I have an old Dust Buster. I know, not even a really necessary household item, but useful nonetheless.   

The other day I thought I could both occupy the time of my seven year old and get my stairway clean at the same time so I asked her to go grab the Dust Buster off of its charging station.    

As soon as she turned it on I knew it wouldn’t be a long cleaning session. The Dust Buster sounded like an ailing something-or-other, not a zippy cleaning machine. After giving it her best shot she let me know it wasn’t busting any dust and I asked her to put it back where she got it. Then I started to wonder what to do with it.

I wasn’t really shocked that it hadn’t worked, it has been on a steady decline for some time now. I just haven’t had the heart to get rid it yet.  

I really don’t want to just throw Mr. Buster in the trash can and send him to his Logan landfill grave. I don’t want to donate it to a thrift store so the next “I think I need a Dust Buster” shopper can buy it and be dissapointed, or even have the thrift shop employee try it out, see it isn’t really working and toss it for me.   
And so it remains in Dust Buster purgatory until a solution becomes evident. It’s something I would like to recycle, or offer to someone for reuse. I don’t want it to become another castoff item in a society of discarded stuff. I’m just not sure where it fits.

There are lots of household and personal items that are easy to donate. Books, toys, jeans -- anything you’ve gotten good use out of that could be put to good use by someone else.

In a recent conversation with a thrift store owner I learned that not everyone is as in-the-know about donating and recycling as I am. She mentioned that she is often asked if she is taking donations of clothing -- YES. Even clothing that doesn’t make the racks is recycled, bundled and sent overseas to those that are in need of clothing. Don’t just throw away that old tee shirt that uncle Rick gave you three years ago that never did fit quite right - recycle it - donate it to a local thrift store, Love Inc., or Kiwanis Closet - someone else will be happy to have it.

The same goes for coffee cups, lamps, cassette tapes, colored pencils - one man’s trash really is another man’s treasure. I’ve often thought that my kids have enough crayons and markers that we could stock locally owned restaurants for their coloring needs for sure. If your kids have outgrown their art supplies consider donating the crayons to a local restaurant and the other stuff to the Emerson, or BozeArts - they’ll use them for sure!

I’ve heard of quite a few folks having trouble getting rid of old televisions, many donation based businesses aren’t taking them anymore. If you can’t get rid of yours on craigslist or freecycle you can take it to the Logan Landfill on April 26 between 7:30am and 4:30pm for a free e-waste day. Let the scale operator know you are there for e-waste and they will direct you. This yearly event is a great way to get rid or you tvs, computers, printers or other electronics that are no longer working or salvageable.

Even though my poor Dust Buster doesn’t really have a place in this world anymore there are plenty of trash to treasure items we can each be sure get a new home this month, or anytime.