Found things and what to do with them

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The amount of things, especially items of clothing, that are being found, in parks and open spaces and in town squares and by the side of the road, is absolutely, and in my mind for definite, amazing and staggering.

Some of it is lost, some of it carelessly left behind because someone just could not be bothered – and that is the truth – to take it with them or, when realized that it was lost, to go back and look for it, and some tossed because – and now hear this – it has gotten a little dirty.

There still is – or at least so it would appear – too much money about out there. Also the recession is not biting hard enough for some people, so it would seem. How else could they afford to leave things behind or not even look for them.

While, I know, I keep on about people being careless with things in losing them and not going back looking for them when realizing that they have lost something, those finds do mean that I get things that I may be able to use, for free.

Other things that also thus come free to me – and I know I am also always on about those – are those that people throw away because of this or that reason. I also always try to make use of those.

In fact, I try to make use of each and everything remotely useful that I do find, whether this be simply lost or tossed. And if I, personally, cannot use this or that then I try to find someone who can and will.

Waste Not Want Not

But, while this attitude, that was ingrained in me as a child, is a good one to have and it is certainly one that I always try to employ, this is one that can cause you clutter for you will be loathed to get rid of things in case that they might be useful at some stage after all.

I have found that if a person put his or her mind to it many a find, whether resultant from something originally lost or tossed, can be turned into something of use, value and beauty even. It all depends on imagination and vision.

With this way and attitude, I have found, one can do much with little at times and while doing it keeping things out of the waste stream and the landfill.

© 2010