Get Creative on Give Your Stuff Away Day

It’s a great idea in theory. Give Your Stuff Away Day (formerly known as Curb Day) calls for residents all over the nation—and beyond—to haul the stuff they don’t want or need anymore to the curb on May 14, allowing other residents to pick it up. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right?

Started by New York teacher Mike Marone, Give Your Stuff Away Day calls for safe, usable items only (no food, drugs, garbage, chemicals or weapons) and hopes to shrink landfills by letting people offer up their unwanted stuff to interested passersby. 

There’s just one problem. Some cities have ordinances that prevent residents from participating in Give Your Stuff Away Day—Edina is one of them. 

Section 1035 of city code (General Nuisances) lists the following as nuisances affecting public health: “Discarded or Disused Equipment or Material and Refuse. Accumulations of discarded or disused machinery, household appliances and furnishings, or other material, or storage in the open of machinery, equipment, or materials not in normal use on the premises where stored, in a manner conducive to the harboring of rats, mice, snakes or vermin, or to fire, health or safety hazards from such accumulations.”

Section 705 (Storage, Collection and Disposal of Refuse and Compostable Materials) also states any “accumulation of refuse not placed in containers is declared to be a nuisance.”

Granted, Give Your Stuff Away Day is clearly for items that other people might be interested in and not refuse, but you see what we’re getting at. 

Jennifer Bennerotte, Edina’s communications director, summed it up like this: “If people want to give away their stuff they just can’t leave it outside.”

If you still want to participate in Give Your Stuff Away Day this Saturday, but don’t want to violate city ordinances in doing so, arrange a swap day with friends and family instead. It’s a great way to get new-to-you items and clear out some of the clutter in your house at the same time. 

Bennerotte also suggested checking out Freecycle (think Craigslist, but everything’s free). Take what you would have lugged out to the curb and post it on Freecycle instead. You can then make arrangements privately for the pickup of the items. The City of Edina has nothing against keeping perfectly good items out of landfills, it’s just leaving stuff outside that is in violation of local ordinances.

Really, this should come as no surprise. It wasn’t very long ago that Edina residents couldn’t even bring their trash to the curb for pickup—it had to be left by a side door or garage.

This was recently changed, as it confused residents who were able to leave the (more clean and less of an eyesore) recycling at the curb, but not the garbage. New Edina residents would often mistakenly put their trash out at the curb, as that’s the norm in most cities. Residents are still allowed to leave the trash by the side door or garage if they so choose, and haulers cannot charge more for the inconvenience.

With this in mind, it might be awhile—if ever—before Edina allows its residents to leave free couches and toaster ovens on the curb. Until then, we’ll have to get creative.