Trash Picking?!

So I had first heard about trash picking & dumpster diving in college, and even more so in this book. I know people have gotten some great stuff in the trash. My dad was a garbage man, I should know-- he found some great stuff! It is said "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

Well, I found that to be true this week after our neighbors moved. They gave us several things- girl clothes, woman's clothes, toddler bed, sheets & mattress pads for the toddler bed and some toys. We bought a sit & spin at their yard sale, and a toy guitar. Well, they were packing on Monday and showed us that they only had their van and a small trailer hitched to the van. There was a lot of stuff that they were just not going to get in. Some of the things in their trash pile were really trash, their dog had chewed them up. A few things were broken, and there really was just bags of trash. But there was lots of other great stuff in the pile too!

Here are some of the things that we got out of the trash pile:
-a blue stool, which I cleaned up for Bethany.
- an old style Winnie the Pooh that they got at our yard sale! :-D
-An oscillating fan that they got at our yard sale!
-A girly potty chair, which needs washing.
-A vaporizer, also needs to be washed
-Two laundry baskets full of hangers (kids and adults)
-A kitchen trash can, which I put in the garage for bats, hockey sticks, etc.,
-several glasses
-Two small rugs
-A small cooler with lid
-Two large trash cans (which we really needed!)
-A small coffee maker
-A small pink HEPA vacuum cleaner
-A fridge phonics/ letter magnet set for my two little girls (with 17 letters!)

Bethany plays with the Fridge phonics set.

It was a lot of stuff! Even if we donate some things to Goodwill, it is better than throwing them away! We live in such a throw-away society these days, it is kinda sad. We've thrown away things that were really broken, but not things that were still good, that could be used again.

I felt kinda silly picking in the trash, and we did check with the landlady about the trash cans. But it is nice to have some new stuff! We will really miss those neighbors and their little girls. The cul-de-sac is really quiet right now!