[berrykat]

sometimes people will throw out furniture at our apartment and if it is in good shape I will snag it. I got a kid table for my kids this way and clean new 3 ring binders that someone was throwing out. In the past I have got a table and some kid toys. lysol is useful in cleaning stuff up.

 

[bigdufstuff]

Definitely a good way to get free stuff. However, you should look at freecycle, where people willingly give away free stuff in good condition.

 

[~Wonder]

I'll snag a computer if I see someone throw it out, but I wouldn't do furniture. I'm too afraid of getting bed bugs.

~Wondre

 

[queenfluff]

I don't get why people throw out new stuff? Like those binders? Don't they realize their is someone who could use them?

I haven't actually snagged anything myself before but I have left out older wood furniture that maybe needed a little fixing up that I didnt need anymore and it was gone overnight. I figured that someone would take it.

I just joined freecycle myself. I know when I move in a few months I can get some free moving boxes off of there.

 

[bonnbeth7]

I got a nice old fashioned wooden kitchen chair that somebody left beside the garbage bin. It is homey, much more so than the old black vinal one I had. I would not take anything made of fabric though. It might be lice invested or something!

 

[berrykat]

nah just wood furniture. cloth stuff out of the dumpster worries me somebody could have throw up or peed on it or who knows what

 

[evilvegan]

Dumpster diving is an art, man. It's great...I got a really comfy computer chair that way, plus some binders.

 

[ChiKat]

This lady I used to babysit for would drive down the street on garbage day and find all sorts of things...

One time I was driving past my neighbor's house and they were throwing away a 20 gallon aquarium in perfect condition- with a lid and everything. I snatched that up.

We also took a dresser that a neighbor had sitting out by their garbage. Nothing was wrong with it at all. My dad sanded it, painted it white, and put it in my bedroom

One time we saw this house that was throwing away a TON of "good" things- things that should've been donated, not thrown away!! There were new baby gates (that I snatched since we had a new puppy!) and little shelving units and all sorts of cool things...

 

[synergy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Wonder

I'll snag a computer if I see someone throw it out, but I wouldn't do furniture. I'm too afraid of getting bed bugs.

~Wondre

As well you should be!

Having bedbugs is emotionally scarring.

If any of you do find furniture from an alley, or even buying things from a thrift store, please inspect your stuff carefully.

Here is a brief bit on what to look for : http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/#invade

I had bed bugs last year, but they had come from another apartment in my building. It was an awful experience, so do whatever you can to minimize your risk!!!!

 

[Lummo]

I used to.

And, hmm, I'm liable to again.

 

[GhostUser]

ew ew ew. Im sorry for such an immature response but those are g-ross!! Ick. They kindof remind me of head lice and I wonder if they are related. ugh.

I was going to say that I used to dumpster dive occasionally in Portland. A lot of bakeries and delis would throw out fresh baked stuff that didnt sell that day (in plastic) and produce and fruits. Fresh flowers with one or two wilted leaves.. Frozen entrees with an expiration date of that day. Teas. Lots of healthy good stuff. A lot of times, if you were around at the right time, the fruit would still be cold!

 

[GhostUser]

I have never done it...but a friend of mine said that during the christmas holidays she was throwing something out in the dumpster and found two brand new sweaters with tags on and a couple of kids toys still in boxes...she later found out that her neighbor had thrown them out..they were christmas gifts that she didnt want..how sad..she could have given them to goodwill or to someone who could use them..thats what my friend did.

 

[DMZdogs]

There aren't any dumpsters here. Trash is thrown directly on the street or bagged and thrown on the street. So, I guess what I do is street surf. I'm on a constant look-out for things. I find fabulous things all the time, but live in a tiny place and don't really need anything, so I usually just eye things as I walk by. However, yesterday I noticed a glass microwave tray propped up against a pole. I snagged it and sure enough...it fits my microwave. Granted, mine is still in perfect condition, but now if I break it by accident, I have a replacement that doesn't take much storage space anyway.

 

[soilman]

Unfortunately I am unable to carry most of the things that I covet, when I see them next to the dumpster. However a couple of days ago I saw a computer monitor and I took a chance that it would work. It was labeled as being made in China in 2003 - fairly new - and much newer than the 1996 I was using. My 1996 Sony Trinitron was still sharp, but it was no longer very bright.

I struggled to carry my 2003 for about 1/4 of a mile, stopping about 6 times to rest fo 10 minutes each time, and having my heart pounding when I finally got it up the stairs to my apartment. But I took a guess that some rich person probably bought a flat-screen monitor, and that the reason why they put the 17-inch crt monitor next to the dumpster, instead of in it, was that it still worked.

Glory Be - it works. I now have a very nice Comaq MV 7500 manufactured in 2003, which is just about as sharp as my old Sony Trinitron, but much much brighter if I turn the brightness up and with much better contrast. Of course I leave the brightest down lower and adjust the contrast as well as I can.

Compaq even still had an owner's manual for it, that I could download from their web site.

Last night I placed the 1996 Sony Trinitron next to the nearest dumpster.

 

[Pirate Ferret]

oi i have a random rash today now im paranoid its bed bugs!

Noone dumps cool stuff round here and id be scared that the owner would see me and chase me down the street

 

[SonicIggy]

I've gone dumpster diving many times. Me and a friend used to go all the time to dumpsters hoping to find something, lack of luck made us stop, got a few things though. And I always pause to take a look when people lay things out on their lawn to get picked up by waste management, I have a tape player and a few random things that i probably didn't need through this method.

and I really hope I never have to deal with bedbugs

 

[elibrown]

I mostly dive food, from the farmer's market nine times out of ten. I find clothes and furniture occassionally.

 

[isowish]

when I was younger my dad used to take things from skips for me. I got an awesome blackboard that way. It used to piss off my mum.

I don't do it myself, except for that time me and my friends borrowed a wheelbarrow to use as a 'pirate ship' (we happened to already have a pirate hat) and wheel each other about in round the streets and down to the beach.

 

[lillym]

I don't actually dive into dumpsters but I will gladly pick up stuff that was on the side of the road. I learned it from Mom, she's found some really cool and interesting things from the side of the road. Just yesterday we were garage saling and found a wood slightly ugly coffee table in perfect condition so we scooped it up. Mom's wants a padded bench so she's going to turn the coffee table into a bench.

In my living room I have a rug and a side table recovered from the side of the road, the rug has a little spot on it but I just put another, smaller rug on top of it and it looks nice. Some paint and the table looks cute and like it cost a bunch of money.

 

[avocado]

yes! we got a couch with a back massager on both ends and a fold-down table in the middle.also, we picked up a working dryer. we are always on the lookout for extra candles since we have hade several power outages. oh yeah, LOVE freecycle! my husband gives away computers on freecycle once in a while.