free

Where I live there are a lot of yard sales on the weekends. But I think there's an even better way to get rid of usable but unwanted stuff without the hassle of a yard sale: putting stuff out on a busy road with a sign that says "FREE." Everyone wants something for nothing.

The first time I did it, H was appalled, embarassed, like I'd put a rusted-out pickup on blocks in the front yard or made a planter out of a 'sploded truck tire. But I'd just traded in my 1992 front wheel drive car for a 2002 AWD car, and I had no more use for my four studded snowtires anymore (and I was darned if I was going to pay the dump to take them). So I rolled them out to the main road on the end of my street and put up a big cardboard sign that said, "FREE, as-is, good for one more season." And within two hours they were gone.

Since then H has come around and we have also used this technique to get rid of two wheelbarrows, two garbage cans, three lamps of various age (and dubious wiring), a slightly warped coffeetable, a birdbath pedestal, a whole bunch of plant pots and gardening sundries and, most recently, our nine year old gas grill. The grill went just this morning: out on Route 26 at 7:30 a.m., and gone by 9:00 a.m. Never, repeat never, underestimate the power of free.