Scavengers | Imamother

Seraph

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:29 am

Would you ever take something that someone put near the dumpster/on the curb to throw out?
What types of things would you take? Or is the mere idea of anyone else's garbage revolting?

Mrs.K

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:37 am

On Friday I was walking to the butcher and on the floor near a dumpster I saw a small butterfly stencil, like with butterfly shapes for a kid to trace onto paper. I knew my 6 year old would love it, she's always coloring and loves butterflies to I picked it up, blew it off, and took it with me. My husband was absolutely repulsed. The things I do for that kid....

Many times I've put something out by he dumpster that was in usable and clean condition, but I no longer needed it or had gotten a new one, and it was always taken. Many people are thrilled to find a bookcase where a handle is a bit cracked or a baby toy that's a little discolored.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sun, May 17 2009, 8:45 am

From the dumpster, never. But from the side we took some boxes that the grocery through out and a piece of wood that the carpenter discarded. Otherwise, never. But if we'd notice some sheimos in the dumpster, we'd take it out and put it into genizah and saop our hands our hands really well.

Isramom8

Sun, May 17 2009, 9:18 am

From next to it, if it was clean and too good to pass up. Once I brought home a whole set of kids' encylopedia-type books!

Funny story, we tried to toss a broken suitcase in the dumpster, and a man yelled at us bal tashchis. Nothing's private in certain neighborhoods.

amother

Sun, May 17 2009, 9:26 am

A non-Jewish friend of mine went to the trash room in her building and in the recycling area, found a stack of still-sealed Lenox boxes. She *liberated* them. When she realized that one box had Hebrew writing, she brought it to me. That's the story of how I got my Lenox challah tray.

I've never been that lucky at finding things myself, but I did bring home a box of kids' books from our trash room. I've never quite figured out why M threw them out instead of giving them to me in the first place.

So the long and short answer is, while I would not dumpster dive, I would not hesitate to take things left at the curb or in a trash room.

(Anonymous because too many people IRL know the Lenox story)

shabbatiscoming

Sun, May 17 2009, 9:52 am

my husband had a friend in yeshiva who we went to them for a meal once. I told his wife that the couch was very nice and she thereby went and told me that they picked it up near a dumpster.

I was a little yucked out.

before we were married every time we saw furniture that was lying on the side of the road near the garbage cans we always made a joke "hevker" Smile

in real life, I would not take something from the garbage.

freidasima

Sun, May 17 2009, 9:56 am

Depends what you call a "dumpster".
When I was still living in america in a high rise building, each floor which had 8 apartments had an incinerator room in which there was an entrance to the schute to throw your garbage bags down. there was also an area to leave things which other people might want.

One day there was a nice wooden chair and thin tall bookcase, something like four shelves which were one foot by one foot. My grandmother took them home, my grandfather sanded them down and repainted them, and although the chair is long gone, the bookcase is in our house until today, having been repainted at least four times since then, 40 years ago.

de_goldy

Sun, May 17 2009, 10:08 am

MeThinks wrote:

you? soap?
shock

(faints)

ora_43

Sun, May 17 2009, 10:16 am

Depends on what the thing is in the garbage and the state of the garbage itself. IE, something on the curb is different from something inside the garbage but the garbage is only papers + other assorted not-really-gross things is different from something inside normal gross, germy garbage. And some random object that I might use sometime is different from something nice in good condition that I've been meaning to buy is different from something extremely expensive, etc.

In general I wouldn't take something from gross garbage unless it was actually mine + had sentimental value. From the curb I'd take anything I needed (furniture, etc) if it was in good condition.

amother

Sun, May 17 2009, 10:45 am

a publisher of a yiddish weekly used to dump his leftover publications form the previous week in the dumpster at dh's work...tha's how we got our free (previous) weekly subscription....

dora

Sun, May 17 2009, 10:48 am

a neighbor placed a huge vase near the garbage bins, it was bright pink and in perfect condition. The kids helped me schlep it upstairs, I spray painted it black and placed tall white branches in it. It looks great in my dining room/

Inspired

Sun, May 17 2009, 11:45 am

Sure. We have gotten furniture this way. I wish there was more to find in my neighborhood, unfortunately not much usable stuff is thrown out around here. I wouldn't dive a dumpster, but something usable next to it or sitting on the top.

Isramom8

Sun, May 17 2009, 11:57 am

Inspired wrote:

Cruise my city on Mondays before they come to cart away large items...you can furnish a whole apartment building.

Besiyata Dishmaya

Sun, May 17 2009, 12:18 pm

de_goldy wrote:

MeThinks wrote:

you? soap?
shock

(faints)

I probably soap my hands more than you for cleanliness but I generally don't after the bathroom where toilet paper and tissues do the job instead of my fingers and hands.

Seraph

Sun, May 17 2009, 1:26 pm

I have no issue taking something from next to the dumpster. I have 2 armchairs and a couch from next to the dumpster. And don't worry, we cleaned them well with furniture cleaner first, so no one is sitting on anything gross. We also got a long low cabinet that we use in our kitchen.

Isramom8

Sun, May 17 2009, 1:57 pm

Seraph wrote:

When we bought new couches, the delivery men refused to take our old totally ruined set - dh reminded them we got a discount because our old ones were a trade in, and they were like, they're total garbage, just keep the change! One had a crater so deep that our kids played hide and seek inside so we tossed it, but we kept one in our garden.

When teenage dd ran a day camp, one activity she did with the kids was to draw with markers and sign their names all over our couch! So it looks pretty cool sitting outside. I burst out laughing when I saw that job. But if I saw that near a dumpster...I wouldn't even think about it!

Roche

Sun, May 17 2009, 6:19 pm

if its clean looking and you can use it , why not? my mother actually has found old ripped up peices of furniture on the curb which she has reupholstered, in fact on e piece they had professionally done. If youre a little creative, sky's the limit with these types of things! Yes