I just cannot resist.......try as I might....
By ruby222
@ruby222 (4847)
July 14, 2008 1:03pm CST
When im trotting along the road,usually walking the dog,I very often pass a skip,im none too sure what they are called in other countries ,but they are the massive matal bin type containers that sit outside peoples houses ,for them to put the waste in as they are clearing out their house,or doing a building job.My curiousity always gets the better of me,and I just have to have a look at what is in the skip!!One good find was a chir,a wooden chair,with a cane seat,well it did have a cane seat,but it had rotted away.Im not ashamed to say that I went back lare that night,and pilfered the chair!!I walked down the road with it more or less under my arm!!and then I repaired it,and it still sits in the corner of my living room today.Have you ever found any treasure from someone elses rubbish heap????
5 people like this
23 responses
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
14 Jul 08
Ruby. Are you a skip diver? I have looked, but never too assiduously. When we lived in London virtually every house had one of these things outside but I never saw anything that I wanted. In Germany people would put three piece suites out an sideboards etc. I've known people furnish their homes from such litterings! I now have tis image of you out at night in your boiler suit and balaclava. "Ruby. Ripley's Refuse Recycler" as the local paper might say!
2 people like this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
14 Jul 08
If I had a chance to spend a day at the local skips it would be much like taking me to Harrods for the day..only much much better...the joy of looking over the top,scaling those dizzy heights to see what lays in that beautiful big orange bucket...well they are usually orange!....obviously Piky you have no sense of imagination,where you see a tatty old box,I see a project,covered in decoupage,laquered and sitting on my side table...I dont have a boiler suit or a balaclava,I just have an innocont little face and a relaxed whistle,,,,as I stroll by I leap over to collect my goodies,then stroll up the street nonchalontly whistling....
1 person likes this
@ella1bella (839)
•
14 Jul 08
Ive plenty of my own rubbish here Fishy,but if I go in with Ruby as her accomplice,then we may come and collect some of your unwanted clutter.Are there any pop bottles amongst yours??there is money to be made on them you know.
Regards Ella Steptoe
@craftymom (71)
• United States
14 Jul 08
LOL, I have done this many times.
My older son and I used to take walks together on the morning of trash day.
If we saw anything good, we would go home and get the wagon, then go back.
Once, we found a small dresser in almost perfect condition--he still uses it today!!
Another time, we came across tons of gardening supplies. A family on another street was being posted overseas and were getting rid of so much stuff. We didn't need the wagon this time, they were getting rid of a wheelbarrow. Instant transport for all our new goodies:)
We also sometimes go scouting for aluminum cans or "points" on bottles and boxes.
We recycle the cans and save the money to help with vacations, the kids love this idea.
2 people like this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
14 Jul 08
A bar of chocolate is a lure to me,and a skip is a lure to me,there is something that just takes over and my head is over the top before I know it!!Im swivelling my head around to get all of the angles in..things hide in the corners you know!!and I love to get the full picture!!But why not ??im not doing anyone any harm,its an innocent pastime,and if it brings me something that I consider to be udseful then all well and good!
1 person likes this
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
14 Jul 08
Hi ruby,
I have no tried that but one time I really want to do it..LOL!
We were on our way with my Husband to the restaurant and I saw a couch in a good condition placed near the trash bin. Obviously, the owner reject it already and since it wont fit the bin, they just placed i beside..I really want to pick it up..LOL! It was far from our house and I was hoping someone will get it...I know people can still use it!
1 person likes this
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
17 Jul 08
LOL!...That's a great tip there..LOL! Thanks for ruby!
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
16 Jul 08
A couch would be a little difficult to put under your arm,or into your pocket,I think that you need to aim a little smaller Che,try to look into the skips and see if you see any buried treasure!If you needed I could give you a crash course on skip investigation,it would take about three weeks,and cost thirty pounds!!lol...but the next time you pass one crane your neck right over the edge,and take a good peer in!
@austinbell (491)
•
14 Jul 08
Like you my curiosity always gets the better of me and I usually have
a quick peak inside the skip to see what is in there. I have never found
anything that I could use yet but there is always a first time
2 people like this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
14 Jul 08
Do you? really? gosh you are brave, I would not dare to be honest! But I know of people that do and they get some real treasures out of it. I am glad I was not with you I would have been in hysterics watching you going in under the cover of moonlight LOL
1 person likes this
@ella1bella (839)
•
14 Jul 08
I have just offered my services to Ruby,to be her mate and go skipping with her,im another fan of other peoples junk.Its not so much the junk its the excitement of climbing to the tip of that big yellow receptacle,peering over the edge,and eyeing it all up.If you want to come we can do a three way split with the profits.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
14 Jul 08
LOL maybe I will my friends, maybe I will! I will knit us some matching balaclavas and we can become a trio of skippers!
