I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a trash picker, but I do follow the mantra of "one person's trash is another's treasure". I honestly do not see anything wrong in stopping and picking something up curbside if it interests you. Most cities have the law that once it is placed in the garbage it is fair game to all, so no illegal activities are involved. Not only is trash picking (also known as dumpster diving) good for the environment by saving an item from the landfill, but it is also frugal. Finding something that you can use for free is as frugal as can be. I have seen bookshelves, desks, toy sets, and more all set out on the curb. Around here many people will put a "free" sign on those items, letting others know that it is okay to take them. I, myself, have gotten rid of a lot just by placing items on the curb with "free" on them. So it is a win-win situation. One of the best places to find really good items in the trash are in college towns right around the time that the students are moving out of their apartments for the summer. Everything imaginable can be found in the garbage then as many students don't want to lug furniture or appliances or odds and ends back home or don't have the room for them. If you live in a college town count yourself lucky!
Another great time to find goodies is if your town has a city-wide cleanup day when you can set out anything and the garbage trucks will take it away. Our town does not do this (I wish they did...we have to pay when we have something big that needs to be thrown out) but a neighboring town does. A rich neighboring town. We were lucky to have found a nice bench for our porch by driving around the day that town was having their clean-up. My mom was even luckier by finding a box of retro toy kitchen items that sold for $100 on ebay and an ugly cat cookie jar that also sold for around that price range on ebay.
One of our best finds was this television:
My husband saw this television ready to go out into the garbage at work. It apparently stopped working but my husband asked his boss if he could take it home. We took it to a repair shop just to see if it could be fixed and we were able to get it fixed for just $75. You can not find a flat screen television anywhere for $75 and it works perfectly now. My husband has been wanting a flat screen tv for quite some time now so he is thrilled and I like the fact that since it is mounted on the wall it saves us a lot of space in the living room, especially compared to the huge ugly console television that was previously in there. (Sorry for the bad photo but my flash kept showing up. You get a round of applause if you can name what older show my husband was watching as I snapped this photo.)Other finds have been a nightstand that is now in the kid's room. It was sitting at the curb with a desk (which I wish we could have gotten but didn't have the room in the van) and was an ugly yellow color. My hubby painted it a pretty purple with black knobs and it is as cute as can be now. A great space for their clock and to hold books.
I found a wooden bar stool as well. It was lonely on the curb so I brought it home. No sooner than a day later I saw a magazine photo which showed a lonely bar stool as a place to put towels in a small bathroom. This was perfect for us as we have a teeny tiny bathroom with very little counter space. There was no where to place our clean clothes to change into or towel to be used as we stepped out of the shower. Now we have a little stool that is perfect for that and it looks nice when guests arrive with a few towels and washcloths and a bar of soap arranged on it.
Don't be afraid the next time you see something on the curb that attracts your interest...stop and pick it up!Have you found a treasure in the trash? Please share your find with us!
My husband loves to do this and has found some great stuff (some of our dining room chairs in fact). It took me quite a while to be okay with the idea. I realize now, though, that whatever we can do that will allow us to save money and me to be home with the kids is good.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the television show I'm almost positive is The Cosby Show. I don't know the actor's name, but he played the oldest daughter's husband on the show.
My husband is always mortified, but I've found some great things for the boys - big plastic playhouse for the backyard was the best find for us.
ReplyDeleteMy best find was at a moving sale, the guy was just getting done and bagging up everything for the trash. An expensive camera that I sold for $150! He told me to take it, he was otherwise throwing it away. I drove by later and saw all the bags lined up at the curb and really, really wanted to go through them, but I didn't.
ReplyDeleteI also found a box of textbooks once that I sold for around $100 total.
I think the tv show is either Adam-12, Dragnet or the Incredible Hulk.
I got a 3 drawer rubbermaid thingy ( I'm too tired to think of what it's called...) that the neighbors were apparently throwing out because the bottom drawer had broken. The sections come apart though, so I was able to take the 2 working drawers and stick it on top of the 3 drawers I already had at home! Great storage for baby clothes in our closet.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I have found dressers, shelves, barstools, chairs, you name it, curbside and in the trash! Love your blog!
ReplyDeleteTiffany gets the round of applause. My husband didn't think anyone would guess the show but Tiffany is correct, he was watching "The Cosby Show"! :)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of keeping things out of landfills, do you know about freecycle.org? You can post things you want to get rid of that others might want, that otherwise might end up in a landfill. You join the group for your area and then when people post stuff, if you want the item, you just e-mail them about it. I got our crib and changing table that way, as well as a weight bench, a file cabinet, and a few other small things in the past couple of years.
ReplyDeleteI found you site following through blogs I am checking on SWS. I will be back...
ReplyDeleteI see you have posted that you are watching "The Cosby Show" but did not say that it is Elvin on the screen. :) I used to love that show...still do when I can catch it on.
That's weird, I swore I responded to your comment, roadrunner, about freecycle but it isn't showing up now. Yes, I love freecycle and wrote a post about it a few months ago. Thanks for the reminder though, I should have mentioned freecycle in this post too! I haven't found much in our local freecycle but have gotten rid of a lot that way.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, yes, I forgot to mention that it was Elvin...probably because of the fact that I didn't know if was Elvin because I've only seen the Cosby Show a few times myself and never watched an episode with him on it. My husband says you are correct though! :)
Well, I have never found any furniture, but my husband and I have picked up all kinds of great tools off the road. We also found a great gate that works perfect in our barn in the river. It must have bounced out and over the bridge. Who knows though! We live close to the river, every spring when it floods all kinds of things get caught on the land as the water recedes. It is amazing all the buckets, tubs, etc. that we have brought home. Okay, we might not be picking it up from the curbside but we are helping to keep the rural ditches clean!
ReplyDelete