isn't amazing what the neighbors will carry off if you leave it by the curb? - Page 2

[Amys1st]

: :
You guys have me laughing- especially putting DH out there.

We put anything and everything out and its usually gone before the garbage guy gets there.

I have put out:
A 10 speed bik. Put it out at 1am. DH went out at 6am to get the paper- it was gone.
A microwave. DH wanted to put the trash sticker on. I said to wait until morning. The word were not all the way out of my mouth- the doorbell rang. This man wanted to know if the microwave still worked that we put outside.
My DH said yes, it just blew a fush or light.

Anything play equipment goes quickly. When we are all done with play equipment, I'm just going to put it on our front lawn and say TAKE.

I'm not good at hunting for this stuff so I have not found anything

[Fiercemama]

Garbage picker? I prefer "gleaner", myself.

For 12 years, we lived in a large apartment complex. We could see the dumpsters from our balcony. At first, we picked up the odd item - a pair of almost new Doc Marten's comes to mind. We were disgusted that people would put such good stuff in the garbage. I mean, at least cart it off to Goodwill. But then people started getting the idea. People started coming around with trucks (especially around the first of the month). Someone once asked me what I was looking for - she was picking up stuff to send to the needy in Latin America, and were there any items we could trade!

Some of our choicest picks? A Little Tykes rocking horse for DD, lots of books and toys for her, a couple of trikes, a pair of lovely moss green Birkenstocks, a brandnew Clarks sheepskin jacket, a big huge hikers backpack that we use for groceries, some classic vinyl albums. I always had an umbrella stroller on hand for pg friends LOL!

There was some terribly funky furniture over the years that I had to leave behind because we didn't have room. We took some stuff when we moved that we plan to sell in a yard sale this spring.

We moved last spring. I miss "The Gold Mine"...

[Ravin]

I recently got a stroller someone left beside the dumpster. The "one hand fold" was broken and it had been left outside so was dirty, but my old stroller also has a broken one-hand fold and is MUCH harder to fold and MUCH heavier and doesn't stay folded, so the dumpster one was an improvement for a take-it-on-the-bus stroller.

My sister is the Dumpster Diving Diva of our family, though. A couple of years ago one of my mom's neighbors across the alley died, and her son put a bunch of old stuff in the dumpster. My sister found a cool old manual typewriter and wound up just talking to him and carried off several pieces of furniture, etc. We also used to scrounge the alleys for stuff as kids to decorate and furnish our backyard fort. Occasionally mom would come out and veto something, but not usually. We just figured that except for firewood, if their fence ran to the property line and they left it outside the fence in the alley (the location of the dumpsters), it was fair game.

[ashleyhaugh]

i did it at home, but here in germany, its actually a passtime.... the list in the papers what towns/neighborhoods are goping to have stuff out for junking on which days, its great

[sagepixie]

I've put out litterally tons of stuff after I moved into my grandma's old house and about half of my favorite furniture is from gleaning so I'm working about even karmically treash wise.

I alsways loved the shel silverstien poem :"Hecter the Collector"

nak

[celrae]

:LOL :LOL :LOL
This is very ture in my area! Sunday nights can be fun (play equipment, chairs, tvs) can all be found.

[Baby Hopes]

We are moving in a couple months and have a garage sale scheduled for next Saturday. I told dh that EVERYTHING that went out the door for the sale was not coming back in. At the end of the sale I am going to stick a "Free to good home" poster above it all. Whatever is left is getting carted to the local equivalent of goodwill or the trash. (Depending on what it is.)

[sarasprings]

This doesn't work well where I live because we don't have a lot of traffic (although I've taken stuff from neighbors), so we give our stuff to my sister who lives in Albany and it disappears.

[momto l&a]

In our area we have to take stuff to the dumpsters. About 2 miles from us there are about 4 dumpsters and its called "the Harpster Mall" :LOL I have gotten a HP coppier/fax/printer with its cables and setup disk in it original box. Havent a clue yet if it works or not.

