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Last Saturday was a pretty busy day at our Windermere office in Gig Harbor. We had a few different things happening in the parking lot, all with a similar goal: helping people get rid of things they no longer needed while also helping someone else in the process. We had a furniture donation drive for Northwest Furniture Bank, an e-recycling collection with E-Waste Pro, and FISH Food Bank was there accepting food and monetary donations. By the end of the day, both trucks were essentially full, so I think it’s safe to say it was a success.
The furniture drive was for people who had furniture sitting around their house or garage that they no longer needed but didn’t necessarily want to throw away. There was quite a variety of stuff coming through throughout the morning. We had stools, tables, chairs, dishes, lamps, and all kinds of other household items. Some of the furniture was actually pretty cool, and I was even surprised to see some items that looked like they were still brand new and had never been taken out of the box. It was one of those events where you start looking at what people are bringing in and think, “Where has this stuff been hiding?”
I think a lot of people were probably pretty happy to finally get some of those items out of their homes. We all have those things that we keep around because we might use them someday, and then “someday” turns into five or ten years. Meanwhile, they’re taking up space in the garage, basement, spare bedroom, or wherever we decided to put them. The nice thing about this event was that instead of simply throwing those items away, people could donate them to Northwest Furniture Bank, where the furniture can have another life and eventually help someone who needs it. One person’s unwanted furniture can become something useful for another family, which is a pretty good outcome.
The e-recycling collection was another big success. There were tons of TVs, computers, speakers, stereo equipment, laptops, and other electronics that had apparently been waiting for the right opportunity to finally leave the house. I’ll admit that I was part of the problem. I brought a couple of TVs from my house, along with every laptop I’ve ever had, including my laptop from college. I hadn’t really thought about how old that computer was until I put it next to one of my newer laptops. It’s about twice as thick. Apparently, laptops have been on quite a diet over the years.
One of the things I really liked about the e-recycling portion of the event was knowing that these electronics were being handled properly instead of simply ending up in the garbage. We also had someone there removing hard drives from the computers. That’s an important step because old computers can still contain personal information, photos, passwords, or other data. Having the hard drives removed and properly destroyed gave people some peace of mind that their old information wasn’t going to end up in the wrong hands. I’m sure there were quite a few people who had been holding onto an old computer simply because they weren’t sure what to do with it. This gave them an easy way to finally get rid of it.
We also had FISH Food Bank collecting donations during the event. People could bring food or make a monetary donation to help support people in our local community. I always like when an event can accomplish more than one thing at the same time. In this case, people could clean out their homes, properly recycle old electronics, donate furniture that someone else could use, and help support a local food bank. That’s a pretty productive Saturday morning.
One of my favorite parts of these types of events is simply seeing people from the community come out. There were lots of people stopping by throughout the morning, and I was even able to see a few past and current clients, which is always fun. It’s nice seeing people outside of the typical real estate conversation. Instead of talking about houses, inspections, offers, or closing dates, we’re standing in a parking lot looking at an old TV or figuring out where to put a dining table. It’s just a different way to connect with people, and I really enjoy that.
By the end of the event, both trucks were essentially full of donations. That means a lot of people were able to clear some space in their homes, furniture that might have eventually ended up in the garbage has a chance to be used again, old electronics were collected and recycled properly, and FISH Food Bank received donations that can help people right here in our community.
A big thank you to everyone who came out and donated, and to Northwest Furniture Bank, E-Waste Pro, and FISH Food Bank for helping make the event happen. It was great seeing so many people participate and seeing just how much can be collected in a few hours.
And if you were one of the people who finally cleaned out the garage because of this event, I won’t ask how long those TVs, laptops, chairs, or boxes had been sitting there. Sometimes you just need a deadline to finally get rid of the stuff you’ve been saying you’re going to get rid of for the last five years.
