Would you garbage pick?

I went to throw out my trash at the apartment complex where I lived and found a Hoover upright vacuum cleaner on the top...took it out and it was good, used it for over a decade before it gave out. I'd also find clean and perfectly good items the students would leave behind, clean them up and save them for my neighbors moving in, boxes of dishes, ironing boards, etc when they'd ask if I had any to spare I'd give them what I had saved.

I wouldn't personally because i know the kinds of diseases people can carry. Certain communicable diseases can have the virus, or bacteria live on them. Even if i tried to clean it myself it's a chance I'm not willing to take.

I'm not in need but just two weeks ago I picked up a vhs copy of "Bill Cosby, himself". You just don't find those treasures anywhere else.

@dick I'm not sure I'd take a mattress haha but I did get a armchair once and reupholstered it, and I'd take a microwave everyday

I got a very pretty sky blue camping chair from my neighbor's trash pile when they moved away 😇 And a bunch of other folding lawn and camping chairs too :/ I am a slight hoarder.. But I don't regret my lovely chair.. 😊 Chairs :) lol

I've been tempted to take mattresses and microwaves and the like that are left out on the pavement. I actually picked up one end of a sofa once, but my friend told me to piss off... :P

1961Dave: When they first started doing big trash clean-up here in my city, my ex's brother got a lawn mower from a wealthy neighborhood on the other side of the city. He said he asked the homeowner's permission (the mower was sitting next to the curb) and he told him it didn't start and it was only a year old, that he would go buy a new cheap lawnmower every year and not have to deal with having one repaired and hauling it back and forth. My brother-in-law said it just needed a spark plug and it was like he had a new mower, he used it for years.

Trash piles on the front lawn during big trash pickup are good sometimes, I got some flower pot drip trays to use and they are expensive in the stores, the good solid ones. Tell your friend that it's green and resourceful to reuse good items. I wouldn't get down in a dumpster though, nasty sewerage type germs in there, people throw diapers, cat litter, rotting foods, etc. Digging through bags could get you a needle-stick and then you'd be wise to test yourself for hepatitis and HIV.

XD I feel like that's more effort than just buying a new chair... :P

Dumpster diving.. Of course I do.. And my friends too.. It's lots of fun.. It's like gold mining.. Lol

@cherokee it's true, it's amazing what people throw away! But like Dave said if it's on the surface I'll go for it otherwise I'm not digging lol

@malia I LOVE thrift shopping, it's not even about the savings anymore it's just so much fun

One time when I needed a new lawnmower I saw one sitting out with garbage. It was great, had a few bent parts I sraightened them, it started right up. A friend said there's no way that was thrown away, somebody must have taken a break and left it there.

I'm vaxxed for hep and I live in a tiny community so no risk for tb. The worst would be bed bugs actually. I am a nurse too 😊 I think we've talked about this ...lol.

I am not currently in need, but I would, specially if its about helping my family survive

There's a reason behind the saying "one's trash is another's treasure"

One thing to think about when doing this is bedbugs (and head lice)...they are a bad problem in places like apartment complexes and rent houses. People might throw out their mattresses and bedding when they move or have those bedbugs and then get new ones after they've had their apartment exterminated. Even furniture can have it...I worked with a guy who bought a waterbed from someone and his house got bedbugs...he paid good money for it and then had to throw it away.

That's the least of the worries. Hepatitis and respiratory problems. Yes, nursing school made me a germophobe. There are tons of things out there.

I have a spare room piled full of beautiful clothes and shoes that I never wear.. Then I go around dressed in rags.. I'm weird *sigh*

I'm the same Flenflyys. I won't pick, but if I see something in the open I'll grab it if it's convenient.

my guilty pleasure is shopping at thrift stores. I mean I can get a whole work appropriate outfit for $10 or less... and it is slightly less dirty than trash

@malia maybe...I haven't seen my cat in a while

Mrsgear it IS a lot of fun!

I feel like this is about to turn into an episode of hoarders

Haha Joe!

Nah, I have too much garbage myself. LOL

I used to do that, but I kept finding body parts.

@mrs that's a score, the garbage of moving people is the best! Haha

Seriously though I'm definitely not a hoarder

@cherokee yea that's my biggest fear. But luckily I live in a small community without apartment buildings and anything I bring home goes in the garage for a while first lol.

@stereo yep people are so wasteful. We have a massive trash pile in the ocean

@hopeless it made me a hypochondriac, right now I'm on MS. I thought I had brain cancer for a while 😩

People are so wasteful. I have watched people throw away brand new stuff. If it's in plain sight and in good condition, why not?

As long as it's actually benefitting you to do so and you aren't just accumulating clutter, it's fine.

One persons junk is another persons treasure...they say. ;)

It made me a germophobe! Not like won't touch anyone or anything but i see possibilities to be infected everywhere!

Down lol....? Please be joking 😧

ew cats

Eh I'm immunized haha no tetanus here

No wonder the birthday present you gave me smelled like ass...........