It's extremely difficult for me to want to post on Steemit when my passion is all but lost, but I'm going to try tonight.
Actions are what are most important to me, especially now after I've stepped back for a little while to think about all of the fluff I got used to seeing on Steem's blogging apps.
Watching authors blog in circles on their pedestals for their daily bread has completely lost its appeal, so I'm going to try to focus on posts that revolve around meaningful actions to try to attract the "doers" around here. That's what will hopefully help me stay involved, and maybe some drum videos.
This post isn't for rewards. It's for environmental awareness and an example for people to see that we should not waste. People who know my track record and have been kind enough to read my posts on the subject know what it's all about. Thank you for that.
If you like my mission, which I've been doing for over 4 years in the real world, and regularly posting on Steemit for 2 years to a small audience, please show your appreciation by trying to save things in our day-to-day. That's all I ask.
Valuable salvageable items are everywhere if you choose to look for them and stop letting excuses convince you otherwise. Even if you think something looks like it's broken, SEE IT AS FILLED WITH LOTS OF HIGH DEMAND PARTS TO SELL.
Perception is reality, and luck is simply when opportunity meets preparation.
The Finds:
All of these were found in plain view on my local curbs or in clear bags on the curbs on recycling nights. I don't dig. I fish in a barrel when everyone else around is either too blind or lazy to care. This also doesn't include the items I save and bring to a thrift store nearby. It's not all about the money...
I recently found this fitness stepper near my apartment and sold it online for $220.
I found this medical device stand and sold it online to a doctor's office for $120.
I found a Fender bass amp that had a buzzing speaker, so I sold the amp head online for $90.
It had a pedal with it, so I naturally sold that online for $24.
I sold this car seat base for $60 cash to a woman who told me I saved her a ton of money.
I found this Dyson vacuum and sold it for $125 cash to a business owner.
I found this Dyson handheld vacuum with a power nozzle and sold it to a friend I spoke with at a party for $75 cash (a steep friendly discount).
I found this radio a while ago but it got buried in my apartment. I listed it in the middle of the night today and sold it for $50 cash by 2 PM.
I sold these two stroller wheels for $40 and then upsold her this stroller undercarriage bag for another $25 cash.
I found this sealed new book from the early 1980's along with ton more at the time and sold this one online for $39.
The irony is that I feel guilty writing this post now when I was supposed to be outside NOW finding more. I spent 30 minutes when I could've been outside saving 30 pounds.
On that note, it's time to put my shoes on and spend the next 60-90 minutes walking around my immediate neighborhood on a Friday night to continue my mission to save household items from unnecessary waste. I will then connect them with people around the country who still see the value in them as I do, and make some money in the process.
Lastly, almost every package I ship is done so with recycled packages and padding. Thousands of boxes and mailers... endless bubble wrap, air packs, packaging paper...
Thanks to @artemislives for tagging me on a recent recycling post to spark my competitive spirit today.
I have been missing your posts man. But I knew you were still out there saving the environment, saving people money, and saving you from the soul crushing Corporate job. :D
Thank you. Sometimes it feels discouraging that I'm one of only a handful around my area that cares enough to do it. I have to think bigger to try to get more people loyally involved in making a bigger impact on a consistent basis. I have to find people who don't default to the "what's in it for me" mindset. I can only do so much and my dent isn't going to make a big difference unless others start making their own dent as a ripple effect.
Always love your posts on recycling. Never give up or lose hope!
Thank you. I won't give up on my effort to try to make an impact in my day-to-day. Steem is another story, but for now I'll try to stay involved in the spirit of keeping my message about helping the planet alive in blockchain land.
Welcome back 😀, Mr recycling!
It looks like a lot of circles are around, but the new Steem seems to be a little better. But still not many interactions. I guess that it is the wrong content for Steem, at least for now. But as soon as people can "find" it through a search bar, it will become better. That's what I hope. Just continue posting the right people will come... 😄
Thank you. Yes, it'd be such a better experience if people could search for tagged or specific content to find the niches they truly enjoy. The best way I find my own older content is by Googling my account name and recycling or thrifting. That's fairly insane to me. Steemit should be able to support more robust searching outside of having to scroll down months of someone's blog posts, which ultimately get cut off at a certain point. Just like with your videos, so much thought and good content is buried -- that's not right. That's what could attract lots of new users -- if they can find the content they want, instead of what they're forced to see by some ranking algorithms.
