Dumpster Diving

[Ranegyr]

Whoot!!!!!

so i was taking the trash out last night at my apt and found a 30g tall. no cracks, but had a bit of duct tape over one corner. yep. i am sure it leaks water. i wonder what the guy who threw it away would say if he knew the repair would cost $2.50. And free for me since i've already got the stuff.

you know, i've been thinking about making a rack and i could get all the materials at the dumpster. i know it's got to be cleaned and checked for kritters. but seriously, anyone who dumpster dives should check for that mess before they even bring "item" into their home. i mean, it did come from the trash. Jeesh!

i started this post to brag, but now i think i want to know... THIS ECONOMY SUCKS. do you Dumpster Dive?

[Mike Cavanaugh]

I have grabbed a few things off the curb here and there. Unfortunately though once I get them home I figure out why they were thrown out... for one reason or another usually on the next trash day they are out on my curb. Ironicly, they almost always get picked up before the trash man comes!!!

[nixer]

i do this all the time. ive found many many tanks, computers, all sorts of good stuff.

[Icatsme]

My bf, being a mechanic and a very resourceful one, will periodically find something and bring it home to strip down and take off parts or take off electrical components.

When he worked for the school board, it was amazing what they threw away. He doesn't do it so much now.

I love the term he uses for it, he calls it a "ground score"

[shadi11]

our turtle tank is a curb side find. We have found several tanks on the side of the road. but the 70 gallon tank was the best find. it didn't even leak. I did however still reseal it just because i don't want 50 gallons of water on the floor.

[rebeccabecca]

Our rat tank was off of kijiji( almost like getting if from the trash). We got a really nice $200+ bird cage out of the trash but we ended up giving the birds away as I thought I was allergic to them but it was just the cuttle bone! I'd take a tank out of the trash no problem. My friend got a really nice $500 girls bed from the curb. All's fair game when it comes to curbside LOL. My son who's 9 last summer would find bikes that were put out and sold them for $5.

[wolfy-hound]

I've been a dumpster diver all my life, not just now with the economy! People throw away the most amazing stuff!
If you want lumber, just check out anywhere they are building new houses, sometimes they throw away TONS of good lumber pieces, just because the piece was shorter than they needed, or leftoever. I've gotten hundred's of feet of boards, several sheets of plywood(always pieces), shingles, concrete blocks, bricks, decorative tiles, even once a gorgeous window!
I always ask the crew if I can "have a couple boards" out of the dumpster at the building sites, and they've never told me no. For other dumpsters(behind businesses, or whatever) I don't ask, and usually we'd go right at dark, or after dark.
We picked up statues, glassware, baskets, music boxes(about a dozen), tanks, cages, books(covers removed usually), shoes, and all sorts of odd things! We also picked up 8 tents, although not one had the poles with them!! If you call up the makers, you can order a replacement sets of poles, sometimes for free, sometimes it costs about $20. So a $400+ tent for $20! And it even had the bag!! IT was a week old, and if we'd really wanted to, we could have returned it, since the original receipt was IN THE BAG! It's a treasure trove!
I will say that we never really grabbed anything out of a food dumpster, but generally any "garbage" has been contained in bags, while items tend to be tossed in. So most everything is clean and ready to nab.
I never resold anything I nabbed out of the trash. Always gave it away if I wasn't keeping it.
We did get a futon mattress once.. and then dumped it two streets later... apparently a cat had liked it more than we ever could. LOL!
I LOVE dumpster diving, and curb nabs! On craigslist you see "curb alerts" all the time, so that is most times dumpster diving too.

[Argentra]

Heck yeah...flea market extraordinaire! College students here, remember?

I've found tanks, cages, wood, and the best of all - furniture! Our coffee table and dining room table, both real wood, came from beside the dumpster with NOTHING seriously wrong! The coffee table was scratched up (wood putty and stain), and the dining table had a leg loose (wingnut). The things you can find in the trash...

We also get quite a bit of stuff off CL, free or ridiculously reduced because they were 'taking up space'. We got our TV stand, rocking chair, and two side tables that way.

If you're not picky, and are prepared to do a bit of handy work, dumpsters and CL are the WAY to go!

[wolfy-hound]

Freecycle!! And craigslist, especially the Free section!

[BallPythons9]

oops, I meant to vote for the third option, but picked the second one, oh well.