Trash pickers

Want to hear something that will make you laugh? Well you already know I am a 911 Dispatcher. One day I get this call and a woman wants to report a theft. So I go through my normal questions and then ask what has been stolen. She very clearly stated that the theft was in progress. So that always kicks things up a notch in my work, I ask is she safe, etc etc. She says to me "oh yes, the man is outside stealing things from my yard" SO I think lawn ornaments (you'd be surprised how many people call to report the lawn gnomes stolen..lol) Anyway, she then proceeds to tell me that she has a recliner, a computer desk and a book shelf that she set out for bulk trash pick up and the man is "stealing" right off her lawn. How dare he, right in front of their noses...blah blah blah. I swear it took every ounce of me not to laugh at the woman. The last thing I asked her before I sent one of our happiest officers..lol, was "m'am did you put that stuff outside for trash pick up" she said yes.. so then I said "m'am do you really still want to make a theft report?" and guess what she said??? She said YES !!!

My wife worked six years in Tokyo and she said the Japanese threw a lot of stuff out on trash day..some was just obsolete but they just trash it..and some were fixable but the cost to get things fixed would be prohibitive to them..as Japan is not a cheap place to get any work done..so my wife and her friends sometimes would take the applicance and send them to the Philippines ..friends and relatives and everyone was happy as in the Philippines you have a lot cheaper cost to repair things..rice cookers, tv's and computers ..still good but obsolete..she never seen a yard sale or "garage sale" but sometimes the Catholic church did have a rummage sale in Japan.but not often..

so far, me and my hubby never really able to pick up something good or useful from someone else's trash... and when we found one, we can't fit it in the car... so at the end we just have to leave it... well, i am hoping that i will run into some luck in the future and manage to pick up someone else's trash which might be a treasure for me... :-)

Okay, I admit it. I am a trash picker.lol. I have found lots of good stuff in the trash. Its amazing at what people will throw away. A few times a year in my town they have a big trash pickup/cleanup day. I call it treasure hunting day. I don't go for the metal but I know of some people who do it and make some pretty good money from it.

Yeah, I don't mind if people coming in to get my trash away. It helps me doing my chores actually. But I have to make sure he's doing nothing more than taking the thrash, or else it would create more problems to my family. Anyway it has always been true that another person's trash is another one's treasure.

We live in town now, and we do have quite a few trucks that drive by on trash day and pick up scrap metal. I don't usually pick through trash unless I see a house plant or something that I can use. My son thinks it is great now that we live in town, and he goes out and scouts on trash day. Thankfully he has not brought anything home, yet, but at least he is having fun.

Last year my kids went threw the trach pickers stage. They were blown away that people would actually put these things by the curb to be thrown out. They came home with 5 tv's! I wasn't happy about it because they didn't work, we didn't need them, but my sons insisted they were going to fix them. They didn't and we ended up putting them out this year. But this year my son found a couch that he got for his apartment. I don't think that I would feel comfortable taking a couch either~ bugs , fleas ect. But he was very happy with it.

I have a friend that goes around collecting cans and metal as well. He bought a new harley with the cash he collected and saved.

I have helped a lot of people when I have found things on the side of the road. Tv's, baby swing, microwave, clothes, and more. I recently put out a queen bed and twin bed to the side of the curb. The neighbors close to me knocked on the door and asked if they could have it. I said yes--one man's junk is another man's treasure. Freecycle is also a good way to get things. Look for your local freecycle at www.freecycle.org.