King of Scrounge: 5 Trashpicking Rules To Save (and List!) By
I had a landlord a few years ago who thought it was “dirty” when I made 3 trips down the street to pull a wrought iron patio set out of my neighbor’s trash. She and her teenaged daughter argued about it, and an hour and a can of flat black spraypaint later, the daughter made a point of coming out and complimenting me; it’s a pretty set, and there wasn’t anything wrong with it.
That was when my GF and I were first moving in together, and I had already salvaged a beautiful beveled glass table top, knowing wrought iron tables get tossed all the time….because someone broke the tabletop. GF sits at it on sunny mornings and drinks coffee and smells the potted rosemary.
I helped 2 friends move on Monday; the third hadn’t moved in years, and had, in her folly, made it a big joke when she didn’t come near us until we were safely settled in. And the walls were painted. Rachel carried her own damned boxes, and no, there’s no storage space at my house.
City folk are a true mystery to me. Moving from one third-floor JP garret to another third-floor JP garret? Come on! Brighton? On Labor Day? What were you guys thinking?
The Globe ran a story over the weekend about the amount of trash generated by Labor Day moving in Boston — repulsive. I saw the paper lying on my friend’s kitchen table while we stood around gulping down water and cinnamon buns, stretching, thinking about those stairs.
Here’s what Boston.com said:
“As part of move-in weekend, officials schedule extra pickups by the city’s two contracted trash-removal companies in neighborhoods like Allston and Brighton, where last year 184 tons of trash were removed over the long weekend.”
I guess no one’s heard of Goodwill — and, anyway, that would take effort and thoughtfulness. But why not at least post it on Craigslist Free? (Did you know that microscopic plastic particles concentrate in the bowels of ancient sea turtles, killing these otherwise nearly-immortal creatures by shutting down their excretory systems? Both gross, and true. Now pick up that laundry basket and take it to the Salvatin Army!)
My friends tease me for my trash picking — the ones who aren’t so disgusted by the idea of recycling and freecycling that they don’t like to bring it up. Lately, I’ve scored a beautiful, nearly-new black leather loveseat that looks great near the wood stove, an 8-foot, argon-gas-filled Anderson bow window, 3 smaller double-glazed windows, 6 sheets of rigid foam insulation, and a fairly new GE full-sized double wall oven. I think I spent $200 in gas. No one even asked me for money, and they were all glad to get rid of their stuff without having to pitch it into a Dumpster.
You’re not the king of scrounge, even if you got some nice utility shelving off a streetcorner in Lynn, or an old leather car seat to sit in while you play Nintendo. There can be only one king of scrounge, and I’m claiming the title. This is grown-up, pickup-truck home industry. And I think I would have paid $10g for the stuff I saved from the landfill. Like, a significant chunk of a year’s salary. In fact, soon-to-be equity in a summer house I’m beginning to rehab.
(Oh, and I got a bathroom sink, some really nice light fixtures, and a Kitchenaid meet grinder attachment from the 1950s.)
(Of course it works.)
Hint: If you don’t have to pay for materials, you can afford to pay someone to do the work. There are endless DIY projects, but it never hurts to bring someone in to knock you a few steps forward in your neverending war against leaky waterheaters and wonky ovens.
I’d like to see everybody engaged in this kind of anti-consumption consumption. You still get the “it’s my birthday” tingle, but without the credit card bills. Just follow some rules:
1. Know what you want. Don’t just fill your house with crap; have plans. Browse, but don’t hog.
2. Give when you get. Pay it forward. Get a really nice rug? Shake out a not-as-nice rug and offer it on freecycle or Craigslist.
3. Only claim things that you have a real plan to pick up. If you are not very strong, and don’t have a bunch of strong friends, don’t agree to pick up a piano from a thrid floor appartment. If you agree to take someone’s junk, show up! Showing up keeps people from throwing stuff out to avoid freecyclers. Don’t be such a spazz!
4. Only respond to “curb alerts” that are fresh and really close by. Don’t drive 45 minutes for a free hot tub that’s listed “out by the curb — first come first serve.” It’s a huge waste of energy and time. And money.
5. Conserve while you reuse. Don’t drive 50 miles in heavy traffic for an item that’s worth $35. Let someone else have it, and wait for someone to give one away closer to home. Everything is free on Craigslist eventually!
The Market Is Moving In Beverly
