Neighborhood cleanup week is one of the best!

City service makes it easy for Yumans to get rid of old stuff before heat kicks in

This week marked one of my favorite weeks in Yuma … it was our turn for neighborhood cleanup. I don’t really know how so much stuff accumulates in the garage, the driveway and the backyard, but accumulate it does.

In the week leading up to my neighborhood’s turn, we go through the attic, garage and yard, making note of what has outlived its usefulness.

Then, on Sunday, we load up the curb in front of our house with whatever is leaving.

This year, that included a few old coolers that just didn’t live up to the Yuma heat, an old computer monitor, and some home repair supplies.

Later that day, we left to get lunch, and when we came home, several of those items had moved on to a new home, picked up by industrious pickers.

I have to applaud those guys. They see potential for more life in something that no longer has any value to the original owner, and in the process, they keep items out of the landfill, moving them on to a new home. It’s the ultimate

DO YOU AGREE in recycling – and if they WITH THIS OR NOT? see something they find useful sitting out on the

You can write a letter to the curb, kudos to them for editor or comment on this taking action on it.

editorial online at Then, come Monday Yumasun.com morning, the city trash trucks rolled through, and again, kudos to the city. These guys made short work of what was left on the curb. And it is weirdly satisfying to watch them feed it into the garbage truck.

It’s one thing to watch a bag of trash go into the trash truck, but another thing entirely to watch the truck eat a badly damaged piece of wood!

There were some items found in our garage that were loaded directly into the back of the truck, which will be donated to a local thrift store. We uncovered some things in great shape but that we no longer use or need – and it makes sense to pass it on to an agency that can better use them.

And that, ultimately, is the joy of neighborhood cleanup week. I know that summer is coming, and with it, Yuma’s sizzling heat. I won’t want to clean the garage, let alone step foot in the attic. Neighborhood cleanup motivates me to take care of business, to get organized and remove those things we no longer need or use. Set it by the curb, and poof! off it goes – a process made easy thanks to the city!

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