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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

So as I was driving home today I noticed someone was throwing out a whole bunch of gift bags. They were separated out from the rest of the trash and looked clean, so I stopped, scooped them up, stashed them in my car, and hurried home. (This is just a glimpse into my cheapness, I will go where many draw the line.) While at home I started sorting through the bags to decide which bags to keep and I found a gift card to Target. It still had the card around it so I discovered it was worth $60! Now my dilemma: return the card and have to admit that I went through their trash or spend the money and feel the weight of my guilty conscious? What would you do? Some additional information to keep in mind -- I have never met these people. This would be my first interaction with them. Do I really want that kind of first impression? Second, I am not completely sure which house it came from, so a drop and run might not be effective. Finally, these were gift bags from a baby shower. By the looks of things this family cleaned up. I am placing a poll on the sidebar and invite your opinions. Comments are welcome too. I'll post in a few days what the finally decision and outcome becomes. Until then, wish me luck!

5 comments:

coolhandluke said...

My first thought was, "take the money and run!"

But then if I were the person, I could care less if someone picked up my trash if they returned to me $60. I'd be very impressed and appreciative. I wouldn't expect a reward though, maybe a nice thank you.

Anonymous said...

If you can be sure to find the right house that belongs to the garbage, and the same family who threw out the garbage still lives there, then take it back. Although Gas is expensive, so how far is the drive back to the "crime scene" or I mean "I'll take it scene"? And then, of course, the question "are you honest in all your dealings?" must come into play. So, maybe, "One man's trash is Another Man's Treasure" is not always the case...........what did your mother teach you?.....returning the gift certificate could cost you a few dollars in gas money....you'll do the right thing without a doubt!

jenn said...

All right Mary Karlee . . . the only way to not look like a complete psycho trash digger is to spend the money yourself and never go back to that place again. Technically, the second that person threw the card away, accidentally or not, it was no longer their possession, so you don't have to worry about "stealing."

Just to clarify, this is Kurt leaving the comment, not Jenn, although she agrees with me 100%.

Karisa said...

I'd say return it.

S+S said...

wwjd :D