All I wanted to do was donate my mirror. That turned out to be a lot more challenging than I anticipated.
There was a full length mirror on the back of my closet door when I moved into my new apartment. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was functional. I'm not much of a decorator so I figured I would replace it with something that didn't belong in a college dorm room later.
Ever notice how something that doesn't bother you for a long time can suddenly become a huge annoyance? This is what lead me to randomly decide to paint my living room or rip up the carpeting that hasn't bothered me for months. That's what happened with my mirror.
One day I suddenly realized that as a 30 something year old woman, if I was going to be looking at myself every day before I went to work, I could treat myself to a nicer reflective object. The only problem was I couldn't find a full length mirror I liked (once I decide to change something I'm actually surprisingly picky). Three different Walmart's later, I had found a mirror that wasn't already broken and had a nice frame and door hooks. Now I just had to get rid of the sad one I already had.
Taking it off the door was surprisingly difficult because the previous owner had used a million of those sticky frame holders to practically glue it on. Picture trying to peel a piece of paper off the wall without ripping it after it's been stuck there for several years. I was trying to preserve the backing so when I took it to Goodwill, it would still look pretty nice. Mission accomplished, and the mirror sat in my kitchen for a few days before I headed out to be a good green person who doesn't toss everything in a landfill. Turns out being green is surprisingly difficult.
They wouldn't take my mirror! The woman at Goodwill took one look at it and pronounced, "We don't accept mirrors without hooks to hang them up with."
I was a little taken aback because after all, the mirror wasn't broken, and if someone wanted to hang it, hooks aren't that expensive. "Oh well," I thought, "I'll go buy some cheap hooks and put them on myself." Back to Walmart.
$2 later, I've got the hooks and have laid the mirror on the floor so I can put them on straight. A little piece came off the corner of the frame when I put one on, but I glued it back on. Off to Goodwill again.
I didn't know Goodwill could be so picky! Different woman decreed that since there was now a corner missing off the frame (it came off in the car), they wouldn't accept the mirror. On a side note, why couldn't wood glue hold this thing together?
At this point, I'm really starting to wonder if it's worth the effort and trying to figure out how I can safely bust the mirror up so I can put it in a town trash bag that I also have to pay money for. Any chance a mad crafter is hanging around that might want this thing?
Turns out I wasn't that far off. After explaining my frustration to one of my eternally patient brothers, he offered to take the mirror off my hands for his business space. If it turned out that he didn't like it, his mill is full of artsy types that I'm sure can do something beautiful with a college dorm mirror.
Maybe someday I'll see it in a modern painting or something. I'll get a warm glow inside and think, "Oh, I'm so glad I didn't throw that away! My little green thought has given something beautiful to the world of art. I'll buy a copy of the picture and donate it to Goodwill. Then again, they'd probably want hooks on the frame."
