Omelet wrote:
>
> Thought this was fun enough to pass on. :-) I'm not personally into
> scavenging much, (except for paying attention to sales), but have been
> passing stuff on as I have the stuff from 3 dead people to share at the
> moment, once my sister decides what she wants to keep. <g>
>
> It's amazing how, once we are gone, our lives all boil down to a bunch
> of boxes of left over possessions...
>
> The Scavenger's Manifesto: Why Dumpster Diving Can Save You from Going
> Off the Deep End
> By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
> Posted on March 21, 2009, Printed on March 22, 2009


There used to be a Usenet group dumpster diving. Don't know if
that's still active.

While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
cleaned up the occasional item to sell.

Arri London wrote:

> While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> cleaned up the occasional item to sell.

I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
most of the time.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
> Arri London wrote:
>
>> While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
>> perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
>> cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
>
> I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
> guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
> isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
> most of the time.
>
> nancy

I've noticed a couple of folk who come by on the night before our trash
is picked up and grab up anything that looks remotely salable.

A number of years ago our daughter had bought a home that was
unfinished, had no interior doors at all. A few days later I saw seven
interior doors at the curb on our street. Stopped and asked the folks if
the were tossing them and they said yes. They helped me load them on my
truck and I hauled them to my daughter and her boys and I installed
them. Just the right amount of doors and with all the hardware, hinges
and knobs attached. Chiseled out the door frames to match the
hinges,ensured the latches were installed properly and she and her kids
had more privacy than a sheet hanging over a door could provide.
Sometimes it pays to be alert to what's at the curb.

George Shirley wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:

>> I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
>> guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
>> isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
>> most of the time.

> A number of years ago our daughter had bought a home that was
> unfinished, had no interior doors at all. A few days later I saw seven
> interior doors at the curb on our street. Stopped and asked the folks
> if the were tossing them and they said yes. They helped me load them
> on my truck and I hauled them to my daughter and her boys and I
> installed them.

How cool is that.

>Just the right amount of doors and with all the
> hardware, hinges and knobs attached. Chiseled out the door frames to
> match the hinges,ensured the latches were installed properly and she
> and her kids had more privacy than a sheet hanging over a door could
> provide. Sometimes it pays to be alert to what's at the curb.

I bet those people were happy their old doors went to someone
who could use them. And you're a good dad.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> Nancy Young wrote:
>
>>> I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
>>> guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
>>> isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
>>> most of the time.
>
>> A number of years ago our daughter had bought a home that was
>> unfinished, had no interior doors at all. A few days later I saw seven
>> interior doors at the curb on our street. Stopped and asked the folks
>> if the were tossing them and they said yes. They helped me load them
>> on my truck and I hauled them to my daughter and her boys and I
>> installed them.
>
> How cool is that.
>
>> Just the right amount of doors and with all the
>> hardware, hinges and knobs attached. Chiseled out the door frames to
>> match the hinges,ensured the latches were installed properly and she
>> and her kids had more privacy than a sheet hanging over a door could
>> provide. Sometimes it pays to be alert to what's at the curb.
>
> I bet those people were happy their old doors went to someone
> who could use them. And you're a good dad.
>
> nancy

Thank you, I try to be. For a large portion of our children's youth I
was either working long shifts or away with the military. I've been
trying to make up for it ever since.

I never understood why the neighbors replaced their interior doors. The
ones in our house were installed in 1974 and, other than painting every
ten or fifteen years, have stood up well. All of our antiquated exterior
doors have been replaced in the 21 years we've been living here and the
house has been extensively remodeled to suit our needs. That may be why
the neighbors replaced their doors too.

Three quick things.

I'm proud to be a scavenger. Haven't gone so far as the dumpsters
behind the grocery, yet, but I am disgusted at the ammount of food
thrown out because the deli staff are too lazy to use the gaurd on the
slicer, so just toss the last two inches of cheese or meat; or can't
be bothered to sort through a produce bin, so just chuck it all; or
the managers can't work something out with a charity. Maybe I'm going
to have to go in. Writing this made it feel like a social duty.

Serene - I used to be a writer (just reveiws in art mags).
Technically held copyright, but never made serious money at it anyway,
and figured, as long as I was credited, not plagarized, not abused - I
was happy to have my words and ideas floating out in the world. And,
it's the Internet now. I have no assumption of ownership of anything
I post. It would be nice if people who think and write could make a
living at it, but the blogosphere has changed that. I haven't bought
a magazine in over a decade, and few new books. And gave up writing.

