The stuff that people throw away amazes me.....

Kallison

<font color=red>I'm a lab adorer<br><font color=na
Joined
Nov 15, 1999
My neighbors threw away a wrought iron patio set with a lounger chair, 4 chairs and a rocking chair. Nothing the matter with it at all except the cushions were faded from being left outside. It was a more expensive set, not a K-mart special (believe me I love to shop at K-mart). So I went garbage picking at 5am! We have three tables on our porch and patio and do not need another. It just makes me crazy that people throw that kind of stuff into the landfills. I'm going to store it in my attic and see if I can give it away to somebody. I moved some stuff around on my porch and made room for the lounger and rocking chair. It makes a nice little reading nook. I just flipped the cushions, looks super. I don't understand why they wouldn't try to give it away? I stuck my 26 year old rusty Huffy 10 speed bike out in my yard with a sign that said FREE and it was gone in one hour. Previously they threw away a bunch of Little Tykes toys, I grabbed those and gave them to my other neighbors. They called Little Tykes and ordered the missing tools for the tool bench. They were so happy about it. My DH gets so embarrassed when I do that! I told him nobody was out at that hour except the paper boy. I could care less what people think - throwing away good items is just ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.
 
Kallison

You would love my DH then...he throws away everything....I have to watch him like a hawk. You know we actually have a person here in town who goes around looking at things thrown out and then has an auction on Friday and Saturdays...its amazing what he finds. We bought 2 huge wall mirrors from him for $12 dollars each. We had to know where he got them and he said a Ramada Inn was remodeling and gave them to him. These are huge and in wonderful shape. He also had bedroom suites from them and tables and chairs and pictures. I guess some people would rather throw it out of give it away...I say CARPORT SALE...LOL!
 
We get rid of a lot of stuff because we can't stand clutter, but we always take it to Goodwill or some place similar. I figure that if I can write it off on my taxes and maybe help somebody it's much better than actually throwing it away.
 
Good for you Kallison.. people throw stuff away all the time here...
 


My husband is an expert "curb" shopper. You would not believe the nice furniture he's brought home. People who have the money but not the time, just want to get rid of it, they don't care who takes it. He goes to the affluent neighborhoods nearby. Some things he's picked up this summer:

For my sons new apartment:

Ikea kitchen table and chairs-I just need to cover the seats, otherwise in great condition.

Sleep sofa brown tweed with oak trim very good condition

lamps

an antique chair (that I put in my living room!)

nightstand

dresser

antique telephones

rubbermaid tubs in excellent condition

He's also brought home some real duds-they go out to our garbage the next day!

The key is to go out at dusk the night before garbage day. Don't feel bad doing it because these people WANT someone to take it, otherwise they'd put it out there the same morning or right when the garbage men come.

The only thing he won't do and I think it's disgusting, is pick through mounds of garbage. If it's not sitting there in plain sight-forget about it. When we lived in the city people would open bags and boxes and sift through clothing, etc. It was really gross, and they never cleaned it up.

I never thought I'd accept owning something that someone else thought was garbage, but here I am, outfitting my sons first apartment in cast offs and garage sale finds. I look at it as doing our part to recycle!
 
Ooo, Boy, you've touched on one of my former favorite pasttimes--DUMPSTER DIVING! Woo-hoo!!

I used to be a serious dumpster diver. At first, it started out as a way to get some extras because I was experiencing extreme financial hardship.....when that period in my life passed, I continued to dumpster dive for environmental/ethical reasons and the thrill of the hunt!

If I tried to list everything I ever found, it would be nearly impossible. I can say that I made a lot of money holding yard sales that included nothing but dumpster-dived goodies. I still have an antique side-table in my living room, several lamps in the house, and several linen items all that were procured from THE MIGHTY SKIP! I also donated innumerable amounts of items to animal shelters (I can't believe how many people throw away blankets, sheets, and pillows!) and goodwill. Just as an example, I have found: thousands (yes, thousands) of clothing patterns (brand new); 11 mount-under-table sliding keyboard trays(brand new, but slightly dented); 5 paper shredders(brand new, returned to store, all operable); a computer monitor; several lamps, fans, and quilts. Yes, all of these items were found IN dumpsters.

There are certain stores I will no longer shop at because of their destroy-and-toss policies. Among them, Burlington Coat Factory. One EXTREMELY cold winter, my boyfriend and I found 30+ good quality winter coats in adults and children's sizes slashed to ribbons and tossed in their dumpster. This was a common practice for them. When I think about all the people in shelters who could've used those sturdy coats, I just want to scream! :mad: We think Americans are wasteful, well, CORPORATE America tops that list!

Whew. / end rant ;)
 
So you actually did dive into the dumpster!! I won't do that, I will take off the curb though. I've often thought of collecting stuff to resale at a yard sale. That is really descipable about stores throwing away good merchandise. They should know better:mad: !! Our school used to toss all it's lost and found at the end of the year until I volunteered to take it to the charity thrift store. There were some really nice coats in there. The janitor used to tell me to take whatever I wanted because I was the only Mom he ever saw checking the Lost & Found.
 


Don't be too hard on Burlington Coat Factory. If they wanted to write off those coats, they would have to destroy them. I worked for a company (long since bankrupt) that used to smash mini-computers, disk drives, printers, and other useful items in order to satisfy the IRS rules for disposing of inventory.

I agree that it should be a crime, but until tax laws change, companies will continue to destroy perfectly good clothing and food that could otherwise have been donated to people who are down on their luck.
 
I will continue to be hard on the BCF (haven't set foot in one for over 3 years now), because I think *despite* the fact that they get a greater tax write-off for destroying merchandise, they would still be able to write it off (albeit for a lesser amount) if they donated the merchandise.....and it would be a great marketing angle for them as well. Take LLBean, for example. They donate most (if not all, but I'm not certain) their returned/unsold merchandise to Goodwill (I know, because I used to work for Goodwill).

Its the same principle with consumers tossing stuff--it "costs" less (in time, and perhaps gas) to toss it in the trash then to drag it down to a donation center. But I still feel they should take it down to the Salvation Army or Goodwill store....both of them use monies from sales to support a multitude of programs (I have some issues with the SA, so I always donate to Goodwill), and not just helping 'down and out'ers, but programs that are intensely needed by all of our communities--programs for people with brain injuries, developmental disabilities, mental illness and more!

Whew. Guess I didn't end rant. LOL Eh, what am I kevetching about, anyway? If stores didn't toss things, I wouldn't have had all that fun!! (well, those that actually tossed and didn't destroy, anyway!)

Kallison, I actually didn't 'dive' in.....my then-boyfriend was the down and dirty guy. I was more of a 'grab it off the top' or 'lean over the side' kinda dumpster diver. LOL
 
AOL has a great Dumpster Diving message board. You guys should read all the stuff these people find on a daily basis! If only I had a van, a garage, and a DD buddy! These people will use, give away, donate, or sell the stuff. Several have said they make about $1000 per garage sale. I think it's great... I hate wastefulness.

Another reason why companies have to destroy their goods is... if the employees know that the goods will be donated or will be available in the dumpsters, they will be more likely to put more goods in the "discard" bin. If you want to boycott someone, boycott Disney. We threw away tons of food. It makes sense. If we knew we could take home the extra hot dogs at the end of the day, we would make more hot dogs. I know the Disney Store donated some of their returns, though.
 
I was at a Disney outlet store over the summer and found this shirt with a small spot on the front. It was the only one in my size on the rack and I asked if they had any in the back or if they could take anything off the price of this one. I was told no and no. She explained that they would cut the shirt up later that night. Seemed so wasteful to me.

Lisa
 

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