Except I'm not taking things.
I am leaving things: books, video tapes, old socks, shoes, sacks of old toys, a CD player that still works but doesn't play cassette tapes.
Since the Covid-19 hit, everything has changed.
My routines have been the same for decades.
I clean out a garage or sort through a closet and end up with boxes and sacks of discards, some with perfectly good items like a collection of books I reviewed and don't have room to keep.
I then make a run to the Deseret Industries drop-off area and bequeath the store with my treasures.
I sometimes claim a tax deduction and always, at the very least, I get away clean.
I feel I've done something good with my items and stopped short of adding to the community landfill.
Now, as of several months ago, I have to change my habits.
I have limited options.
DI has been closed and when it is reopened, I will need an appointment.
The library used to take stacks of books I didn't care to keep any longer. Now they are having to be so much more careful.
Nobody wants my worn-out stuff.
I drove around the other day with a trunk full of material to toss.
I finally selected a no-name drop-box for the old clothes, a drop-box surrounded by bags and bundles of similar cast-offs.
I left several books at the donation site by the grocery store.
I am still looking for a dumpster to take my videos.
My trunk is now nearly clear.
But my conscience isn't.
It feels wrong somehow. I don't feel honest about the drop-and-run, sort of the opposite of a Porch Thief. Am I Dumpster Lady?
I can't quite identify my problem but I've now made an official appointment with Deseret Industries so I can legitimately take a number of sacks and boxes for donation in a couple of weeks.
It's good to live honorably!
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