When In Doubt, BURN IT!!! - Page 3

[elspethshimon]

Originally Posted by FancyD

I love you elspethshimon. :

:

[FancyD]

What a great DDDDC! You are so funny, lady. *smooch*

[Honey693]

My parents used to burn their couches when they'd gone too far to be used or donated. It was great. In college I burned all mt class notes for classes I hated. I know I should have recycled them, but man what a cathartic release that was!

[Amylcd]

Um... when it doubt.. DO NOT burn it! My neighbors burn their trash and it literally makes me sick.

[beautyful]

Originally Posted by Vancouver Mommy

My dp and I had a book burning one night. We'd both (a long, long time ago before we'd become the socially conscious, enlightened folks that we are today) done business/economics degrees in University and had been packing around hundreds of pounds of outdated, no re-sale value textbooks that would never be opened again. We sat in front of the fireplace tearing sections out of the books, reading the chapter titles, laughing like mad, and chucking them in the flames. It felt soooooo good.

I was mean and wouldn't let my husband and his friends douse a chair from their dorm (that they owned -- not one of the college's) and set it on fire. It was an awful chair, but no. They wanted to light it on fire and push it out onto a lake on a raft. Dorks.

[snowbunny81]

Originally Posted by thewaggonerfamily

I noticed the OP is MI. Here in rural MI, burning trash and burning in general, is the norm. I wouldn't be surprised if the OP did not realize that it was an environmental danger. People have burn barrels to burn their trash, burn leaves in the fall, burn ditches to keep down weeds, etc, etc. So while I think a little education is in order, I think there are many who posted who could have been a little kinder and gentler. We have also burned to get rid of thing we had no other way of disposing of.: Although AFAIK they were natural materials (old mattresses couches etc were cotton,jute, burlap, etc.)

Oh and I would TOTALLY love to know how to clean moldy clothes. I have tried EVERY idea recipe I've come across (Even tilex and straight bleach, since the item was a total loss anyway. The tilex ate the fabric.) I'm not being snarky, I'd really like to know, I have had to pitch lots of mildewed clothes and I'd like to be able to at least save some favorites when it happens.

: I remember the ditch across the street being burned many times. Out in rural Dorr, MI, we did not have any kind of trash pick up. Our recycling station was three big bins (one each for glass, paper, and plastic) in the library parking lot a mile down the road. Of course, this was the early 90's and, in a community of mostly old farmers, just taking the time to recycle was commendable. But with the town dump 20 minutes away, everything that couldn't be recycled went into the burn barrel to cut down on trips to the dump. It's just what people did...and apparently still do according the this post. It really is conceivable that someone might not know that burning trash is harmful given that it is the norm for their community.

You can educate without belittling someone. How would you feel if something you regularly did was harmful and someone jumped all over you for it? Would you rather be gently educated or be made to feel like a horrible person for simply not knowing better?

[misswerewolf]

Hippie Mama, when in doubt, please do NOT burn it. It's toxic to the environment and the people around you.

I can understand the need to feel free and clear of junk through burning and fire, but I also think that there are a lot of things that can be reused or recycled. Your trash may very well be someone's treasure.

[captain crunchy]

Do you all think that sending things to a landfill (in plastic bags no less) is actually better for the environment than burning it?

You all are aware too, that a lot of trash gets sent to incinerators which um... is burning stuff -- only you are using the resources (fuel, electricity, manpower) to get it there and have it burned for you.

I am not advocating burning stuff and ftr we don't burn things but I am feeling a bit cheesed off at some of the holier than thou responses of *shock* *faint* I would *never* burn anything tsk tsk -- when land-filling and commercial incinerating is how *most* of your trash is taken care of.... and yep... guess what happens to that old couch you donate to Goodwill when it doesn't sell or is too used/dirty? Yeah, same thing.

[the_lissa]

Not every place burns trash, and where I live, when trash is burned, it is burned in special incinerators that reduce toxins, etc.

[Savoir Faire]

I felt bad for the poor girl when I saw this. Not because she is "unenlightened" (is that a word?) but because of what I knew she'd receive as answers on here.

I'm constantly surprised when I see people who think that everyone in the world thinks the same as them. I live in TX and yes, I do see people burning things all the time. My parents did it but hopefully learned their lessons because they set their field on fire twice...911 and I became really close that year.

Let's all lighten up a bit, shall we? While there have been some who have disapproved in a nice way, I just hope we don't all go around with such sour pusses all the time.

[Savoir Faire]

Originally Posted by kmeyrick

I set my best friend's hair on fire once by accident. She's was fine, but uh....ooops!

I once went to a hair salon where the stylist pulled out a lighter AND BURNED MY SPLIT ENDS!! Needless to say, I did not go back.

[MonkeyPrincess]

Originally Posted by Savoir Faire

I once went to a hair salon where the stylist pulled out a lighter AND BURNED MY SPLIT ENDS!! Needless to say, I did not go back.

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by captain crunchy

guess what happens to that old couch you donate to Goodwill when it doesn't sell or is too used/dirty? Yeah, same thing.

That depends on if you donate trash to Goodwill. We don't donate good stuff to Goodwill. (or trash, )

We take all of our no longer needed items (that we take care of while owning) to a much smaller charity thrift store in the small community that my husband grew up in. Shepherd's Closet is always looking for furniture in relatively good condition, even if it's "ugly". Some families have NOTHING after a house fire or flood, and they are grateful to receive something that would otherwise be thrown away.

For example - my SIL took her inherited 60's orange floral sofa to the donation site, when she upgraded herself to a new contemporary sofa. Same with her table. Both were in usable condition, clean, in good repair, and have many good years left in them. She was just tired of her apartment looking like the set of "Good Times". The Closet HAPPILY took both those items and the 4 dining chairs.

In short - people - please do not leave your garbage at a charity to discard. Make sure that it's something that others can definitely use!