Do you "trash pick"?

[smidgen21]

I dont' mean dig through the trash. I mean if you drive by and see something sitting out on top, do you take things out of other peoples trash piles? I don't do it regularly, but once in a while. That being said, today I scored!

We were heading to dinner. I saw 2 big boxes with what I thought were canning jars (i figured I could wash and sterilize them). DH backed up. Turns out they were glasses...WDW collectors glasses you know, the ones from McDs??? I got 6 (2 each HS, MK, Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach) plus 6 winnie the pooh glasses. I'm going to scrub them, soak them in a bleach water solution then run them through the dishwasher. They are like new!!!!

 

[dakcp2001]

I actually leave good stuff out in front hoping people will take it! Like a bicycle and some end tables etc. People always do!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

There are trucks that drive through the neighborhood on trash night and they stop to take any stuff that is left out. I donate my good stuff to Purple Heart or St Vincent DePaul, so they never stop here. But I've seen a lot of nice, outgrown bicycles and odd kitchen chairs being hauled away.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I dont' mean dig through the trash. I mean if you drive by and see something sitting out on top, do you take things out of other peoples trash piles? I don't do it regularly, but once in a while. That being said, today I scored!

We were heading to dinner. I saw 2 big boxes with what I thought were canning jars (i figured I could wash and sterilize them). DH backed up. Turns out they were glasses...WDW collectors glasses you know, the ones from McDs??? I got 6 (2 each HS, MK, Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach) plus 6 winnie the pooh glasses. I'm going to scrub them, soak them in a bleach water solution then run them through the dishwasher. They are like new!!!!

Good For You!
I see nothing wrong with it. We always do "curb alert" on Craigslist when putting stuff at curb.
You know what they say, Your trash and Someone elses TREASURE!!

 

[3_disprincesses]

I have picked up several items from beside the road...and always leave my good stuff that I want to get rid of out there in very plain sight.

 

[Princess Steph]

I like to think of it as recycling. I think about how long that item would sit in a landfill and how much I could put it to use, it only makes sense. My Dad did it and now I do too. My kids get a kick out of it!

 

[starrzone]

We totally do this! My town does a "spring cleanup" the second weekend of May, where you can put just about anything out by the curb and the trash collectors will come pick it up. It's like a giant "free-for-all" free yard sale! The town is fairly wealthy, so there are some really nice things out there; people just get tired of what they have and want new stuff. We've gotten furniture, toys, and stuff for around the house.

 

[cannonballer]

I always look in the dumpsters at our apartments. We have gotten some cool things before from there. I usually look for unused coke points adn rack up alot there.

As far as gettign things on the side of the road I have BUT i always ask just because somtimes you dont really know if its trash or not and somtimes people will get upset. Once I found a beat up pinball machine next to teh road. I asked if I could take it and they said yes. It took only 30 dollars to fix it back up and I made it look and work brand new! The strang epart is I found a huge bag of weed inside of it. I gave it away to somone I knew because I dont do that stuff but it was funny that I found it inside the pinball machine, hidden very well!

We have found cds, art, all kinds of things. The strangest I have found was a big jar in the shape of a head! I still have it.

 

[PaulaSue]

Cool find!

At our old house everyone moving or after the Yard sales would leave stuff at the curb and I ahve been known to look now and then.

My best find and a beautiful set of china dishes that I use for my girls b-day parties when they do the tea theme. I don't worry if they break and they are so pretty!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Our dump has a spot for people to leave stuff they're getting rid of, but isn't really junk yet. It's a cool place, and you find some interesting stuff there.

No one around here has curbside pickup, but there are always lots of things on the side of the road with "free" signs on them. I just got a bike for my son for next summer - the owner was outside, said he had just put it out, and that his son had only ridden it for a month before he was too tall for it. SCORE!

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I've been known to pick up a thing or two, but I'm always embarrassed to actually do the snatching! I have to build up my nerve by circling a time or two, and if there's a car in the driveway, I can't do it.

I have to say, once my neighbor got really mad about someone taking her chair from the curb. It wasn't that she was mad really, as much as she wished they'd ASKED first because the cat had peed ALL OVER the cushion and she would've told them that had they asked. Lesson learned for me! If it can't be sterilized, I keep on drivin'.

