dumpster diving

I have not had the happy fortune to find perfectly good things in the trash or beside the curb, but when my youngest son and his wife were first married they almost completely furnished their house with dumpster finds. It wasn't exactly uptown furnishings, but it certainly wasn't trash. They still have a big heavy oak desk that they found out in the alley. Their daughter slept in a twin sized bed that they found in the alley until she moved out of the house when she was 19.

Yeah, actually there is a large supply of "trash" sitting outside my window. It's always surprised me how people throw away perfectly good sofas, TVs, and microwaves. Sometimes I always wonder how these objects would do as a sale on eBay... My parents don't really pick up anything from the heap, but I have known several friends who got nice sofas and bookshelves from it. I remember someone even picked up a TV from the heap--apparently a family had dropped it there when they decided to move from our apartment complex.

snowy yes in the apt. complex we lived in before, people used o leave chairs, tables,computers, type writers, microwaves etc.andonce we found a useable micorwave we had for five years before it wore out. We also got four good chairs and a desk chair for free.all useable but people were moving and did not want to take the stuff.So we grabbed it and used it.lol.We also found a painting and a line drawin of a spooky looking house.

I've never found anything like that as our trash is taken by the bin men every week directly from our bins and so we hardly ever need to go to the local skip yard unless we have something large to get rid of! x

I think that is an excellent idea I have found abandoned property that people left after they moved and sold the items on craig list dc

Maybe before it would reach the dumpster I would pick up at the garbage can. Trash finds? Usually receipts which I didn't expect that I would use later.

hi snowy! well, we don't really have that kind of living here in the philippines. people store and give away. but if you leave something outside your door, it is the mendicants who pass by and take them. we don't have much equality around here, because of the dispariety of living. anyway, i have experienced that in singapore and i like the idea. but it is different in my country. hope we can have that, too. :) good day and God bless you!

At our house we only ever come in contact with our own trash so I have never actualy had the chance to look at what my neighbors were throwing out. I let my family know what I am looking for so that when they are throwing things out they can keep me in mind. Im picking up a toy box for the kids next week for free! Just put the word out on what you need.

When I lived in Texas it wasn't uncommon for ppl to raid the dumpsters behind stores. A friend of mine had a regular route of dumpsters he'd go through. He'd find brand name, brand new shoes (still in boxes) at a shoe store, tons of costume or marked down jewelery from a jewelery store, all kinds of cans of food where the label got damaged, torn off or it had a small dent from a food store (the cans were completely sealed), all kinds of books that a book store would toss out to make room for new shipments. All of this stuff was like new, he'd give some of it to friends and family and he a swap stall (kind of like a booth) where he'd sell the stuff for a little bit of money. It was amazing what he would find. [b]**AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~[/b]

I have gotten bushel baskets, which come in handy because DH uses these to put the crabs in that he catches. I actually found these on the side of the road of a two lane highway, they must have fell out of the back of someone's truck.

I didn't actually dive into the dumpster, but we were disposing of some garbage of our own at a local dumpster after Christmas, and someone had left a children's play kitchen beside the dumpster. The plastic was just a little faded and it needed a good cleaning, but my granddaughter loved it and still plays with it now a couple of years later. I have see other things that people sat beside the dumpster this way and so I do the same whenever I have something that is still good but that I can no longer use - that way, they don't actually have to get in the dumpster to get it if they want it.

I spotted a perfectly good Big Wheel once and grabbed it up. I also saw a perfectly good book shelf as well and took it. I have put out a perfectly good baby swing, and a high chair. Sometimes people just don't have the space anymore. Oh yeah, I almost forgot we got a plastic turtle sandbox/baby pool once too, that was great, when my kids out grew it I sold it for $10.00 at my garage sale, score. One of my good friends is a garbage man, he has a business on the side selling all the things he finds.

when i owned an antique store i di pick up some things on the side ofthe street that poeple had set out for the city to pick up. people set out some pretty good things sometimes. i don't recall any specific item, getting old & senile.lol

here , in my country.. it is not possible, as the person who comes to pick trash , does it for himself