For a couple of years, I volunteered at my daughter’s school helping to organize [the immeasurably disgusting] lost and found. Which sometimes? resulted in me passive-aggressively ranting at parents on our school’s social media page and/or at parent group meetings, wherein I urged them to come and collect their children’s [muddy/moldy/lice-y/gross] belongings as well as talk to their offspring about taking responsibility for their things.

(Yes. I’m fun. It’s true.)

In spite of my ranting, the L&F was always, always full of stuff that nobody laid claim to. Nice stuff. Patagonia jackets and Nutcase bike helmets and stainless-steel food containers—along with dirty socks and the odd jester hat. (It’s like a privileged renaissance festival!)

Said stuff, however disgusting in its abandoned form, represents a convergence of resources that are going to waste. Which really frosts my cookies. (See: “passive-aggressive” above)

WASTE #1) Said child no longer has said jacket, which said parents initially dropped coin on and now have to expend further resources buying another one.
WASTE(S) #2) The carbon footprint generated by creating said item of clothing and getting it to said child who lost said item and now has to get another one, thereby doubling said footprint:
- Two times the water used to make said item—for example, it takes around 2,000 gallons to make a pair of jeans and 660 to make a cotton t-shirt (that includes growing the cotton and manufacturing the clothes); polyester is less than 100 gallons.
- Two times the power (electricity, gas, coal, etc.) and person hours spent creating said item at a factory, not to mention power expended at the store where said item was purchased.
- Two times the fuel to transport said item from wherever it was created, and the various legs of the journey from that place to said home.
- WASTE #3) The increase to the landfill that said item may wind up in, because said item is not usable by the charity shop upon which said item was foisted. (Do people buy used bike helmets? USED JESTER HATS??? [Is there a ren-fest-specific Goodwill?])

That’s a lot of unnecessary expenditures that also generate physical waste, which takes time to break down (if it ever does, depending on how much plastic is involved).

My point is, take care of your things. They came a long way and took a lot of resources to get here. Please note! I’m not saying don’t have things—have all the things you need/use/love! Treasure them until they no longer serve you, physically or energetically! I don’t condone holding onto things for the sake of sunk cost fallacy. If you’re done, you’re done, don’t burden yourself by devoting space to That Which Does Not Serve You.

But! There is a difference between intentionally letting something go and unintentionally letting something go due to neglect or careless use. All I’m saying is, be intentional—your wallet AND the planet will be better for it.

Love, The Cranky Lost and Found Mom

For more reading on water footprints:

Want to save money *and* help the planet? Take good care of your things… Or, why I hate the lost and found

Want to save money and help the planet? Take good care of your things… Or, why I hate the lost and found