I have noticed money (or lack of) is fueling decluttering

[Caneel]

Over the past couple months, I have noticed something rather interesting.

I live in a rural area. People using their land as a dumping ground for old cars, farm equipment, campers, applicances and such is not unusual. There isn't any zoning or regulations to prevent people from piling stuff up.

Got a new washer? Just throw the old one out back. BIL's truck won't pass inspection? Park it along the fence and fix it later, 10 years pass by and a tree is now growing out of the bed - that type of thing. I would say these people could safely be described as hoarders.

Anyway, getting to my point - in my regular travels, I pass several REALLY junked up properties. Over the past couple of months, the metal junk has been slowly but surely decreasing. The one farm is almost entirely cleaned up.

Today I saw a metal scrap man going down the road with a huge load and then it occured to me - these people either need or want cash more than they want to hold onto a yard full of junk.

[Ruthiegirl]

Let's hear it for recycling!

I had 2 old, dead air conditioners in my garage. They have been there ever since we bought the house and I have been putting off hauling them to the dump since they charge $20 per unit to dispose of them.

And then along came the most wonderful man who hauled them off for free. He calls himself the JunkMan, but I think he is rather golden.

[philomom]

That's great news. Often when I drive into the country I wonder about these junk-y properties. Don't they realize how unsightly it looks?

[karne]

Originally Posted by philomom

That's great news. Often when I drive into the country I wonder about these junk-y properties. Don't they realize how unsightly it looks?

I'm not defending it, bit there are folks who keep old cars, trucks, etc. around to use for spare parts. You would be amazed by the number of old or antique vehicles and tractors that you can find on farms around here.

On our property we have an 1800's ere "dumping grounds"-old pottery, dishes, silver. Some of it is probably earlier. I guess there's nothing new under the rural sun.

[elsie]

Originally Posted by philomom

That's great news. Often when I drive into the country I wonder about these junk-y properties. Don't they realize how unsightly it looks?

You should watch the show "American Pickers" - there is a ton of cash in that unsightlyness

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by Ruthiegirl

Let's hear it for recycling!

I had 2 old, dead air conditioners in my garage. They have been there ever since we bought the house and I have been putting off hauling them to the dump since they charge $20 per unit to dispose of them.

And then along came the most wonderful man who hauled them off for free. He calls himself the JunkMan, but I think he is rather golden.

We had a junk man in our old neighborhood. He drove an ancient pick up truck and would cruise around. If you had anything to give him, you would wave him down. He was always at the house across the street. DH claims that on the weekends, he drove around in a brand new caddy because he made so much cash from collecting scrap metal.

Originally Posted by philomom

That's great news. Often when I drive into the country I wonder about these junk-y properties. Don't they realize how unsightly it looks?

Friends of mine who came from more "civilized" areas have the same feeling. They came from tidy little subdivisions or quaint villages. They moved here and are shocked by some of the charms of rural living.

Do they realize it? Some probably do but don't care because they have always lived that way. Some don't because their neighbors are doing the same thing.

My parents lived on a lovely little farm. Right next door was a house with an incredible amount of junk all over the property - washers, dryers, old 55 galloon drums and so on.

It went up for sheriff's sale and DH made the comment to my dad that he should buy the place. Why? My dad wanted to know. DH said so you could clear out all the junk so you didn't need to look at it.

My dad was honestly of the opinion that the neighbors were free to junk up their property as much as they wanted, it was none of his business as long as their junk stayed on their side of the property line.

My town-raised DH could not wrap his head around this line of thinking.

Yeah, I am really glad to see some of these places being cleaned up. Old tractors for parts are one thing, mountains of appliances, bed frames, pipes are another.

[iowaorganic]

we have a farm like that. We don't live there though- but instead of spending $50 for someone to haul away the broken washer- yeah it just goes in the grove. Unsightly or not. Eh. But that was when scrap metal was like $60/ton- now it is about $200 so we are much more motivated to get it cleaned up. Pickers is awesome. I was picking a month or so ago and found some treasures.....

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by philomom

That's great news. Often when I drive into the country I wonder about these junk-y properties. Don't they realize how unsightly it looks?

Yes, but they don't care. Often those junky properties DO hold a wealth of usable items. Why donate something or throw it away if you might need it in a few years? Old car and appliance parts can be harvested to fix one that isn't working. "Weeds" could be someone's herbal medicine patch. Old furniture or wood can be used to build something new. Many people with "junky" property consider themselves to be very eco-friendly.

Originally Posted by Caneel

My dad was honestly of the opinion that the neighbors were free to junk up their property as much as they wanted, it was none of his business as long as their junk stayed on their side of the property line.

ITA.

[chezlyryan]

We used to play in the 'junk yard' when we were little kids. My Grandfather knew where every item was back there. It was neat coming across a random toilet while pretending to be pirates.

I'm glad it is worth recycling now.

[Amys1st]

We have two metal scrapper guys in our neighborhood. They will be driving around tonight because its trash night. Sometimes, they are alredy there mid day on the weekends and we can flag them down to take away whatever we might have pulled out in our rehabbing.

This weekend is the next town over's trash week. You are allowed to put whatever at the end of the driveway to be hauled away. But before hand, the town is crawling with pickers, esp the "nicer" areas. We were coming home and I had DH detour thru one area. We counted 4 medal scrappers and dozens of pickers. Most people put out leftover pieces of wood, plywood etc and it looks like the metal has been picked thru.

Another town several miles away (nicest town in our metro area) has a throw out week as well. I have been told by people who go to this, cars come from 5 states to this throw out. A friend of mine scored a high end brand spankin new grill. Literally had plastic and instructions inside. Next to it, a complete set of china.