store bought sprays don't do much except perhaps make you feel better for trying SOMETHING.
Take my advice, save up a couple hundred bucks and go buy a new couch. Or sit on the floor.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
By eeka
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 12:56pm
Seems to be working though. My place is bedbug free and pretty much everything in it is from friends and thrift stores.
well, it only needs to not wo
By Anonymous
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 2:07pm
well, it only needs to not work once. and then, not only are you in for a world of hurt, so are your poor, unsuspecting and non-picking-stuff-up-on-the-curb neighbors. you see, bedbug is a bit of a misnomer. they don't live there, they only visit at night for a meal. usually they live in the walls and maybe in cracks in your hardwood floors. So if you do find out you have them and get your apartment exterminated, it only kills half of them, the other half, the ones in the walls, just run on over to your upstairs neighbor or downstairs neighbor. The whole building really needs to be fumigated once they are found in one spot, unfortunately Boston's antiquated housing codes don't compel a landlord to act until bedbugs are physically discovered in a unit, so they just keep moving around the building as people keep on spraying.
also, things SEEM to be working out for you so far. Did you know that bedbug bits only result in skin reactions in 50% of people? That's right, it is very possible that they have been using you as a bloodmeal every night without you knowing! And you need to be doubly careful if your landlord happens to be so Iranian asshole, but I digress.
Point is, there is a reason that Anonymous, who some say has a cleanliness compulsion and would never consider bringing roadside furniture into his apartment, knows so much about bedbugs in the cleveland circle area. He sincerely hopes that you repent your curb snatching ways and spend your time learning about things that are more fun. I'm sure your neighbors agree with him too.
Why not get a user account and join in on the fun?
By eeka
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 2:15pm
Our condo association hires a pest inspector/exterminator, and one of the things they claim to test for and treat is bedbugs.
As you've said, they do hide in places and travel all over the place. They are often found in warehouses or trucks. They don't know or care whether the furniture the inhabit is new or recycled.
Why was it necessary to mention the ethnicity of your landlord or hypothetical landlord?
Please, please don't bring used furniture in your house!
By saralovering
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 4:00pm
I certainly can understand not wanting to waste perfectly good furniture, I myself have picked up stuff from the curb a few times in the past and insist on reusing things like plastic bags, BUT after living through the nightmare of bedbugs, I have to caution anyone who wants to bring something from the street into their homes.
I love to save a buck as much as the next person, but after totalling up all the furniture/bedding I had to replace I am probably out about a thousand dollars. You are far better off just buying new furniture. Please trust me on this.
I too lived in the Cleveland Circle area where I can tell you the bedbugs are RAMPANT and probably spreading. I can't even go back to anywhere in Brighton anymore without feeling a little itchy, so I avoid the area as much as possible. The City of Boston (to their credit) has been on top of this. They started legal action and fines against our deadbeat landlord, and they have been tagging any abandoned furniture with neon stickers that say "Do not touch! May contain bedbugs!" Take it from me...obey the neon stickers!!
However they will never be able to fix the two main problems: 1. people like to pick up furniture off the street and 2. landlords will happily turn a blind eye and ignore the problem, and don't care one bit that oh say...you spend about 3 months waking up with horrible itchy welts all over your body, so itchy it literally drives you INSANE and and you go through about 2 bottles of calomine lotion per DAY and you thought you had a food allergy or stress hives until one day you lift up your dust ruffle and see a NEST of the little fuckers hanging out close to where you lay your head at night.
Our building was all renters, and it sounds from your post like condos do a better job maintaining this sort of thing, which is good to know. But all it takes is for someone to bring in one infested piece of furniture, and BAM the whole building is waking up itchy and having to replace all their furniture. And it isn't just couches, they can live in any cracks and crevices for any kind of furniture, plastic or wood. I guess if you were getting the furniture as a hand me down from a trusted source you would be OK, but from the street or trash area--no way!
I guess I am now a walking PSA for bedbugs, because I really want to help prevent people from going through what I had to go through. This is a huge problem, esp in areas like Brighton with lots of students and/or people who move around a lot. So while I know it is tempting when you see the perfect end table sitting on the curb for free, but don't do it!!
No, I'm sure you're right on
By eeka
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 5:33pm
No, I'm sure you're right on that they're gross and hard to get rid of, but from everything I've read and heard about them, they can be anywhere. People talk about buying new furniture and having it infested. They can be in library books. They can be in cartons of goods at a store.
Bedbugs
By jonallen
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 9:36am
Like most fauna, "Bedbug" is a whole group of critters that can make waking up an unpleasant surprise. Despite this, I am quite sure that none of these various critters can easily be brought into a room in a book of any sort. Various foods, especially imported, are the usual culprits. Imported figs, for instance, are common carriers for grain moths, which can be very hard to get rid of. My response to this reality is that I no longer indulge in fresh figs, and I am very careful to buy produce in bulk, inspecting each before buying.
