Cache Maintenance

[+emmieo]

As I maintain my caches and go geocaching, I find that larger caches seem to get filled with old, used, somewhat dirty kid's toys. All my new items are taken from my caches and replaced with toys. I know it is a great activity for families with kids but is there a tactful way to say...no old and used stuff that nobody wants. Please help.

[+StarBrand]

Sorry - that does tend to happen - although it shouldn't.

 

This is frequently brought up in the forums - in fact this is the 3rd such thread this week alone - here is one of the others: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=248125

 

Best any of us can do is to always trade up or trade even. Start our caches off with good new decent swag. Add swag to caches lacking any. Leave a few nice items for junk. Thats what i am trying to teach my kids anyway.

[+Knight2000]

You can put notes inside the caches urging others to trade up or trade even.

 

Fortunately I have not seen this in any of our caches. We try to keep them clean and well stocked with items kids would like.

 

Occasionally we see logs from people that certainly don't trade even. Once someone took about $7 worth of stuff and left a item worth about 25 cents. They were newer. The one that burnt me the most was a seasoned cacher that took a NIP flashlight and left their signature lucky penny. How even.

 

I don't know what folks trade but I don't often open a cache of ours and see it filled with crap. In fact often I see it filled with the items we stocked it with. Many times it looks like that stocked ammo can hasn't even been touched.

[+JoesBar]

Read any geocache forum and everyone will state that they 'trade up or trade even.' If that's the case, then the folks that post on forums don't actually cache. the sad truth is that the swag in caches degrades. It's just the way it is. Maybe that's the reason so many folks just put out micros. Then they only have to change a log sheet now and again.

[+briansnat]

Read any geocache forum and everyone will state that they 'trade up or trade even.' If that's the case, then the folks that post on forums don't actually cache. the sad truth is that the swag in caches degrades. It's just the way it is. Maybe that's the reason so many folks just put out micros. Then they only have to change a log sheet now and again.

 

One thing I noticed that causes degradation of contents is the idea that trading multiple garbage items is an equal trade for one good one. I've seen logs that said something like "Took the Mini Mag Lite and left a Sanka coupon, an acorn, a Metro Card with 35 cents left on it, a toy soldier and a ticket stub from a Donnie and Marie Osmond concert".

[BCProspectors]

Read any geocache forum and everyone will state that they 'trade up or trade even.' If that's the case, then the folks that post on forums don't actually cache.

The members of these forums represent a very small percentage of the entire Geocaching community.

[angelskeepbandb]

I'm obliviously quite new at this, and I am sure I know very little, but while we were waiting for the Fedex guy to deliver our GPSr, we went shopping for swag. We went to the doillar store and tried to get things that children especially would like, but also some things adults might find handy. They aren't diamonds, but they don't seem to me like just *junk*. We got pet things as well, and chose things our own dogs would like to find (or to have us find for them). So far, we've only found one cache and it was too small to put anything in, so we just signed the log. I have to say that even though we are new, I would never leave used, dirty junk for someone else to find. At the very least, I would (will) leave new, clean junk.

 

I kinda sorta would like to find things in caches that would make nice mementos of our adventures and even a marble or a lucky penny would be fun to find.

 

I hope that people in my area are considerate. Even if I find junk, I will leave caches I found better stocked than before I was there. Maybe I should make the upgrading of swag my personal CITO goal...trash out!

 

Just sayin'

 

Barb

[+StarBrand]

Read any geocache forum and everyone will state that they 'trade up or trade even.' If that's the case, then the folks that post on forums don't actually cache. the sad truth is that the swag in caches degrades. It's just the way it is. Maybe that's the reason so many folks just put out micros. Then they only have to change a log sheet now and again.

Sorry that is your experience but some of my caches have actually gotten better with time. Fuller and some nice stuff!! Not all of them but it is true of a few.

[hoosier guy]

As I maintain my caches and go geocaching, I find that larger caches seem to get filled with old, used, somewhat dirty kid's toys. All my new items are taken from my caches and replaced with toys. I know it is a great activity for families with kids but is there a tactful way to say...no old and used stuff that nobody wants. Please help.

 

I think you did a good job right there! Maybe a discliamer on the cache descriptions? I know there is no perfect answer for a self policing community.