Dorms are as big a part of the Notre Dame experience as all football Saturday traditions combined! No other university puts as much emphasis on dorm life and fellowship as Notre Dame. This awesomeness almost makes me want to leave my humble hovel in the Saint Mary's woods!
Dorms definitely create fulfilling and valuable experiences for students, helping them form relationships that will last a lifetime. But with the amount of stuff you cram in those rooms, you're acting like you'll be living here for the remaining portion of your lives. Guaranteed, you probably have at least one of the following: A mini fridge with one leg that is too short and wobbles whenever you touch it, four to five box fans (unless you live in one of the post-1970s palaces), a TV older than you are, a couch older than the aforementioned TV or an assorted set of T-shirts from freshman year events you hardly remember. When it comes down to it, you have more junk crammed in those tiny rooms than I have ever owned in my thrifty and conservation-laden lifetime!
This excess junk, which I have seen in almost every dorm room I've visited, has one thing in common. You'll probably never use it after you leave. Boom, I said it. You won't wear your Domerfest T-shirt to go get coffee with friends. You won't take those box fans to your new apartment. You definitely won't use your mini fridge to store your food! Even your trusty bicycle that usually gets you from point A to B without the chain falling off probably won't follow you when you leave here. Unlike all the fond memories you have of my high fives and tender dance moves, they will be forgotten!
Now that we're on the same page, I have an idea to pitch. All these bikes, clothes, fridges and other possessions often get crammed into a trash room until it looks like my closet (I have a lot of capes). Why not put them to better use? I'm talking about Old2Gold. Old2Gold, the University's year-end campus yard sale, is an annual win, win, win situation.
All you have to do to set this string of wins in motion is donate your gently used and unwanted goods to designated drop-stations situated around campus. There will be signs to guide you through this process and psychologists to help you through any separation anxiety you may have (that is a boldfaced lie).
Wood pickups will occur in the wee hours of May 2 and 3, and regular donations will be picked up May 6 through 20 from 7 to 9 a.m. These items will be sold at the ninth annual Old2Gold sale June 15 from 7 to 10 a.m at Notre Dame Stadium. The generated proceeds are given to nearly 40 local charities that assist in organizing the sale. You get to keep using your trash room without climbing a mountain, someone else gets a new mini fridge for a bargain and a local non-profit gets funding to continue serving the community.
As Charlie Sheen may have once said, "Old2Gold is winning, winning, winning!" If he potentially said that, he would be right! When you donate to Old2Gold, you're also reducing and reusing. Your old fridge keeps chillin' for another three years, one less fridge is bought new and global resources are saved. In the end, everyone is happy, especially I am. So, in all seriousness, I encourage you to move all your items out of your residence hall at the end of the year and donate the items you don't think you'll use to Old2Gold.
Save the planet, help others save some money and serve the community by donating to Old2Gold!
GreenMan out.
Email your predicaments to The GreenMan at askthegreenman@gmail.com and let him answer you with a sustainable twist. The GreenMan will be here every other week to provide you with insights you never knew you were missing out on until now.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
