Do you "trash pick"?

[HoneyPooh]

We just moved in February and put out a load of furniture we weren't taking with us. It was like a white sale out at our curb! Must have been 20 people out there at one point. As long as they didn't start fighting I was thrilled and they did come to an amicable division of their find

Lots of times someone else will give new life to a ratty sofa with good bones etc. What's that tv show with the two guys who pick trash up transfrom it and return it? Very cool.

I don't usually pick other peoples trash but I remember that my moms prized hutch in her diningroom came from someones curb many many years ago and is still in the family. Someones trashed hutch became our family heirloom :O

 

[pyrxtc]

Our dump has a spot to put good things that you just don't want anymore. My parents have shopped trash for as long as I remember. I ahve left stuff for free outside and I try to visit the dump on Saturday's after the yard sales are over since they always drop it all off there.

 

[powellrj]

We have always left stuff out with a sign that says free and its always gone!

Several years ago we got a new sofa and wanted to donate our old one. Nobody would pick it up and we had no way of taking it anywhere so we put it out front with a free sign. Sure enough it was gone within the hour.

Fast forward a few years and DD was visiting another church and to her surprise, their youth area had our sofa in it! DD was so excited. She checked out under a cushion and sure enough a small red kool-aid spot was still there!

The sofa lived on!

 

[C&M&C&M]

A new neighbor up the street ripped the California Closet setups out of 3 walk in closets and put it all out at the curb.


As soon as night rolled around, my husband took my van and rescued all the shelving. For about $50 in hardware, we now have brand new shelves in the basement that would have cost us over $500 dollars.

I guess "One man's trash is another man's treasure ..."

 

[ceecee]

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

I do this too! I am always excited when someone else can use my junk! I threw out an old table and chairs and made DH take them out early so everyone could get a better look! He said no one will take them...they were gone in an hour! A house down the street had a nice looking Little Tike's kitchen out so I called a friend and she ran over to get it. Inside were bags with toy food and dishes, her little ones were very pleased with the find.

 

[cepmom]

uhm, yeah...look at my tag

I am always on the lookout for good stuff on the side of the road! I am currently looking for a bike for DD11, and a portable basketball hoop.

My neighbor always throws perfectly good stuff out, especially baby items. When her granddaughter has outgrown something, it goes in the trash

 

[hsmamato2]

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.

It's recycling! Proud trash pickin' mama....ny DH hates when I make him stop....

 

[kmvand1]

Yes, I am frugal. No, I would NEVER "trash pick".

 

[secretpantssam]

Wow what a score! I did take a three stooges framed poster for a gag gift once. It looked like the house had just had a yard sale and just put whatever they didn't sell at the street. I don't see anything wrong with it, especially since you're not actually picking through the cans. And the home owners probably put the things out separated like that so people would take it.

 

[cepmom]

Yes, I am frugal. No, I would NEVER "trash pick".

really? If you saw a perfectly good bike, piece of furniture or something on the side of the road, you wouldn't pick it up? I guess I don't understand how it's different than someone offering to give you a perfectly good used item

 

[Ava]

I live in NYC, so I'd never take furniture off the curb. Not worth the risk that it's infested with bed bugs. (Or other bugs, just from sitting out on the sidewalk.) I do get freebies from my neighborhood listserv sometimes, but in that case I know where it's coming from and that it's clean.

 

[MEM]

We also consider it "recycling" or curbside shopping. Just yesterday DH spied a roll top desk at the curb with a sign on it that said "FREE". The drawers and the rolltop all work and its in excellent shape...one of the drawers held over $4 in change. DH likes to think he was paid to take it home!

 

[CTdiznymom]

Ok, I confess! DH and I went to the trash & recycling center this am to dump all the junk we cleaned out from the garage this weekend, and as we were driving out I was craning my neck out the window perusing the discarded stuff that people leave off to the side. DH had to remind me we were dropping not picking up

 

[MapleGirl]

My sister came to house for a week last summer. She is a professional painter and was painting my bedroom. While we were driving through the neighborhood we saw a white and pink dresser and chest of drawers sitting out on the curb. We stopped to take a look and decided that they would go well in my bedroom. The two of us were laughing hysterically as we tried to get the two pieces into the back of my Prius. We were laughing so hard, that we kept dropping it which made us laugh harder!

We ended up getting everything into the car (the hatch had to stay open) without breaking anything. We got home and painted everything black in the driveway. We also painted a little wood nightstand and book case I had black. It looks beautiful now in my bedroom!!! The dresser especially looks like it came from Pottery Barn.

The two of us laughing so hard as we tried to get it home, then my sister giving a pretend interview like she was on a Home Improvement show while she was painting are two of my favorite memories!

 

[TGEmpress]

have been doing it since I was young. Mainly just wood pieces of furniture. After some refinishing - it is always like new. Then of course when people are moving out of the dorms during the summer -woo hoo! it's like a free-for-all.

Best find - When DH and I moved into our very old house, we got with it a large but narrow bedroom, we needed bedside tables, but couldn't find anything new that was nice and narrow enough that wasn't the particle board stuff. One day driving down our alley I spot two tables (end tables I suspect) of just the right size, the finish was in a very sad state, but we wanted them to be espresso anyway. Perfect fit and style for the room. and spent 6.00 on finish and another 4.00 on knobs. For solid wood tables - not a bad day.

 

[Metsfan520]

really? If you saw a perfectly good bike, piece of furniture or something on the side of the road, you wouldn't pick it up? I guess I don't understand how it's different than someone offering to give you a perfectly good used item

Well, I don't know why they're throwing it out. Maybe their cat always peed on that couch, or that mattress has bed bugs. If someone I know offers to give me something, and I can use it, I'll take it in a minute. I'm frugal but I'm careful too.

 

[mommytomy3]

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!

.

 

[cepmom]

Well, I don't know why they're throwing it out. Maybe their cat always peed on that couch, or that mattress has bed bugs. If someone I know offers to give me something, and I can use it, I'll take it in a minute. I'm frugal but I'm careful too.

oh, I totally agree about anything fabric covered (couch etc) I guess what I meant by furniture was a wooden piece of furniture (table, chair, dresser etc) not a couch etc.

 

[Ava]

oh, I totally agree about anything fabric covered (couch etc) I guess what I meant by furniture was a wooden piece of furniture (table, chair, dresser etc) not a couch etc.

Bed bugs can live in wood too. I won't take anything fabric or wood off the street for that reason.

 

[wall*e2008]

Bed bugs can live in wood too. I won't take anything fabric or wood off the street for that reason.

Exactly.

I could see a kids plastic outdoor item that can be bleached.