Attitudes towards "Trash Picking"

[hwillm1977]

I don't see anything wrong with it but my house is full of junk already and I can't in good conscience bring back more.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for... we've gotten a lot of construction materials for our house out of other people's garbage. When we moved in we had a crappy melamine bathroom vanity that was broken... now thanks to someone else throwing one away, I have a solid oak vanity in great shape (I did have to paint it)

I agree though, I can't bring home junk just for the sake of bringing home junk in case I might need it sometime

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we've gotten tons of construction materials.. all for the asking. and i dont have any hesitation about it at all.. i even dumpster dove at the family owned hardware store (yes i asked)... i couldnt believe what they were getting rid of!

we even took the old fence they took down at our church. perfectly good treated fence posts... they are shorter now (cut off at ground height) but we've used them for tons of projects. sure its a little work with a crowbar ripping the nails out but wow. my favorite price is "free"!

and i dont feel bad about stopping and asking if someone 'really is going to throw that away"... lots of great stuff.

my hubby was an unbeliever until he saw that all those little bits and bobs of plywood and whatnot became.. next boxes, feeders, gates, etc etc.

 

[Blackbird]

Who was it that wanted to snag some neighbor's fancy furniture they were throwing out and her husband wouldn't let her; and BEE mentioned drugging his drink to make him sleep?

That one was funny.

 

[FarmerDenise]

When we moved to America in the 70's, my grandfather was super intendent for a five story apartment building. My grandparents had been saving stuff for us, that the tenants had thrown out. Once we got here we would help grandfather on garbage days and found still more stuff. We pretty much furnished our whole apartments with stuff others had thrown away. The dishes were still in their boxes.

I believe in "REUSE, REDUCE, RECYCLE" big time!!!

 

[chipmunk]

There was a piece on the news the other night about a professor that teaches a dumpster diving class. They were hauling out a lot of pretty good food still in its packages. I think I'd have to be a little more desperate to get food out of a dumpster,though.

In college it was always fun to participate in the trading of furniture at the end of every quarter. As people moved out of their apartment, they would put furniture they didn't want by the dumpster. Invariably it would be picked up by another wave of students and moved into their apartment.

We lived in a town about 15 years ago that had an annual stuff trading day. They picked a day in the spring when everybody would put their unwanted stuff on the curb, and you could go from neighborhood to neighborhood picking up what you wanted. I forget if the leftovers went to charity or to the dump (I hope the former!)

Freecycle is a wonderful thing! We have a couple of very active groups in our area that keep a lot of stuff out of the dump and in use.

 

[TTs Chicks]

I drive by the dumpsters at the end of our road twice a day and always look to see if there is anything I can use. We have gotten windows, fence, and a few days ago DH picked up a CPU thinking he could use it for parts and guess what - it works!

 

[inchworm]

There is no "trash pickup" where I live. We haul our garbage to the "transfer station" which is basically dumpsters that the county has put up in a few areas. One person mans the transfer station at a time. They "unofficially" designate a corner to leave usable things. I've left many a thing and have brought home many a thing. And sometimes I pick something up and return it a week later when I realize I really wasn't going to use it. My best "find" was a working DVD player (back when they were too expensive for me to buy). It's a great system that no one has abused yet.

Inchy

 

[buckeye lady]

Scored today. Was out working today and spotted a "jenny Lind" type crib in the trash. It was in perfect condition. I've been wanting DH to make some fancy gates for the stairs and kitchen to keep the dogs out. The top head and foot section of a crib is the same width as a doorway!!!!
Sides will probably end up in the garden as trellis.

This thread reminded me of when I was a kid and Mom and her 2 bestfriends would drive through the "rich" neighborhoods the first trash day after Christmas. The car would be packed to the brim with our finds! Imagine a car full of trash pickin' women and children invading the neighborhood!!

 

[Blackbird]

Scored today. Was out working today and spotted a "jenny Lind" type crib in the trash. It was in perfect condition. I've been wanting DH to make some fancy gates for the stairs and kitchen to keep the dogs out. The top head and foot section of a crib is the same width as a doorway!!!!
Sides will probably end up in the garden as trellis.

PLEASE!

I know that sounds like an awesome idea, but do not do that!

Well.. unless you really want to. But if they are in good condition they can bring up to $300 on ebay.

We were using some as roosts for chickens, and even sawed up a complete full sized head and foot pieces and made a nice bench..
Going to be redoing to cribs over the winter and selling them on ebay.. too late for the full bed pieces though. LOL

 

[buckeye lady]

I think this crib was one of the recalled ones. Probably not safe to pass on. It will make beautiful gates for my stairway and kitchen. I may even use the sides to make a folding portable gate. The wood is beautiful.