Job Discussion Forums

[dmb]

I am very slowly packing boxes, getting ready to move next week.
I never realised how much crap I have. Where does it all come from?

Maybe because I'm Scottish and I never throw anything out.

[tekirdag]

Like most posters on this forum, I have moved many times internationally. It is AMAZING how much builds up in a year, isn't it? And when you have to squeeze your things into a few suitcases for a flight, you learn fast what is really necessary. It is a good lesson! I haven't moved for a year and a half but I still periodically edit my belongings and give some the boot.

You need to see my in-laws' home. OMG! I think they haven't even tossed a busted pen in 30 years. Perhaps that is better for the environment, though.

Does Turkey have much in the way of recycling? I haven't seen much evidence. I don't wan to throw everything away....those are perfectly good soda bottles!!

[molly farquharson]

I have moved a lot, so I purge every time. I came to Turkey 8 years ago with a couple of suitcases and a few boxes-- and now I literally have a houseful. And a storage unit in the US, which I hope to empty soon. Things are sticky-- they each have stories and they attach to us. However, sometimes it is necessary to jettison them, which can be quite a challenge. Except for teaching books, I usually get rid of the books first. Then clothes.

Re recycling, there are those big green and white collection places for bottles (clear and coloured) but I haven't seen any in my neighbourhood and I suspect a lot of them just collect garbage. I've also seen colelctors for batteries, but they just seem to moulder and melt and no one picks them up. However, the real recycling is done by the scavengers. I think it is interesting to watch them, actually, as they seem to specialize in various kinds of things-- paper or metal especially. They are the recyclers and I usually put those kinds of things beside the dumpster so they can be easily retrieved. If I have old but usable things like clothes, I drop them off in a poor neighbourhood, easy to find where I live.

[justme]

I'm the worst accumulator that ever lived. I even have a shoebox that contains, among other things, wishbones I've saved from various poultry over the years, and all the extra buttons that come with shirts. Somehow that box always makes the cut when I'm getting rid of things. At least I got myself to toss the collection of keys and broken jewelry I'd ground scored over the years.

Eskicis, or some type of scavenger or other, seem to meticulously go through every pile of trash and take everything that can be used , eaten, or sold. I used to feel guilty about not recycling, but when I saw how thoroughly those guys go through stuff, I realized it probably works better than curbside recycling...

[tekirdag]

I haven't seen anyone going through the large garbage bin in front of our building here in Tekirdağ. Wonder why that is? Our trash isn't good enough?!?

[justme]

It could be that someone is stopping them somehow-- they do make a mess, after all. But I'm pretty sure most stuff gets sifted through at some point, even if it's at the dump.

Has anyone ever seen Taksim meydan around sunrise, when they're sweeping an incredible number of collected water bottles and cans together to take away? It's quite a sight...

[dmb]

[yaramaz]

I realized that I had reached critical mass this summer-- the point, after 11 years of moving about internationally, where not only wouldnt my accumulated stuff fit into airline regulation baggage but I actually needed a car to move my belongings from the asian side to the european side. And I needed a few more duffel bag bus trips after that for the odds and ends. My main guilty point is books. With a semi permanent home to call my home, I have allowed my book fetish to continue to grow unabated.

Oh, and I bought furniture for the first time ever in my life this summer. And a tv. And an oven and fridge and washing machine. Dang it but I think I might be an adult now.

[dmb]

[whynotme]