Hard Rubbish day

There is something about seeing one old urine stained mattress on someone's front lawn that makes you wonder if hard rubbish day is coming soon and then suddenly everyone has mattresses, doors, toilets (yes toilets), old sofas and boxes of junk out on their front nature strip.

It's crazy in my neighbourhood at the moment. It's like a man in a medieval robe and pushing a cart has been walking around chanting "bring out your dead!" because everyone is throwing out their dead or atleast their broken unwanted shit that has been sitting around waiting for hard rubbish day. Walking my daughter to school is like walking through a mini nature strip reserved shanty town. A fun shanty town filled with old vhs tapes (haven't seen those in ages), microwaves and broken kids outdoor toys.

I have yet to throw out anything for Hard Rubbish day. I know I have an old microwave, baby toys, highchair and a broken flat pack chest of drawers to throw out but it's raining and I've been sick so I'm putting a delay on sorting it all out for now. I am contemplating on following the trend and throwing out a mattress too. Don't want to look like I'm behind on the times.

The thing is, as I walk around with the kids, taking them to playgrounds, the shops, school or the fish and chip shop. I start to notice junk that I start thinking is not junk. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Or as I like to put it one woman's junk she made her husband throw out is another woman's stuff that she doesn't need but impulsely takes. Eg: Oh that sofa is really nice, I could recover it in lovely material and sit it in my lounge room and people will comment on out pretty it is. Mind the fact that the sofa probably has cat puke all over it and has probably been farted on for 30 years by an old lady. My mind has just started to think like that.

I don't even need any more junk. Plenty of junk at my place. Toys galore. Broken or not. I don't need that see saw set I saw around the corner or that pool table that number 34 has thrown out. Even though both would amuse the kids and I for a few days atleast..

I'm glad the council have a rule (plus hefty fine) against people taking unwanted junk from nature strips on rubbish day and a hotline for people to call if they spot people taking junk from nature strips. It's stopping me from carting this crap home and filling my shed with it. That said... I'm really liking the idea of having that 80s record turntable and cassette player from down the street in my bedroom. I like to pretend I'm a DJ.