If you have anything good its a unwritten rule to leave it sitting on top or outside so everybody can see it :LOL

I have dumpster dived for years. Dh even dived at at library and brought home a bunch of neat books

[Peppermint Leaf]

:a

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

Dh even dived at at library and brought home a bunch of neat books

My friend works in our local public library where they have book sale days - most of the reference and non-fiction books over 5 years old are sold, and whatever is left over are thrown into the dumpsters!

[Kontessa]

We did this on our last move BIG declutter. It was amazing the things people took. It got to the point where I knew people where driving by our house to see what we had, specially this one mother who took my daughters old mattress late one night with at least three kids in her big boxy car. The last day of our move, we did this over 2 weeks taking our time. I left my daughter too small beautiful bike out there, all it needed was air in the tires. I hoped so hard that that mama got it. Did my heart good. Big stuff it is just simpler to leave it out there with Free on it then freecycle and have to deal with pick up and such.

anyway, love this topic, thanks!

[AuntLavender]

I put out a dishwasher and a stove

and the garbageman got it! LOL! You know your stuff is true junk when no one will take it! The funny thing is that the garbageman picks that kind of stuff up for free you just have to call and tell them and you can only out it out on Fridays. Well the man who answered the phone said to set them out a day early in case someone would trash pick them up! LOL! Nope!

[cloudswinger]

I've picked a whole wooden playfort off my neighbor's lawn. It just needed a couple of new support posts that had rotted, but the rest that wasn't touching the ground was fine. And I really had just wanted the fixtures anyway. We rebuilt it bigger and better! We figured we built ourselves a $1500 fort for $150.

Once I saw the garbage man had picked up a nice girls bike, and had set it aside for himself, it was hanging off the side of the truck.

[Lilcrunchie]

I've put stuff out in the past and it has amazed me what goes LOL. Once, when my grad school roomies and I were leaving our apt, we put tons of stuff out. One of the funniest things was that someone took the lightbulb out of a lamp, but left the lamp (someone else came and took the lamp later though).

I never find much good stuff curbside. Once though we found a little gender-neutral MDF play kitchen for DS w/ a free sign on it. DH spruced it up a bit and DS played with it for 2.5 years. We just replaced it this past Christmas w/ something nicer, but that was only because I didn't think the kitchen had another 4+ years left in it, as I have a one year old DD now as well.

I don't leave much out curbside in my current neighborhood, but we live in a teensy little subdivision that just ends in a cul-de-sac, so we don't get much through traffic. In my old house, we got a lot of traffic and I left a lot of stuff out (and much of it was very nice. We moved out of state and had to really pare down).

[Blooming]

I once put an old chair on the curb, it was a nice looking chair but I was preggo and could smell a funcky smell noone else could.

I didn't want to clean it with a bunch of chemical because I was pregnant so I put it out on the curb.

It sat there for days. It rained two days straight.

On the third day someone took the smelly thing away.

I also put a M&D train table on the curb (I tried to sell it but noone would buy it) That thing was gone within the hour.

On the other end I have had very good luck, I have found rare art that I e-bayed, a little tykes baby swing and tractor, and an outdoor table WITH umbrella for FREE!!!!! All in perfect shape.

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by Kavita

We couldn't imagine what someone would want old, rained on, yukky carpet pieces for!!

I have seen people mulch large gardens with crummy old carpet. It is a very effective way to create a water permeable, weed barrier.

So, I guess one man's trash really is another's treasure.

[homemademomma]

lol. i take any semi-usable furniture items that are by the curb, if it is something i need. i have no shame!

i am a trashpicker and a dumpster diver!!!

[Isaac'sMa]

Originally Posted by Irishmommy

So what would happen if I asked dh to sit at the curb for a while????

Like pp keep saying, one man's (or woman's) trash is another man's treasure. Be careful what you wish for!

Seriously, I've had days like that though and it helps me to realize that I actually am very happy with the dh I do have!

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by Irishmommy

So what would happen if I asked dh to sit at the curb for a while????

you might get arrested for solicitation

i wish people in our area did this, in our apart complex i will try and look at stuff in the trash areas that wasnt put in the bins, but most the time its all broken up or realllllly beyond help.

I do look out for the "free" boxes after garage sales though