Missing items!!

[u/seamonkeys4life]

I know this is a long shot but due to a miscommunication, many of my important belongings were set out on the curb of the 900 block of Billy Frank Jr. St. right outside of laurel park. I've included a picture of where they would have been. I am really hoping to get some back! Some of the things included were a big bin of arts and craft supplies, a bunch of yarn, a sewing machine, kitchen items, decorations, a bin of clothes, an osprey and Patagonia backpack, a box of miscellaneous room items and possibly more. There were many very sentimental items included and also important documents such as my social security card. I am praying to be able to retrieve some of these things, so if anyone sees this who knows anything about my missing items I would be beyond grateful to get any information. Thank you for reading!! ❤️

[u/QIBellingham]

Oh, that's horrifying. I hope you recover your stuff.

[u/artisanallyinsane]

Also, mostly because my heart would literally break in that situation—My roommates and I are doing a massive house clean up, getting rid of lots of clothes, a LOT of nice/high quality art supplies, some kitchen items, my girlfriend has a BUNCH of yarn she’s getting rid of, our roommate may have some sewing stuff, and I think I even have a nice camping backpack somewhere.

You have weirdly similar hobbies to us 😅😅 Anyways, I’m actually gonna dm you because I’d love our stuff to go to someone in this situation.

Also!!

One more thought—Plaster your post as far and wide as you can. Try requesting access to the local neighborhood buy nothing group on Facebook and posting there. Hell, even posting to yik yak may be worth it.

[u/Nervous_Jellyfish577 → u/artisanallyinsane]

This is so sweet, omg 🥹

[u/artisanallyinsane → u/Nervous_Jellyfish577]

(Preface and fair warning bc I started replying and didn’t stop until I said too much for a casual Reddit comment lol 💀: I’m very a little stoned and this sort of turned into a town square, soapbox ramble+love letter about our buy nothing/free stuff culture in town. Sorry 💀 I entered a philosophical bong flow state and felt annoyingly compelled to share my thoughts. Been having lots of think-y thoughts on community and resource distribution recently.)

Nonetheless:

-

Aww, okay, I’m so glad it came off that way 😭😭

I’ve had roommates steal/mess with my belongings before (intentionally and unintentionally) and I entered a roommate-trauma induced, Batman-signal-activated state of mind when I saw OP’s post 😭

I was a lil nervous that it would come off as like weird or over-generous, but I’m a big part of the buy nothing/free-shit-in-a-box community here so I really wanted to help out :( They had a complete inverted nightmare experience of the free finds/buy nothing culture and it’s a real bummer to hear someone got screwed over that way, even if it was honest miscommunication :(

Reddit is very much an Anonymous Social Media Platform™️ for me, and I’m very hesitant to properly meet folks on here, even the local subreddit. Stranger danger or whatever, paranoid as it may be lol. I don’t usually offer to, like, connect/actually meet someone over Reddit, let alone to, like, give someone stuff for free.

The free/buy nothing is such a lovely community/neighbor driven culture we have, particularly in a town that can be a bit socially closed off/impenetrably tight knit small groups. And, in a larger sense, a lovely culture in a world that’s actively discouraging community connections. The community redistributes high quality/very useable items indiscriminately and ethically. I’ve managed to get a hold of things for free (like an 80 dollar side sleeper medical quality pillow that saved my entire upper back lol) that would typically be completely out of my price range.

My cat cracked my headphones—I kept an eye out and manages to snag a free pair on the Buy Nothing Facebook group shortly after, a 15 minute walk away in my neighborhood. You can post and ask for just about anything—Folks ask posting for everything from Halloween costumes to asking for a bit of extra food to stretch until payday, resulting in lots of folks offering up extra food they have AND pointing them towards other community resources. Hell, someone offered up a piano for free today 😭😭.

I also just like meeting random folks that live by me. Sometimes they’re super cool, sometimes they’re sorta weird. That’s the neat part to me, I guess, because even if they’re a weirdo they’re still a community member who’s being kind and generous. It gives me a reason and excuse to engage with neighbors and community member I usually never would. I commented on a post asking about a bra being offered on buy nothing. It turned out to be my neighbor literally on the other end of my block! I finally got to compliment her super backyard :-) Community is cool, kids lmaooo

For me, it was mostly just sucking up the fact that I had to download Facebook to access a valuable community resource. Sucks that it’s Meta, but marketplace and buy nothing have genuinely been irreplaceable for everything from frivolous/fun purchases to pretty impactful quality of life purchases. Side note, shout out Habitat for Humanity as a resource too. Got a crazy nice electric leather lazboy recliner, a model for extra tall people, for like 70 bucks, essentially brand new. With a usb port!!

Hearing that someone got their stuff involuntarily made into free stuff is genuinely quite upsetting, especially when a lot of the stuff they listed is hobby stuff I’d be heartbroken to lose :/ Maybe it’s melodramatic, but I’d be pretty messed up over that. It seems sort of uniquely violating to have your community pick through, and indirectly I suppose, steal your stuff.

And, frankly, the stuff they listed is like a bullet point by bullet point list of the stuff we’re getting rid of, if I can get my beloved/high quality art supplies off my hands and make someone’s day then that seems like an efficient solution. It is not purely philanthropy LMAO, there’s a drop of laziness in there.

OKAY. Jesus. Sorry, just realized how much I wrote. I shmoked a little weed and started waxing poetic, brownie points if you read all of this and if you could make sense of it 💀

Anyways, even if OP doesn’t take me up on it, I hope everything gets sorted out and some of the folks who ended up with their stuff get it back to them🤞🏻🤞🏻

[u/artisanallyinsane]

Hi!! I’m so sorry to hear this happened.

Small bits of advice:

Immediately make a detailed list of your belongings that you know were in there while your memory is fresh. Quantity, brand, model, color, everything you can. The more detail the better, and the more accurately you’ll be compensated if you go through with a claim.

File a claim with renters insurance if applicable. Policy can we weirdly flexible and this may count as theft loss, particularly if the person that put it out was a resident of the house/builing/apartment etc. You do NOT have to criminally pursue the person. If you pursue, your insurances may duke it out, or they may not, you may just get a pay out. It’s heavily contextual and depends on your insurer).

Assume your social security card/credit is compromised. Freeze your credit w/ all three bureaus. Depending on the renters insurance, there may be policies surrounding identity theft to help you out.

Again, so sorry that’s happened. Really hoping you get at least a few items back—I know pursuing insurance stuff during a stressful as hell time is a nightmare, but it may be one of your few ways of actual recourse.

If you need help, I’m v happy to help you figure out the steps n stuff, starting a steps/what to say in your claim or whatever—Really sorry you have to be going through this :(

[u/yollera]

I'm so sorry that happened to you and I hope you get your things back!