I love things that have stories. That's why we have an old house and nearly all of our furniture is second-hand or hand-me-down (it still looks great). Our mantra for the last few months has been we don't buy stuff. I mean, does the world really need one more purse or pair of sunglasses or DVD player or . . . futon frame? Our little boycott has worked out pretty well: we have saved a bit and cut out some of life's unnecessary cluttery stuff.
We recently ran into a dilemma; the extra bedroom needs a feng shui makeover so that it will be a place we (and you, our honored, future guests) actually want to be. This feat could only be accomplished by a new bed. But, wait! We don't buy stuff (say it with me); herein lay the dilemma. We thought about going to "Fabulous Futons" (yes, it's a real store) to buy a new one; at least we would have been spending dollars at a local business. We hedged for a while to decide if it would really be worth it.
Last weekend, while riding our bikes home from a brief trip around the river trail, we happened upon a goldmine in the alley behind our house. That's right, it was a perfectly good futon frame lying next to (not in) the dumpster. (I'm not particularly proud, but I do have some misgivings about the hygiene implications of getting into a dumpster, so it was a relief that we wouldn't have to actually dive in to get it.) Clark took it upon himself to do the do the dirty work, and we are now the proud owners of a new-to-us futon frame (total cost: $8 for sandpaper and black paint).
This was my first Dumpster Dive. Do you DD (TM)? Do you think it's gross? Do you think it's gross, but do it anyway? What's your best find? Do tell.
i am guilty. when i worked at albertsons every tuesday night the krispy kreme guy would come and just THROW AWAY all the donuts that were about to expire, they were still packaged, not touched. the guy would just put them in the garbage, so i would wait until he came, go out to "get some carts" and take a few dozen delicious krispy kreme's. I wasn't the only one who did it either. theres nothing wrong with dumpster divin. Glad you joined the rest of us sheep. you tell a good story!
ReplyDeleteHa ha I love it! I'm not opposed to DD, however I have no good finds. I think I would be worried if you picked up the mattress but the frame...that's great!
ReplyDeleteWay to go. I'm glad you were able to find exactly what you were looking for. I have to admit that I have never been dumpster diving, but who can beat stuff for free.
ReplyDeleteHey, just found this blog. I've been reading J.Clark's comic blogs but I didn't know you had this one until now. Anyway...We got a nice desk in college. Like your futon, it was right next to the dumpster, so that made it ok. My brother, who is a very good woodworker and used to work at a carpentry shop in town, dumpster dives for wood at carpentry shops. He gets awesome scraps like walnut and cherry wood. They are big enough to make things like plaques or flag frames and then he sells them on eBay. Pretty smart.
ReplyDeletePaul snagged a piano left in one of their rental properties. It sat in storage for about a year, and no one claimed it. We had a piano guy take a look at it, and ended up bringing it home and having it cleaned, repaired and tuned for $290. Not a bad price for a nice little piano!!!
ReplyDeleteI guess you could say I DD at my Mother-in-law's house. She's notorious for giving her old stuff away so she can buy new stuff. I love it. We practically furnished our whole house with her hand-me-downs; two kitchen sets, washer, dryer, couches, end tables, the list could go on.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I get to follow you on your blog!
I love your fun finds. Most of you are great hunter-gatherers. I think DDers are a subcategory of hunter-gatherers, along with yard salers, wild mushroom hunters, and bulk shoppers. Fun stuff; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lol and I lived in Ogden we lived in a duplex. The people upstairs were always throwing away good stuff, I mean really good stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe one that sticks out the most right now is a FULLY WRAPPED gift, bow and all. I pulled it out and when we opened it we found it was a really nice casserole dish with a lid. We used it for about five years before it broke.
Oh yea, Laurel says we got one of our cats (Gwen) as a DD special... Well the mom cat dumped her cause she had a broken leg. Guess she was a fixer-upper :)