I Think I Will Pass On The Free Pink Tile

I just saw this listing on craigslist today:  "Free Pink Tile"  Yep, just like you remember it from your grandma's bathroom.  While I do need more tile for the floor, I think I will pass on this one.  A more cynical person might say, "why would you even put something like that on craigslist?"  But I bet the pink tile will be gone before Tom Brady completes his first pass.  There is amazing creativity out there.  People construct the coolest items from the junk most of us toss into our trash.  Yes, this is a post in favor of re-purposing.

No, re-purposing is not some liberal inconvenient truth rhetoric, nor is it a government conspiracy designed to distract the proletariat while politicians empty the public coffers.  No, re-purposing is what your grandma did when she cut the top off the the plastic milk carton and put it around her young tomato plants.  Add a few sequins and some ribbon and it might get pinned to your Pinterest account.  Re-purposing is just common sense.  Why throw away what you or someone else might use for another purpose?  No one said building materials can only be used for construction projects.  The options are endless! 

 And that is what the pink tile donor did.  This is what he/she described:"Free Pink tile squares 4x4, some whole, some pieces. Great for crafting or any other DIY! Please email for location, it's either your home or the trash for it all! Taking it off the bathroom walls as we speak! I will remove this posting when it's gone!" 

 I can see it now, a gathering football loving-men huddled around a big screen television in the man.  Meanwhile, their wives are sitting around a large table upstairs, crafting in wait for the next commercial break, saying, "where did you find this great pink tile?"

So next time you are throwing away, well, almost anything, you might ask yourself, "could someone else use this?"  If you think so, put it out on your curb, take a quick picture, and list in on craigslist.  You don't even have to include your phone number or email address.  Just list it first-come, first-served.

If, however, your item is a shower enclosure, would you give me a call first?  I am kind of looking for one of those.  But if it's pink, I'll pass.

Postcript: If we really did this, it would, after all, reduce the amount of junk in our landfills, reduce the amount of emissions produced by the manufacturing of stuff we buy that we could just get for free, and reduce our dependence on foreign manufacturing and child labor.  In the end, we all win.  Now that is bipartisanship!