SALEM, N.H. — Inspired by the amount of unused, quality goods strewn about her house, Rebecca Webster has kicked them to the curb of her Granite Avenue home.
Built by her husband, Jason, their front lawn now sports a handmade, two-tiered wooden hut named “Granite Goodies,” where passersby can choose from an assortment of household items and leave monetary donations for the Salem Animal Rescue League.
“The idea came to me a couple of years ago. I always saw the Little Free Libraries and I liked that idea. I loved the community piece, but I wanted to do something a little different,” Webster said. “Instead of having books, I wanted to have things and stuff in it.”
On Thursday, the cart held a variety of plates, mugs and candles, a large school bag, a phone case, sunglasses, trinkets and hats displayed in different wicker baskets and wooden boxes. In the center of it all is a notebook where people can handwrite messages to the Websters.
“The items are basically coming from things in my home that I might not use as often,” Webster said.
She markets the donation cart on social media every Sunday to show off the upcoming week’s newest arrivals. Though she takes donated items, she’s picky about what she accepts.
“I’ve had people drop off donations and they’ve dropped off a few cute things but I don’t want it to be a dumping ground either,” Webster said. “People have been respecting that and not just dropping things off.”
If people have things they want to donate, she asks them to message her on Facebook and send her pictures of the items they’re thinking about gifting. When items in the cart don’t get taken, Webster brings them to the Salem dump as a last ditch effort where there’s a spot for people to put donations.
With the winter season quickly approaching, Webster said she plans to leave the donation cart open and fill it with holiday-specific items. In the spring and summer, she hopes to sell flowers and vegetables she grows at home.
She said the cart, her husband’s handiwork, came out better than she possibly could have imagined.
“I was begging for an egg crate,” Webster joked.