OT: Any Guiders out there?

[Crycket]

Hello there..

As some of you know I am a leader to a unit of Pathfinders, have been Guiding since I was 6 and have been leading for the past...lets say 10 years.

Whilst in Toronto, I had 1 box of core supply stuff. Stuff like my old books, resources, stuff that I might need to get into. Really, nothing special.

For 9 or so years, this was good enough. I eventually expanded into two more banker like boxes with stuff exclusively for my Harry Potter camp, so that I could run it again if I was asked. Things like forms and crafts. So...three banker style cardboard boxes.

So I move to Kitchener and take over a unit of Pathfinders and the formers leaders dump on my 1 very large big Rubbermaid type box, 1 slightly smaller bin, (both full of camping gear) and a considerably smaller clear box full of craft junk. Oh...and a folding camp table.

I was enlightened today that there was more stuff. This is a year later, and one of the former leaders tells me she is moving and needs to drop off "the rest" of the stuff she has, some craft stuff and a camp stove.

Ok...I am not pleased with this, as I already have a corner of my basement dedicated to the original crap I didn't want in my basement, but it has to go somewhere, and it has to go somewhere today. (ON EASTER SUNDAY...really!! >.>)

Fine...I will take it. Turns out that "little bit of craft stuff" is Two very large rubbermaid bins (bringing the grand total to 3 very large rubbermaid bins) a box of books and a flag. This and a note attached saying she left the camp stove with another guider so I would not have to take care of it!

Really? Honestly...after the s*$% load of crap, she does me the favour of leaving the camp stove elsewhere!

*sigh* sorry for the rant, but this really angers me! How many of you are leaders, and have THIS much stuff dumped on you. I am a tiny unit of 7 girls. I am not a former commissioner or anything. Really...The space this stuff is occupying will be my craft room in a year or so. I would very literally have to build a shed in my back yard to accomodate it!

I do have the good fortune that another leader is going to take some of it, hopefully leaving me with little more than my original 3 boxes...that came with me from TO. Still...I should not have this much junk coming my way.

Thanks for the listen....

Crycket

[AngelaR]

I did the leadership thing for a long time. Mostly it was because no one else would do it and it had to be done. It's where I learned a very important word. No. I got tired of being dumped on time after time and having my children's playroom eventually taken over for storage of Little League, football, basketball and PTA stuff.

People don't take advantage of you if you don't let them. Learn to say "NO" in a resounding voice full of authority. It's how I got out of bake sales.

[Crycket]

Well...in the case it was say yes or a whole ton of stuff went to the garbage.

I understand what you are saying though...it is a very important word to know!

[Lucy78green]

I'm an assistant guider with the Brownies. Our former Brown Owl was a hoarder and her whole loft was full of stuff, we also have a cupboard in the church hall. When she was retiring she gave us a load of stuff, and would be offended if she realised how much of it was binned. If the kids haven't used it recently and aren't likely to any time soon it got dumped - we still need to have a raid out to be honest.

[Sunshine's Mom]

Well, think of it this way....You can throw out a lot of the crap and have some very nice Rubbermaid bins for storage of yarn!

[Crycket]

Well, think of it this way....You can throw out a lot of the crap and have some very nice Rubbermaid bins for storage of yarn!

:roflhard:

I did empty one...turfed two garbage bags worth of stuff! Mostly old crafts from kids that have moved on like 4/5 years ago. That and old paint that was drying up and old feathers that looked like they had had better days!

I did manage to empty out one bin, and if I can get the permanent marker off the top with our unit #, I am most certainly using it for my stuff. I haven't decided whether I am going to use it for MY Guiding stuff, or whether it will be for Yarn, but it will be put to use!

See..Lucy78green, that is what I was thinking. Anywhere I have ever been, there has been a place to store craft supplies. Whether it has been a church or a school, there was always a cubby for us to use! I don't know why they had so much, and why it has to be at my place.

I also don't understand why we have camping supplies. It seems to me there was always patrol boxes when I went camping. Mind you that was on Girl Guide owned properties. I guess this area prefers using public facilities. *shrugs* I don't get it!!

[Lucy78green]

Our girls are 7-10, though for some reason this year we seem to have more of the younger age group in our pack. We don't bring them camping so we don't have tents and stuff to store, but we usually have a pack holiday once a year in a holiday house or a sleepover somewhere. So we do have a massive first aid box and some plastic bowls and cups etc that Brown Owl minds the rest of the year.
I am not a member of the church - our Guides and Brownies are open to the whole local area which is how I came to be a member in the first place. The other two leaders are church members however. We are lucky in that we don't have to pay to use the halls, but we are expected to support church functions and fund-raisers. The cupboard we have is quite big - I think it used to be a cloakroom back when the church had it's own primary school - but we have stuff in it like gym mats that we never use that were donated to us, and other donated items that we really have no use for. I am wondering how long we have to hold on to some of it before disposing of it without hurting anyone's feelings

[Crycket]

I kinda miss being a Brown Owl...I was one about 7 years back, and it was nice...but I like the older girls too, they are funny and we can do the stuff you can't do in big groups. That being said, it is hard to play games with such a small group. *smiles*