Wisdom from The Action Wisdom In Action

Dumpster Dive With Panache

From the Dollar Stretcher.

"You've heard the expression "one person's trash is another person's treasure." Any astute bargain hunter knows that to stretch the dollar, you sometimes have to be a bit of a contrarian, going against the crowd. Keep this in mind; deals of all kinds await you in some unlikely places."

I've found that an apartment complex dumpster yields large amounts of treasures--evictions, surprise middle-of-the-night move-outs, move-ins with excess stuff, and closet-cleaners are pure gold, and they throw it away instead of selling, donating, or giving it away. No matter how it's created, it ends up at the dumpster. If you want to get at it pre-dumpster, make friends with the maintenance staff (who usually end up hauling the stuff to the dumpster). Give them your number to call if anything needs hauling off, like furniture or unopened food.

While you're at the complex, check another gold mine: the laundry room. People will throw away anything at the drop of a hat, or leave loads behind for days to mildew away forgotten, until a maintenance person eventually tosses it into the trashcan.

I've found that apartment complexes near military bases, schools/colleges, or in cheap neighborhoods are most fruitful.

Not exactly a dumpster, but another gold mine: stand-alone laundromats. People (again) throw away perfectly good stuff for no apparent reason, or leave loads behind, and the owner has to do SOMETHING with them...like tossing them out. If the laundromat has an attendant, ask if any clothes were left behind--chances are good you'll receive plenty in different stages of cleanliness, because some may have been left in a washer, but not dried. Also, check the garbage cans inside the laundromat for the day's cast-offs.

Also ask the attendant if he/she wouldn't mind saving up abandoned loads for you to pick up weekly for donation. If you do your laundry right there, you can add these clothes to your own to wash and dry, ensuring cleanliness of your donations (or keepers).

Trash Day (no dumpsters): usually the night before or the morning of trash day, people haul out their big trash--furniture, bulky items, or sometimes remodeling trash (cabinets, carpet, windows, etc.). If it's at the curb, it's fair game.

Not only will you score usable freebies, you also score tax write-offs from your donations to charity--this is one way to turn trash to treasure without much work on your part.

Posted by Cute at 6:59 PM

Labels: financial (non-tax), social issues