It’s Genetic: My Family History of Dumpster Diving
My grandfather grew up during the Great Depression and though I have very few memories of him–he died right before my thirteenth birthday–I remember the stories. Someone told a story at his funeral about how his mother would scrap the insides of egg shells with her finger just to make sure she got all the egg out. My uncle, who is a master builder, recounted how, when building a porch for him, my grandfather would have him straighten out bent nails with a hammer so they could be used again. One year, he gave my aunt a can of dented, generic peas from the grocery store, partly as a joke and partly to teach her that it wasn’t necessarily the package but the product that mattered and to save where she could.
The most prominent stories for me though are the countless examples of what we called “The Bob Gene”, because the family referred to my grandfather simply as “Bob”. Clearly influenced by growing up during the Depression he was unwilling to let anything go to waste. If he noticed someone throwing away something good or useful, he would salvage it and put it to good use. Over the years my mother has teased me for inheriting this gene, but if you want to save money (and resources, and the environment’¦) it’s a good habit to cultivate. Even as a high-schooler, I was making my grandfather proud, rescuing an arm chair and a futon from a dumpster. My father often encouraged this habit by pulling over to check out what people were throwing away. Though furniture is one of the more common things to find, kitchen appliances are my new favorite grab: often old but functional appliances don’t fetch enough to sell but still work. My roommates now even alert me if they see something while they’re walking that they think I might like.
Curbside collecting like this can often have bad associates but with a good scrubbing, vacuuming or otherwise cleaning often you have a perfectly functional item for the fantastic price of free. And though my mother and sister have habitually teased me for it, I love the sense of history my objects had and the sense that if my grandfather were here, he’d be proud.
If you’re interested in dumpster diving and free cycling, Dawn has some great posts on it here and here.
Photo Credit: Stock Xchng
Elizabeth, I think you’re the best. I’m all about rescuing found items, but they usually end up in the garden because I’m too much of a germaphobe to use them in the house – even with a batch of clorox.
Thanks Serena. I have to say, I don’t even use bleach because it’s generally pretty caustic. I usually just use some boiling water and white vinegar. Of course, I also dated an immunologist who taught me that bacteria builds healthy immune systems so I like to challenge mine.
As an apartment building manager, I get all kinds of stuff — either tenants leave it in the apartments or dump it when they go. I’ve written about that a couple of times for the Smart Spending blog, most recently a piece called “Trash picker.”
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/09/11/trash-picker.aspx
Judging from the comments, people think you’re the sharpest person ever or someone to be feared/pitied.
Whatever. I don’t insist others do this. But I’m not gonna turn down perfectly good stuff.
We are “pickers” too. End of college semesters are the best times for looking around– I get a look at our neighborhood and campus on the way home on the bus and send hubby out with the van when I get home.
Even if you don’t necessarily need the items you pick, cleaning up and selling them at garage sales can mean $$ in the pocket!
We are not germophobic about what we pick. We have even picked complete sets of dishes, dirty with food, that college students were to lazy to wash and pack to take on to their next place. A quick run through the dishwasher on the hottest setting and we had a full set of dishes to sell.