When we moved into our new home, nearly a year ago, we discovered a bunch of stuff that we didn't want -- radiator covers, a wooden fireplace surround, that sort of thing. We shoved it into one of our sheds and forgot about it. Today, however, we ventured into the world of giving stuff away -- Freecycle. I composed the messages, uploaded some pictures, and sent our stuff out into the ether to find a new owner.
Wow! We got lots of emails for all of the items within just a couple of hours! What a great service! But then, doubt sets in. You have to choose who is going to get the radiator cover, the fireplace, the CRT TV. Suddenly, you slip into the mindset of a Victorian Poor Law Guardian. Who are the truly deserving poor rather than the merely indigent -- or, in this case, those members of a shady netherworld of dealers who lurk on Freecycle, pick up your stuff, and then sell it on? Lists of criteria start to form in your mind: How polite are they? Do they mention specifically what they want to use it for? Can they use punctuation correctly? (I am an editor, after all.) And then there's the big challenge for the emotionally empathetic -- how can I say no to so many (nice-sounding people)?
No wonder Bill Gates set up a foundation to deal with all this. It's exhausting and emotionally draining.
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