Funny how trying to be paid as a writer and scavenging are related.

And OM - trying to get rid of dead peoples' things. http://www.freecycle.org
I've never taken anything from them, but have given away a lot, even
things that I couldn't imagine anyone would want. And met some
interesting folks.

B

In article
>,
bulka > wrote:

> Three quick things.
>
> I'm proud to be a scavenger.

It's certainly no sin. It's a virtue imho. :-)

> Haven't gone so far as the dumpsters
> behind the grocery, yet, but I am disgusted at the ammount of food
> thrown out because the deli staff are too lazy to use the gaurd on the
> slicer, so just toss the last two inches of cheese or meat; or can't
> be bothered to sort through a produce bin, so just chuck it all; or
> the managers can't work something out with a charity. Maybe I'm going
> to have to go in. Writing this made it feel like a social duty.

I feel you there! There is a store in Austin that simply vac pacs those
things and sells them as "ends and pieces" at a slight discount. I used
to purchase them all the time and it was cool as I could get more
expensive items at an affordable price. It's criminal to toss them!

>
> Serene - I used to be a writer (just reveiws in art mags).
> Technically held copyright, but never made serious money at it anyway,
> and figured, as long as I was credited, not plagarized, not abused - I
> was happy to have my words and ideas floating out in the world. And,
> it's the Internet now. I have no assumption of ownership of anything
> I post. It would be nice if people who think and write could make a
> living at it, but the blogosphere has changed that. I haven't bought
> a magazine in over a decade, and few new books. And gave up writing.
>
> Funny how trying to be paid as a writer and scavenging are related.
>
> And OM - trying to get rid of dead peoples' things. http://www.freecycle.org
> I've never taken anything from them, but have given away a lot, even
> things that I couldn't imagine anyone would want. And met some
> interesting folks.
>
> B

I'm already on two local freecycle lists. :-) I'm a backup moderator
for the Seguin list too. I regularly give away egg cartons and cat
litter buckets there, and have given away many items already thru them.

The freecycle lists on Yahoogroups are awesome.

Thanks much!
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

bulka wrote:
> And OM - trying to get rid of dead peoples' things. http://www.freecycle.org
> I've never taken anything from them, but have given away a lot, even
> things that I couldn't imagine anyone would want. And met some
> interesting folks.
>
> B
>


Most of the time I donate unwanted items to the thrift store, but I have
used Freecycle a few times. I had an extra package of roof shingles,
some fence pickets and a few bags of cement. When I lived in Texas, we
could donate those items, they would be sold and it would profit Habitat
for Humanity.


Becca

In article >,
George Shirley > wrote:

> Nancy Young wrote:
> > Arri London wrote:
> >
> >> While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> >> perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> >> cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
> >
> > I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
> > guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
> > isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
> > most of the time.
> >
> > nancy
>
> I've noticed a couple of folk who come by on the night before our trash
> is picked up and grab up anything that looks remotely salable.
>
> A number of years ago our daughter had bought a home that was
> unfinished, had no interior doors at all. A few days later I saw seven
> interior doors at the curb on our street. Stopped and asked the folks if
> the were tossing them and they said yes. They helped me load them on my
> truck and I hauled them to my daughter and her boys and I installed
> them. Just the right amount of doors and with all the hardware, hinges
> and knobs attached. Chiseled out the door frames to match the
> hinges,ensured the latches were installed properly and she and her kids
> had more privacy than a sheet hanging over a door could provide.
> Sometimes it pays to be alert to what's at the curb.

It does indeed. :-)
And I've personally found that the majority of people would really
rather give some stuff away than toss it.
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

In article >,
"Nancy Young" > wrote:

> Arri London wrote:
>
> > While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> > perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> > cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
>
> I know I'm not the only one to put stuff out after the trash
> guys have left with the idea someone will take it. Stuff that
> isn't garbage, but that I don't want. Works out pretty well
> most of the time.
>
> nancy

It's called curbside freecycling. :-)
I do that too sometimes.

I now belong to two local freecycling groups tho', so that has helped a
lot. I regularly give away lidded cat litter buckets and egg cartons.
Both of those items are generally gone within 24 hours.
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:31:47 -0700, Arri London >
fired up random neurons and synapses to opine:

>While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
>perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
>cleaned up the occasional item to sell.