 

[cannonballer]

I've been known to pick up a thing or two, but I'm always embarrassed to actually do the snatching! I have to build up my nerve by circling a time or two, and if there's a car in the driveway, I can't do it.

I have to say, once my neighbor got really mad about someone taking her chair from the curb. It wasn't that she was mad really, as much as she wished they'd ASKED first because the cat had peed ALL OVER the cushion and she would've told them that had they asked. Lesson learned for me! If it can't be sterilized, I keep on drivin'.

too funny

 

[Grandmax3]

WE don't usually go trash digging,but when we saw a little tykes play house we stopped and asked if it was free and not broken. The lady did not want it because her daughter wanted it in the house and she did not. She had just bleached and cleaned it that day. Some friend had given it to her and as I said she put it out on the curb. my 3 yr old granddaughter loved it and she is keeping it outside so no worry about a smell. We were delighted and the little girl loved it.

 

[catgirl]

I've picked up a few things like little tykes sandbox, basketball hoop, etc. I have also left things out in hopes that someone would take. They did, I had a rabbit cage & everything a rabbit needed including unopened food (rabbit passed away), still in the package lawn edging that we stored for more than 5years, etc. Like another poster said, it's nice to know it's getting used instead of ending up in a landfill.

 

[emer95]

Yes! The best dresser we own came from our neighbor's curb. We were walking by and they were outside raking. We asked if they were really throwing it away, and they said, "yes, take it!" My hubby stained it and I bought new drawer pulls and put shelf paper in it. It's in our daughter's room and it is so solid and well-made.

We give back, too. When we put in a nice wooden playset for our kids, we put the old metal one out by the curb with a sign that said FREE and it was gone in less than 5 minutes. We also put out a Barbie Jeep that our kids had outgrown (and it needed a new battery) and a sandbox. I love it that we made someone happy by clearing out our garage!

 

[mickeymaker2003]

I found a complete Little Tikes climber with slide, Little Tikes basketball hoop, Little Tikes shopping cart, and a Litle Tikes gas pump all at the same curb when I was going to garage sales one day. Of course, it had to be the day my husband had the van and I had a car.... A lady walking by saw me trying to stuff it in my car. She lived a few blocks down and let me carry it to her house (and leave it beside the house, not on the curb). I was afraid someone else would take it before I got back with a vehicle that could hold it.

I ended up talking to the guy who had put it on the curb. His kids had long since outgrown them and they were stored underneath his deck. He actually apologized and felt bad about the stain that had dripped on the toys he was throwing in the trash. It was the first time I've ever heard of someone apologizing for the condition of their trash

I was even nice and shared the wealth. My mom got the climber, my friend got the shopping cart, and we still have the basketball hoop and gas pump. After a whole lot of scrubbing, they look pretty good. When we are done, I will put them on craigslist to find them a new home (and make a profit on them too). I look at it as recycling...

My daughter's Winnie the Pooh playpen was a curbside find. I also found an entire collection of stuffed Eeyore's and a Little Tikes table on another curb (Eeyore went to my cousin's mom who loves Eeyore, and the week before, my friend had just said she needed a table). You never know what good stuff someone else throws away....

 

[sylvenmaid]

YES! We have gotten some really nice things, and we also put stuff out for the taking. Someone always does. It's usually gone in less than an hour.

Most of the time relatives give us the free stuff they find. It's so funny but I never turn it down. My fil found a grill near his fields (farmer) and nothing wrong with it other than a broken wheel. He knows how to weld and has welding equipment for the tractors and fixed it. Then he gave it to us since he didn't need it. It's extremely well built and works great!

 

[Imzadi]

I like to think of it as recycling. I think about how long that item would sit in a landfill and how much I could put it to use, it only makes sense.

I do too. Here in the city we call it dumpster diving. Now that recycling is in again, I hope more people will do it. I know some cities have laws against it, but it's such a waste that perfectly good stuff goes in landfills.

 

[Bemidji]

I always look in the dumpsters at our apartments. We have gotten some cool things before from there. I usually look for unused coke points adn rack up alot there.

I ALWAYS take unused coke points from fridge packs when I find them in the dorms!

 

[patchchild]

My brother got a good laugh out of this while moving out of a dorm in Boston. He carried his old couch down to the lobby, planning on bringing it out to the curb. He went back up to get another load and a friend to help carry the couch and by the time he got back down to the lobby, there was a different couch there! Too funny.