Getting off my can to earn some coin

I've spent part of the last two days carting recyclable cans and bottles and taking them back to stores for refunds. And I'm still not completely done.

I guess I let the cans and bottle stack up for a while. I haven't bought any beer or soft drinks in months, and still I had a ton of cans and plastic bottles stacked up and tucked away.

I hate taking the cans and bottles back. It takes so long and its messy. The machines that you have to put the bottles and cans in to be counted always seem to be needing serviced, and often they don't count some of the cans at all. It's a huge pain in the ass.

The maximum most stores say they will let you return at once is twelve 12-packs, or 144 bottles and/or cans. That seems like a lot, but for all the lugging, sorting, hassle and inconvenience, it nets 7 dollars and 20 cents.

So, I spent that last two days driving to multiple stores, waiting in lines, and sticking far too many cans and bottles into machines one-by-one, to be counted. The last stop was the worst. I was taking back a bunch of plastic and glass bottles. There was a large crowd at the machine and the machines kept breaking down on the people I was waiting on. Then, when I finally got to put my recyclables in, the machines quick working on me three different times. I finally gave up and brought about a third of the bottles I had hoped to turn in back home. So, I will still have to go back.

I hate to calculate just how much money that would equate to by the hour. I'm sure it wouldn't even be minimum wage. And the gas spent driving all over town will cut into my net return.

But I'm almost done. And so far, I've received $53 and some change. And I've got room again in my cabinets and closet.

I can say it's nice to earn some money, rather than think about spending money in my free time. It's kept me busy.

Now I'm debating whether to raid my coin jars and turning them in at Coinstar machines. I'm not a fan of paying 10 cents on the dollar for the machines to coin my coins. But maybe it's time to get rid of that clutter too.