I've only been dumpster diving once and that was to retrieve a final,
printed version of an appellate brief we had to file with the 9th
Circuit the next day. Somehow I managed to overwrite the finished
brief on my computer and the boss and I spent some time in the office
dumpster with a flashlight trying to find all the pages. He's a
native Hebrew speaker and I don't think he was calling me anything
complimentary as he rummaged around in that dumpster.

Yet another reason why we keep scotch whisky in one of the filing
cabinets.

OB: I have a big pot of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot, which I will
turn into lasagna for the DH's birthday dinner next Sunday. Spaghetti
sauce is just one of those things that needs to age a bit to really
hit the "high notes."

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"Some weasel took the cork out of my lunch!"

-- W.C. Fields

To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"

In article >,
Terry Pulliam Burd > wrote:

> On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:31:47 -0700, Arri London >
> fired up random neurons and synapses to opine:
>
> >While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> >perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> >cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
>
> I've only been dumpster diving once and that was to retrieve a final,
> printed version of an appellate brief we had to file with the 9th
> Circuit the next day. Somehow I managed to overwrite the finished
> brief on my computer and the boss and I spent some time in the office
> dumpster with a flashlight trying to find all the pages. He's a
> native Hebrew speaker and I don't think he was calling me anything
> complimentary as he rummaged around in that dumpster.
>
> Yet another reason why we keep scotch whisky in one of the filing
> cabinets.

Ok, that was funny. Thanks for the chuckle. ;-)

>
> OB: I have a big pot of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot, which I will
> turn into lasagna for the DH's birthday dinner next Sunday. Spaghetti
> sauce is just one of those things that needs to age a bit to really
> hit the "high notes."
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

I'm still on my one meal per day kick, and I've already eaten.
Not hungry at the moment, but that sounds good!
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>
> On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:31:47 -0700, Arri London >
> fired up random neurons and synapses to opine:
>
> >While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> >perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> >cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
>
> I've only been dumpster diving once and that was to retrieve a final,
> printed version of an appellate brief we had to file with the 9th
> Circuit the next day. Somehow I managed to overwrite the finished
> brief on my computer and the boss and I spent some time in the office
> dumpster with a flashlight trying to find all the pages. He's a
> native Hebrew speaker and I don't think he was calling me anything
> complimentary as he rummaged around in that dumpster.
>
LOL! One can imagine.

Told a porky when I said dumpster diving was out of the question. The
cleaning staff in a lab I was in threw out a piece of equipment ($$$)
that was on the end of the bench (don't ask me why). They didn't come in
until after hours so couldn't ask. Went frantically round the dept
looking for it. Finally went out back to the dumpster and did climb in
(it wasn't full) but no expensive bit! The dept secretary saw me looking
more crazed than usual, so embarassed explanation. Said wonderful angel
had a key to the utility closet and said the bags were put out every
other day. After a bit of scrabbling through bin bags, found the part!
She thought it was funny...eventually so did I


> Yet another reason why we keep scotch whisky in one of the filing
> cabinets.

LOL. Lucky you; only ever had aspirin and biscuits/cookies in there :P

>
> OB: I have a big pot of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot, which I will
> turn into lasagna for the DH's birthday dinner next Sunday. Spaghetti
> sauce is just one of those things that needs to age a bit to really
> hit the "high notes."
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
Hmmm...thanks for the reminder. Not made any pasta sauce in ages.

Arri London wrote:
> Omelet wrote:
> >
> > Thought this was fun enough to pass on. :-) I'm not personally into
> > scavenging much, (except for paying attention to sales), but have been
> > passing stuff on as I have the stuff from 3 dead people to share at the
> > moment, once my sister decides what she wants to keep. <g>
> >
> > It's amazing how, once we are gone, our lives all boil down to a bunch
> > of boxes of left over possessions...
> >
> > The Scavenger's Manifesto: Why Dumpster Diving Can Save You from Going
> > Off the Deep End
> > By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
> > Posted on March 21, 2009, Printed on March 22, 2009
>
>
> There used to be a Usenet group dumpster diving. Don't know if
> that's still active.

Used to be called alt.dumpster.diving I believe, now it's
alt.dumpster. Not much traffic these days though.

> While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> cleaned up the occasional item to sell.

