Scavenge to Get (Almost) Everything for Free

Reader Comments
Back to article

I've been living this way even when it wasn't "cool" to do so. I've shopped thrift stores and yard sales for years and have always believed that little should be thrown away and most things most certainly can be reused.
During the housing boom a few years ago, my husband and I would scavage homes set to be demolished to make way for large development projects. When given a large sum of money to move out, the homeowners would simply walk off and leave many of their belongings behind in a shambles. I've gotten things like flower pots, patio furniture, tools, toys. I wish I'd had the guts to take things like hardwood flooring and cabinets for my own home. It was such a shame (not to mention a waste) to know these things were going to the bulldozer, but knowing that scavaging is usually considered illegal, I wasn't going to push my luck.
We have become a throw-away society; anything that doesn't suit our needs goes right to the dump. We should be ashamed of ourselves for not trying harder to recycle things. If someone wants to pull up hardwood flooring in a home scheduled for demolition, they should be praised for their efforts rather than arrested for stealing what will become waste in the landfill.
We have to turn our thinking around. Reuse it, recycle it, give it away if someone else has a need for it. How many retail stores destroy unwanted merchandise before they put it in a dumpster just so no one else can use it? Is it really that terrible that someone might find a couple of mismatched bathtowels or a bamboo window shade missing some hardware? Here's an idea. Why not put that junk on a table in the store. Let people have it for free. It's garbage in the eyes of the retailer anyway.
Let's all think before we trash something. Just because it's trash and not going to turn a profit, that doesn't mean it's not usable to someone.

Donna of GA 8:29PM November 29, 2009

i like it

sunfly of VT 12:23AM March 23, 2009

I live in rural Alaska - a small town of 1000 people. Wednesday is trash day. Sometimes (right after Christmas is the best)I drive around on Wed morning to see what people discard. Most peoplel will put useable stuff next to their trash cans, so others have a chance of acquiring them. I've found very nice furniture that way. I also tend to bring more back from the dump than I take. They try to pick out anything that might be re-useable, and set it aside for scavengers. I just got some greaat retro metal office chairs that will be quite valuable once I refurbish them. I also "dumpster dive" at the post office. When ever I feel the need for reading material (I'm a catalog-aholic) I check out the 4 trash cans in the post office. I've even found current magazines and occasionally extra copies of flyers that have coupons I can use. I am big on recycling. People say I should have a yard sale to get rid of some of my "junk", but, by the time I am done using something, it isn't worth trying to sell. I either dismantle it for parts or burn in in my fireplace for extra heat. Or I take it to the dump, and come home with another load of "junk". I also "recycle" all my food trash. My dog and cats can eat anything with meat, all stale bread or crackers go to the birds, and I compost the rest. I just hate to throw ANYTHING away. And, yes, I actually DO use most of the stuff I collect - eventually!

Terri of AK 2:49PM March 18, 2009