Peace.
Jon Allen
Beware of figs!
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:08am
www.godhatesfigs.com
Why is it necessary to denigr
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:13am
Why is it necessary to denigrate figs?
Because god hates figs!
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:20am
I think the "tracts" are especially hilarious. So's the FAQ.
And get an account!
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:20am
Anonymous, I think you're interesting. Wouldja please get a username and stuff so I can read your posts too? And so I'm sure I got the same anonymous each time?
My Landlord's Ethnicity
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:12am
My landlord was both Iranian and an asshole, that's just the way it was. Probably still is. If you run into that combination in the CC area, I'm suggesting you go in another direction.
My hypothetical landlord is a tall, swedish woman who has a flair for french cooking and always seems to have a couple of extra sox tickets for me. Ah, Inga....
Uhh...
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:19am
See, in your second goofy example, I get why you're mentioning the ethnicity. You're trying to paint a picture of a character, and ethnicity is one part of who someone is. But when you just mention "Iranian asshole" it sounds like you're mentioning ethnicity when there's no reason to. Doesn't give me any more sense of who the person is than just "asshole" would.
Instead of his ethnicity ...
By Ron Newman
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:27am
... why not post his name? That way, people can be sure exactly which landlord to avoid.
Ron, You are right, that i
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:45am
Ron,
You are right, that is the proper and correct course. A course to which I can only say, in due time. There is still a matter of rent/security deposits that may require legal action. I am not willing to jeopardize that.
Sincerely,
Anon
Ack
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:50am
I'm guessing you've contacted the city landlord/tenant commissionwhateveritis? I've heard a lot of stories from happy people who were able to resolve this stuff through them without having to sue or anything.
This is assuming you're on the Boston side of Cleveland Circle. If you're in that other ci--er, town, you're SOL. :o)
HEE!
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:48am
Ron, you da man!
Me, I have one of those big real-estate-agent landlords who owns a bunch of random condos in various places, mostly around Brighton.
It's good in that the place is connected, hires quality people to do repairs, has solid business experience, is very willing to stick it to the condo association when they're slacking on stuff, etc. And I also don't feel bad when I ask the company to adjust my rent because of a delay in a repair or a minor one I made myself, because it isn't like I'm deducting the $25 out of some family's grocery bill.
It's bad in that I kind of miss having the sort of landlord who lives down the street and we borrow each other's tools and talk about where to get takeout and all that. Ah, the Somerville days!
I see no evidence to suggest
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 12:00pm
I see no evidence to suggest that Ron is in fact "da man". I'm sure he is a fine fellow, but lets not get carried away.
Chalk one up...
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 1:07pm
He has an account though. That's one thing that makes him cool.
I don't understand why a pres
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:42am
I don't understand why a presumably positive mention of ethnicity is acceptable while a negative one is cause for comment. When I mention "Iranian asshole" am I not also painting a picture of a character?
I am sure that no one here would infer that there is something wrong with all Iranians from this description. After all, this is the internet where reason and measured response rule. To worry otherwise, in my personal opinion, is to buy into the PC notion that you must somehow ignore even the possibility that a member of an agrieved class could possibly have flaws. I do not agree with that assessment, as illistrated by the aforementioned Iranian asshole landlord.
Hmm...
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 11:52am
No, I wouldn't infer that you think there's something wrong with all Iranians from that statement, but rather that you think there's something wrong with the particular guy that is a result of his being Iranian. You didn't even give us enough of a description for us to form a stereotypical image here. "Iranian asshole" doesn't give me any more to go by than "asshole."
Let me guess...Cambridge?
By Anonymous
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 12:04pm
Let me guess...Cambridge?
no
By Ron Newman
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 12:27pm
to my knowledge, no part of Cleveland Circle is in Cambridge.
What are we guessing
By eeka
Wed, 03/02/2005 - 1:08pm
?
Friends Booksale
By jonallen
Tue, 03/01/2005 - 2:36pm
Boomerangs is great. If you enjoy your library, and all of the programs there, donate your books to them. Friends of the Library booksales are volunteer run, so the proceeds go to special programs at the library. In Brookline, the Friend's ongoing booksale has funded book purchases for the sister city project in Quezelguaque, Nicaragua, as well as many local educational programs. It still manages to keep over 2,000 books on its shelves, but donations are down, so if you have any books to get rid of, please bring them in.
http://friendsofthebrooklinelibrary.org/
Peace.
Jon Allen
Free Box
By eeka
Mon, 02/28/2005 - 3:52pm
I wonder if maybe they disappeared because too many lascivious folks thought it was a place to get free box?
;o)