Gettin into Dumpsters there would have to be something pretty much
wanted for me to hop in like I've done many times.

wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> > Omelet wrote:
> > >
> > > Thought this was fun enough to pass on. :-) I'm not personally into
> > > scavenging much, (except for paying attention to sales), but have been
> > > passing stuff on as I have the stuff from 3 dead people to share at the
> > > moment, once my sister decides what she wants to keep. <g>
> > >
> > > It's amazing how, once we are gone, our lives all boil down to a bunch
> > > of boxes of left over possessions...
> > >
> > > The Scavenger's Manifesto: Why Dumpster Diving Can Save You from Going
> > > Off the Deep End
> > > By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
> > > Posted on March 21, 2009, Printed on March 22, 2009
> >
> >
> > There used to be a Usenet group dumpster diving. Don't know if
> > that's still active.
>
> Used to be called alt.dumpster.diving I believe, now it's
> alt.dumpster. Not much traffic these days though.

Must have a look and see. It was informative.

>
> > While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> > perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> > cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
>
> Gettin into Dumpsters there would have to be something pretty much
> wanted for me to hop in like I've done many times.


Too short to safely dive, although see above for my one episode. Easier
to get things off the streets, beaches etc.

Arri London wrote:
> wrote:
> >
> > Arri London wrote:
> > > Omelet wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Thought this was fun enough to pass on. :-) I'm not personally into
> > > > scavenging much, (except for paying attention to sales), but have been
> > > > passing stuff on as I have the stuff from 3 dead people to share at the
> > > > moment, once my sister decides what she wants to keep. <g>
> > > >
> > > > It's amazing how, once we are gone, our lives all boil down to a bunch
> > > > of boxes of left over possessions...
> > > >
> > > > The Scavenger's Manifesto: Why Dumpster Diving Can Save You from Going
> > > > Off the Deep End
> > > > By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
> > > > Posted on March 21, 2009, Printed on March 22, 2009
> > >
> > >
> > > There used to be a Usenet group dumpster diving. Don't know if
> > > that's still active.
> >
> > Used to be called alt.dumpster.diving I believe, now it's
> > alt.dumpster. Not much traffic these days though.
>
> Must have a look and see. It was informative.

That group and sci.electronics and .frugal.living are good related
semi-related groups.

> >
> > > While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> > > perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> > > cleaned up the occasional item to sell.
> >
> > Gettin into Dumpsters there would have to be something pretty much
> > wanted for me to hop in like I've done many times.
>
>
> Too short to safely dive, although see above for my one episode. Easier
> to get things off the streets, beaches etc.

I've accidentally threw away stuff, or my associates threw stuff away.
That had just enough value to decide to
struggle to get into a dumpster to retrieve the stuff and, urrggg, get
back out. With or without the prize.

Or look through what are or would be fairly accessible bags of trash

And possibly, probably, come across whatever marked and unmarked
hazards that may come with that.

not fun,

lets say we threw out an hundred dollar bill, hmmm, even ten bucks

The movie parenthood, with steve martin, they went to the chuck e
cheeses like pizza play place for the kids and their kid lost his
dental retainer, and steve, no maybe his wife, was digging through the
trash in the back looking
for it. Naw if was his wife.

She said, if you lost 300$ wouldn't you look for it in the trash for
it?

likable movie anyway

In article >, Arri London >
wrote:

> Omelet wrote:
> >
> > Thought this was fun enough to pass on. :-) I'm not personally into
> > scavenging much, (except for paying attention to sales), but have been
> > passing stuff on as I have the stuff from 3 dead people to share at the
> > moment, once my sister decides what she wants to keep. <g>
> >
> > It's amazing how, once we are gone, our lives all boil down to a bunch
> > of boxes of left over possessions...
> >
> > The Scavenger's Manifesto: Why Dumpster Diving Can Save You from Going
> > Off the Deep End
> > By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
> > Posted on March 21, 2009, Printed on March 22, 2009
>
>
> There used to be a Usenet group dumpster diving. Don't know if
> that's still active.
>
> While I won't climb into a dumpster to get something, have found
> perfectly usable stuff on trash days. Mostly for home use, but we have
> cleaned up the occasional item to sell.

The best time and place to dumpster dive around here is at the
University near the dorms at the end of each semester. It's amazing
what students toss out.

The other lucrative place is at any storage unit dumpsters...

You could probably make a living selling on ebay from what you can get
out of THOSE!
--
Peace! Om

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain.
-- Anon.