Karma: 1665015

One mans trash is another mans treasure....

Have you ever found a discarded item in a skip, dumpster, or alleyway (etc) that someone has thrown out and taken it home with you because you liked it? What treasure did you find?

Example: My aunt used to go dumpster diving for the fun of it (not out of necessity) and she used to bring home some very nice items as well as a few questionable items too.

My aunt once brought home a Baker's Rack which looked new.

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+15 Views: 1156 Answers: 10 Posted: 8 years ago

10 Answers

Ducky

Karma: 1032535

I can't remember if I've found treasures on the curb (we have a day each year when people can sit things out with a 'free sign' on them) or at a dumpsite but I do like thrift stores. There are lots of treasures there!

8 years ago. Rating: 15
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country bumpkin

I catch your drift. :)

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

Thrift! Thrift!

commented 8 years ago

bulletman

You would get on well with my wife Ducky, she's always browsing the thrift shop, myself i would not be seen dead in one, as i tell her these shops are for the unfortunate -- she took what i say with a grain of salt :)

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

Great treasures there....grain of salt here too. lol

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

Kent, I used to also avoid thrift shops because I thought they were meant for only people down on their uppers. I did eventually find out that the thrift stores such as Christians in Action and the Salvation Army also want people who are not suffering through financial difficulties to shop there because a lot of the money they make goes back towards helping the homeless and less fortunate.
One way to look at it is for every dollar you spend at the thrift shop, you are helping to clothe, feed and put a roof over someones head.

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

We have Value Village here which also donates quite a chunk of their profit to various agencies.

commented 8 years ago

Tommyh

Thrift shops are a joke here. They are now franchised by the Salvos & similar charities to second hand dealers.They are not really there to assist the unfortunate The Salvos make their money from the franchise payments.

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

I've never heard anything bad about ours. I hope that's not the case here. :(

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

I haven't heard anything bad either. This is unfortunate, Tommyh.

commented 8 years ago

jhharlan

Karma: 1457190

I used to do the dive when I was homeless. I'd hunt for food and found the greatest restaurants as well as the most generous....

8 years ago. Rating: 13
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country bumpkin

Did you ever eat anything you didn't know was spoiled and got sick?

commented 8 years ago

jhharlan

Never. The dumpsters got emptied every day so the good was fairly fresh. Pizza was easiest though the chicken place would set aside their editable goods for the homeless and The Wok n Roll would give out cartons of rice......

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

Are there any Weinersnitzele's in Austin? We have two in my hometown and my brother worked there in the 80's. They wrapped all their leftover food in bags and threw it away at the end of the night. My brother and his friends used to sneak back on the premises after they closed and take the corndogs, french fries etc.

commented 8 years ago

jhharlan

Yes, there are a couple I believe but none close to me. ..

commented 8 years ago

terryfossil 1

Karma: 419245

I picked up something similar to this photo from a 2nd hand shop,,it was brown in colour, i painted it Gloss White,,and it totally transformed the room...

8 years ago. Rating: 13
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country bumpkin

I can imagine it....Very nice!

commented 8 years ago

Bob/PKB

This is a fantastic piece. I'd love something like this to go across the back wall of my living room!

commented 8 years ago

JDB

Karma: 107320

I insulated my shop and built the walls out of material from a dumpster at a construction business down the road from where I use to work. They would throw away half sheets of 3", 4", and 6" insulation board and odd shapes too , plus good 2×4's . I'm also known as the plant scavenger at work.

8 years ago. Rating: 13
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country bumpkin

That;s what I'm talking about! It's amazing what treasures we can make from other peoples junk!

commented 8 years ago

Benthere

Karma: 1556120

....always bought used textbooks at college.

8 years ago. Rating: 12
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country bumpkin

Me too. New books are so expensive.

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

Missing any pages you two?

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

No pages missing but a lot of highlights and possibly a couple of boogers pressed between the pages.

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

Ick! Your mind goes to the weirdest places!

commented 8 years ago

mycatsmom

Me too, Ben

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

Karma: 480785

I found a vintage 1920s dress form like this one left on the curb and grabbed it up for my daughter who sews ... pretty cool find!

8 years ago. Rating: 12
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Ducky

Very cool for a seamstress!

commented 8 years ago

hector5559

One of my sisters used to be a Millaner,and often use to do work for the local ladieys in the neigbouhood,,

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

That is a cool find. I would love to visit you someday, Lindi, you seem like such an interesting person.

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

Awww thanks Bunkin ! I am right out of my mind ... in a 'good' way though. LOL

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

What? There's a 'good way' to be out of your mind? Yay!!!!

commented 8 years ago

lindilou

ummmm ... I thought .... I mean when I signed up I thought .... oh never mind .... 8D

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

commented 8 years ago

Bob/PKB

Karma: 945575

Kids' dad would dive for recycling cans and bottles. The kids found some fun stuff and brought it home for me. I do keep my eyes open at thrift stores, curbside dump days (got a great collection of cookbooks), and always check the "sale" spots at the grocery store and "department" stores. :D

8 years ago. Rating: 11
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Tommyh

Karma: 609115

Well.How the heck do you think we furnished this big ole house? Just kidding.But trash & treasure is a growth industry over here."Garage Saling" is the saturday morning past time.Hundreds of people get out & do it. I have often left stuff out the front of my house with "FREE" written on it.It disappears in an hour or so.

8 years ago. Rating: 11
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Ducky

Yep. Garage sailing has been huge here for decades too. You can shop Saturday morning and for about $20.00, you come home with loads of stuff. The chatting all around town is fun too. (not that I would be doing much of THAT. LOL)

commented 8 years ago

Tommyh

You would be a great mate for Maggie,Ducks.

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

I'm having garage sale withdrawals.

commented 8 years ago

Tommyh

Don't they have them in Bonny Scotland?

commented 8 years ago

country bumpkin

They have something called car boot sales. I've only heard about them but I have yet to see one. I have never seen a garage sale here.

commented 8 years ago

Ducky

@CB....Trunk sales....people load up their car trunks and park in a designated area, such as a parking lot at an arena or a mall? They have those here once in a while too. :)
@Tommy.....Maggie and I would have fun I bet. :)

commented 8 years ago

clu