1 person likes this
@Pikelet (79)
•
18 Sep 08
Needed some new boards for the bottom of the sink unit,and the kitchen units,and heck Ruby lol guess what,there was I walking along past this lush looking skip,and on the top was just what I was looking for,so the next thing I was looking about to see who was watching me and Bang,the wood was under my arm and I was running like blazes,all the way home with it .
@ruby222 (4847)
•
18 Sep 08
Pikelet,lol you are a fast learner well done you,there we are you see,you may have gone all the way to B and Q and bought these new pieces of wood and there they were staring at you ,and the price was nadder,not a penny came out of your wallet,well done my little toasted crumpet,
well done you,there we are you see,you may have gone all the way to B and Q and bought these new pieces of wood and there they were staring at you ,and the price was nadder,not a penny came out of your wallet,well done my little toasted crumpet,1 person likes this
@urbandekay (18278)
•
19 Jul 08
Yes, we are the raiders of the lost skip! I have found many treasures in them. We call them skips or biffas here
all the best urban
1 person likes this
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
15 Jul 08
I'd have to say that curiosity would probably get the better of me too..I experienced something like this in Germany..I never figured out how frequent it was,(I only experienced it once!) but people did a declutter in their homes,left it all out at the kerb for refuse collection,and it was like a yard sale on every street with no money changing hands! In some cases,there wasn't much left for the Refuse collectors!
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
19 Jul 08
We do do some funny things though!one of the people who live in our little street,they must have had a new couch,and they popped the other one out on the front of their house with a notice on it!!Free to collector..well I couldnt help but giggle,but sure enough a few hours later there was no couch there anymore!but if you think about it,if you want to get rid of anything as large as a couch and you havent got a trailer or a van,then you would have to ask the local council to pick it up,a nd the charge for that is fifteen pounds,which is a lot of money!
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
19 Jul 08
They are called dumpsters here in the U.S., and when you rummage through them, it's called 'dumpster diving'.
I've never done it to quite that extreme, but I know it is becoming more popular to do so, and if I saw a promising opportunity, I would probably take advantage of it. One man's trash, and all that ...
I have taken things that people have set out for their trash, but it was just alongside the road and not in a bin of any type. Several years ago I picked up an old metal scrollwork headboard that I put in my garden and it looked great! A few months ago I picked up a child's plastic refrigerator that was missing the door and I put a few plants for my container garden. I have a bush cucumber growing in one, and pepper plants in the other two. Works for me!
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
16 Jul 08
Skips are fabulous treasure troves. They draw me like a magnet
If they'er in someone's drive I normally bang on the door and ask if I can take away so and so and I've never yet been refused. They're normally glad to have someone make the extra space for them actually.
A few years ago I was walking past a house down the road and the chap was just moving a fridge and freezer into his driveway. 'Hello' says I, and ascertained that they both still worked. Well I offered to take the fridge to the dump for him in return for the freezer as I had a van. Well the fridge is sat in the corner of the kitchen across from me as I type, still working well. And it's sister, the freezer, is downstairs
If they'er in someone's drive I normally bang on the door and ask if I can take away so and so and I've never yet been refused. They're normally glad to have someone make the extra space for them actually.
A few years ago I was walking past a house down the road and the chap was just moving a fridge and freezer into his driveway. 'Hello' says I, and ascertained that they both still worked. Well I offered to take the fridge to the dump for him in return for the freezer as I had a van. Well the fridge is sat in the corner of the kitchen across from me as I type, still working well. And it's sister, the freezer, is downstairs 1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
19 Jul 08
My fridge is a old one ,but I wont replace it,mainly because it works well,it has a large freeze box,and its in good condition.If everyone replaced white goods because they were following trends or did it just for a change,the mountain of unwanted goods would be twice as high!!My daughter bought one of the SMEG fridges..I had to draw breath!!it was about six hundred pounds,darn silly!!
1 person likes this
@creative_genius (992)
•
6 Aug 08
I remember spotting a load of fabrics and threads in a skip outside a factory. I did help myself- I like to do my bit to minimise waste. The skip was really full so I could see the things without even peeking into it. I haven't done anything like that since. I must keep my eyes peeled!
1 person likes this
@thebohemianheart (8827)
• United States
15 Jul 08
I have an onscreen name , junque artist. Need I say more?*LOL* I used to drive down the road on trash day or, the day before to see what people were cleaning out of their garages or houses. I would stop and pick up interesting things, or, at least things I found interesting and take them back to my house. My thinking was, I know I will find something to do with this. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't. there are still things in my garage that I picked up from someone's garbage pile because I just could not see it going to the dump. This always embarrassed my kids.
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
19 Jul 08
Im a bit careful now,we live in a tiny little house and there sint too much in the way of storage,I used to go to a fair amount of auctions,and my passion was buying old linen,well most of that has gone to good homes now,I have kept a few hings,that were my very favourites,but now I curb myself,I just dont fancy another clearout again ,the last oone took me ages to do!!and a lot had to go to the charity stores!so im really trying to be vert good and not collect and hoard things anyomore.
