Re-gifting or Sharing the Wealth

My neighbor knocked on the door last night with a barely used airpopper popcorn popper. He was planning on throwing it away unless we could use it. Now in many ways I wish he would have taken it straight to Goodwill but my husband who can refuse nothing took it to keep it from becoming trash. (Actually it saved him from dumpster diving - don't ask me about the drum set he pulled out of the trash last week.) Anyway it got me wondering about a phone call I had from my sister-n-law after Christmas. Actually my husband was conveying her message to me asking if I could use some tea she had gotten for Christmas. I replied that I wasn't sure but I could probably find someone of my tea-loving friends who could use it. Somehow this got translated over the phone to I would re-gift it, to which she replied she would just drink it up herself.

So I asked my husband how the popcorn maker was any different than the tea I would have passed on. Was it regarded re-gifting? Neither our neighbor or I planned on wrapping these items and giving them as a gift to someone. You see I have the Robin Hood philosopy of "sharing the wealth."

My son says even if you don't gift wrap it, it is still considered re-gifting. Yet it was quite ok to give it to Goodwill where it could be sold and raise money for those in need.

Now I have been guilty of re-gifting, these are new items that don't mean much to me but I know others would enjoy more. I think that sharing the wealth by passing things on (just think of hand-me-downs) helps ecologically by keeping folks like my neighbor who just want to trash it along with helping others economically by helping them save money in this economy.

So what do you think? When does "sharing the wealth" become re-gifting?

I would love to hear your comments.

PS Team Buist made a delicious fajita dinner tonight. I cut the meat. John seasoned and cooked it, and I fried up the veggies which my husband got pre-cut at the 99 cent store. My son's thinking of culinary school now.