I've spent the last hour staring at my blank computer screen trying to concoct a tactful way of conveying my annoyance regarding the issue around which this blog post revolves. However, after missing both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy (my faves!), hearing my husband put together the last of big boy Christmas toys and start playing with them - without me :-(  - and cleaning up a lovely pile of kitty vomit left behind by my 14-year-old decrepit Blue (oh the joys of pet ownership), I have given up wasting my energy trying to find a politically correct way to reprimand donaters who habitually "donate" garbage.

Yes, you read that right - Garbage, with a capital G.

I'm all for paying it forward and I'm also all for the four Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle (and regift!). However, it really irks me when others recycle by means of donating items which are truly and purely trash. The old saying "one person's trash is another person's treasure" must be taken with a grain of salt. No one wants your kids' destroyed toys or your stained underwear. My mother used to run a non-profit based thrift shop out of now defunct St. Mark's Episcopal Church called In the Bag, and believe it or not, she frequently received donations of the previously mentioned unmentionables. Yes. Dirty. Underwear. (Cue the horror-movie shriek and insert ashamed and embarassed emoticon here).

So, why after all the jolly Christmas spirit has this issue arisen? My dear friend has been hit by particularly hard times - a single mother who is unemployed - and was fortunate enough to be the recipient of a goodwill gesture by an acquaintance. This kind and generous individual organized a food and money collection for my dear friend. A great deal of food was collected and delivered today, only minutes before I arrived to spread my own Christmas cheer. As my dear friend and I went through the boxes of food and organized it in her tiny pantry, I began to check expiration dates. Now I understand that the phrases canned goods and nonperishables are often interchangeable, however, canned foods do have a shelf life and do in fact perish!

While I would be a liar if I said I haven't eaten food past its expiration or sell-by date, I do use caution when I do so. If I'm going to die at a mere 25 years-old, I'd rather not leave this world on account of botulism. Many of the canned foods my dear friend received while greatly appreciated were also greatly expired. For example, one can of Campbells split pea soup expired in 2004. Let's do the math. We're ready to kick off the year 2012.... That's nearly EIGHT YEARS!

That particular can was the oldest of the bunch, but many more were also years past the sell by date. It broke my heart to see my friend have to throw out many of the cans she just received as a goodwill offering.

So please, keep in mind when donating, if you wouldn't want your own family wearing it, using it or eating it, then no one else wants their family to wear it, use it or eat it either! "Needy" people don't want your trash anymore than you want it!