@Bobbysox (224)
•
14 Sep 08
A skip that is on hire at the end of our road is laden to the gunnels with bricks and general rubbish,im sure Ruby that there wouldnt be anything else in there that you may care to look at,tho I have noticed there is a well worn old blanket that may do if you have a dog.But apart from that all I have ever seen in our local skips has been a load of rubbish,nothing tempting at all.I am sure that when people fill their skips now,they are aware that people will look in them,to see if there is anything worth taking,for instance look at the supermarket skips,they are laden with food,food that could have been distributed between the poor and the needy ,instead of just wantonly wasdting it.
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
18 Sep 08
The word selective springs to mind here Bobby,selective skipping!you cannot just raid any old skip,it has to be researched to some extent you know,you stand a few paces away from it,you look nonchalontly at the bulging skip to ascertain whether the contents are ripe for picking or not,if not you turn tail and head homewards,if yes,then get stuck in girl
@chubbycheeks (135)
•
14 Sep 08
Thats all well and good Ruby dear,but beware of those tempting skips,because in every skip lays some type of danger,the hidden glass, the smashed china and you onlu have to put your hand into the wrong place and you may end up wishing you had never gone near that skip in the first place.They are also riddled with germs and diseases,no one can ever tell what lays in the skips,the full nappies/diapers that have been thrown in there haphazardly,the general household rubbish that lays there,so just give all of this a thought before you go delving deep again.Take care Ruby.but above all beware.
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
18 Sep 08
Chubby,dont be such a darn killjoy,ok there may be a few germs hanging around,but youve got to eat a peck of dirt before you die lol.so let me continue my skip hunting and you just feel free to do whatever the mood takes you.If I end up in with problems then I will know who not to ring
@rsa101 (38166)
• Philippines
15 Jul 08
Pretty strange for you that you really are looking for others' trash and make something out of it for you. Well in my place that is pretty common that there are people that really look for trash and sell them at junk stores around. I think it is a common practice in here to make money out of garbage. As for you, I really do not think it is not bad to take somebody's trash since they already disposed of it and they don't consider it useful for them then you can take it as yours and make good use of it. I think its also good for the environment in someways since you have lessened the garbage in small ways like you did.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
14 Jul 08
I have been tempted a time or two but never really found anything worth swimming through trash for. I would love to make a great find someday so I will continue to look though.
1 person likes this
@msmell (1378)
• Australia
15 Jul 08
Ruby you are not alone! Right now sitting here typing this reply to your discussion at a computer desk that my hubby picked up off the side of the road on what we call hard rubbish day which we have every 3-4 months and my hubby can't go pass anything that looks like it is in really good condition which I don't normally mind but seriously how many lawn mowers can one man own....!!!! hahahha if you know what I mean!
I try to make him understand that it is ok to take something if we need it but if we dont need it then leave it and someone else who really does need will come along after him and pick it up.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
15 Jul 08
Hello dear friend ruby. I think that the wooden chair is lucky to have found you helping her to get her fixed sot that it could help serve people once again. I am sure that she is very happy for this. I think that it is a good idea that you make full use of the chair to offer her a new life again to her reborn.
Yeah, I also love the idea that one's rubbish is someone else's treasure. Quite often I give what I do not use to my other family members or my neighbors and sometimes my friends give what they don't need to use to me as well when I can make full use of it. I am very happy to see something usable again when it goes to another person.
Have a good day, my dear friend, ruby.
1 person likes this
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
15 Jul 08
Ruby..LIke you i've found many a treasure at curbs here in the US of people trying to throw what they call trash out..I've found lots of chairs and fixed them..toys and clothes..wash them up and good as new!
I'm a happy person when i find treasures at places others never go to!
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
16 Jul 08
One mans trash is another mans treasure,and there has never been a truer word spoken.It stotally up to the individual as to how they lead their lives and deal with their posessions is a thing that can onl be decided by them,but we now live in such a throwaway society.
@RhythmWalker1 (825)
• United States
15 Jul 08
"One mans trash is another mans treasure"
Here in America there is "road side pick-up" in certain places.
And we have, yard sales where we sell all the stuff we don't need or want any more
for basically what we can get out of it!
I do have quite a few things in my home that I have collected from Yard sales
or out of "junk piles".
1 person likes this
@ruby222 (4847)
•
16 Jul 08
A brilliant idea,and of the same ilk as our car boot sales I would think.the very last car boot sale that I went o was absolutely jam packed!!and I went up and down two rows,then I ran out of steam!!there were so many unwanted toys there,going so cheaply it was hardly beleivable.You could have given a young child all his/her christmas presents and they would have remained totally in the dark about it!But on reflection it was sad to see the amount of toys that had just been cast aside,but this is probably because there isnt anyone elst to hand them on to in the family.