I'm glad you keep such a positive attitude about it. I need to learn from you. Is the hair dye your secret?? After 2+ years of banging my head against the wall, I got jaded.
Maybe, it's just not possible to do 🤔. I mean, with the technical aspects or just not worth doing it for now.
Yes, but only you will find it as Steemit is still darknet, isn't it? So other people can't find you if they aren't "Googleing" your name etc.
Anyway, you are right about the algorithms they are screwing small content creators, as it seems to be optimized for max — cash flow 😂. Not for education or bringing people together.
Yes, that's my secret 😅. Mostly I do it because people are talking about it. 😅Mainly, my grandmother, she doesn't like it.
Hm, yes, I understand. I published over 300 videos on Youtube so far, and it took me about three years to get new subscribers daily. So don't give up, it will grow! Slowly but I think the right people will come if you are doing it naturally!
Drum videos!! More drum, yum yum! :0D
Trade ya a drum video for a guitar video... Heck, 2 for 1.
Dammit, you got me!
Cool dude. Again you amaze me with your hustle. It pays more than working a 9-5 at McDonald's for example.
Inspired by you, I will start a hustle series here in Germany to see if I can turn something from nothing with no funds.
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The best satisfaction and sense of pride I feel is when I save something and get it in the hands of someone else who needs it, who won't be buying a new one to perpetuate the commercial retail cycle. It all adds up. The more people who contribute, the better off the planet becomes one small fraction at a time. Feel free to message if you ever have any questions. It just starts with one find, a successful sale or repurpose, and then it evolves into autopilot.
Congratulations, your post has been selected to be included in my weekly Sustainability Curation Digest for the Minnow Support Project.
Good to see you back Matt.
Thanks as always. It's a slow road to Steem recovery, but this will be my path if any.
I'll look forward to reading each step on the road.
Yes! Awesome scavanging... I don't know how you do it, I always have a hard time selling things online, maybe I price things too high.
Excellent job and please keep on posting like that, you are touching some people.
To value things, go on eBay under the recently sold listings and see how much and how often what you have is selling. Try to base your pricing off of those figures. You can also compound your chances by listing them on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. What types of things do you generally try to sell? Are they shippable/portable?
Lots of different things, some not shippable, some yes... I always got kind of stuck at the shipping bit on ebay. I don't know how to price that!
But I also know that I have been lazy about writting up an item for sell. I try to do too many things at once and than things lagg!
Lots of serious life-changing action happening in the ecotrain, @steemmatt - check out the Eco Village News post today!! But yes, the endless contests and challenges to encourage people to post more fluff about bores me stupid too.
We've missed you. x
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Thanks man. If I keep Steeming on, it's alllll yourrrrr fault!!
Your reasoning is sound.
What you do will not work for me. I rarely see anything on the streets...maybe a couch or chair once a year. What city situations works best for items to be left on the street. I know you mentioned a city with a wealthy area and my guess laws that allow such placement of unwanted items. Who can be successful at doing this? If you wanted to start a hashtag I will give you steem to do so.
Large metro areas with a high population seem to have little option other than to have the refuse placed on the curbs for fleets of trucks to pick up. That's the situation by me, and presumably in other major metro areas. For more urban settings, I suggest driving around on recycling nights in the more densely populated neighborhoods or developments if they put bins at their driveways. While there's no need to open their bins, there could be some odds and ends that won't fit or are put on the side for the taking.
If you see my last post, yard sales may be a loophole for taking stuff off of people's hands if they may throw them out after. While you're there you could also ask if they have anything extra around they may be tossing out that you could recycle for them.
When I was at the yard sale event in that post, many houses put their unsold stuff out on the curb after the day was done. Others who didn't have a sale, left stray things on their driveways with "free" signs to take... I got a chainsaw and weed whacker for FREE from the driveway of someone purging with no sale.
Do you mean a Steem tag? I don't use other social media outside of Facebook Marketplace to sell things. I appreciate the offer, but your interest and engagement is all I'd ever ask for. Thanks.