Dumpster Diving

I have never been dumpster diving. I don't think I could bring myself to do it. My uncle used to dumpster dive and got a nad infection from cutting his leg so bad that at one point they thought they were gonna have to amputate it. Thankfully it got better. I have an inside guy at an apartment complex. When he see something I can use or would like he will get it for me. :) Its awesome I've got some great things.

I have1 The best thing I ever got was a living room suite in 1979. The people were throwing it away because some of the seams had separated, but I took an upholstery needle and some fishing line and sewed them up. Three years later, I sold the whole thing for $3000, yep Three thousand dollars! I have gotten clothes, one of those lighted Santa Clauses for my yard (I have no idea why it was thrown away) a set of antique encyclopedias that I sold on eBay for $1,196 (weird bid, huh,) and lots of other good stuff. At least half of the furniture I have now is "Contemporary American Dumpster"! LOL I think people throw away a lot of good stuff, and if I find it and I'm in my pickup, I will bring it home.

I haven't done this in a long time, but the best was when I was moving into a college apartment for the summer after the regular tenants just went home for the summer. People had tossed so many perfectly good things because they couldn't fit them in their cars or just didn't want to bother. I can't remember any specific items, but there were things like picture frames and brand new magazines and lamps...you get the idea. College students throw away so much stuff!

I've only done it a few times, a couple of times when I was younger with my grandfather, and at school this year. My grandfather used to get old plants from Wal Mart that they would toss out. These were the ones that came back every year and with a little TLC they looked better than they did when he got them and they grew back year after year until we ended up getting rid of them. We also ended up getting some plastic shelving display units that stores would use to display certain products. We used those for years outside to place trays of seedlings on and other things. I think we still have a few of those. When we went dumpster diving just recently at college, we got interesting things like full bath and body sets, first aid kits, shower caddies, over door hangers to hold supplies in. All sorts of nice things just because kids didn't want to take them home.

Dang, you got a good snag. I go dumpster diving at the end of the college year. It's the best time to go during finals week because people throw out really good things. I got a bathset that was basically brand new and dove for my friends to get two shower caddies, and oddly enough a game that had all its peices.

I am a known dumpster diver to all my friends and family lol. I have gotten a big screen tv (a guy got rid of because he just bought a new one and had no room for the other), one of those big professional baking mixers, couches, dining room table, stereo equipment, dressers, lawn mowers, and other smaller various items. I want a king size bed! I am going to start looking out the car window whenever I pass hotels now in search of one! One mans trash can definately be another mans treasure :)

I didn't..but my son would go over to vassar college every May and clean out their dumpsters of video games and video game systems. He would keep what he wanted and sell the rest, he found many of his best treasures in their trash..and many things I was not too happy with..but what could I say, he did not ask me for money for the stuff.