You’re such an inspiration for the ways that I’ll never ever choose to be. -random song lyric
Hi there, Mrs. 1500 here.
Regular readers know that we used to live in a neighborhood that was rife with wastefulness. Perhaps because I grew up without a ton of money, perhaps because my parents were both children of the Great Depression and acted like something had to be worn out or grown out before we could get rid of it, perhaps because I spent several years in Madison, WI which is the hippie capital of the world. Whatever the reason, I cannot stand to see something that still has life in it, being tossed out rather than donated to the thrift store.
I understand not wanting or needing something any longer, even if it still has use. I recently donated a bunch of clothes that I no longer fit into (thanks Nutrisystem!) to the thrift store along with various other things I just didn’t want anymore. But just because YOU don’t want it any longer, doesn’t mean someone else can’t use it and it should be added to our growing landfills.
A few weeks ago, I looked out the window and saw a chair sitting at the curb. I know these people, and know that it was a nice chair. Just sitting there, waiting to be smushed in the compactor at the back of the garbage truck. So I walked over and took it. I used to be shy about taking things from the trash, not for me but because I don’t want our judgmental neighbors to think less of my girls. But since we had sold the house and were just waiting to close, I didn’t care anymore.
After I saw this nice chair, and spied a scooter across the street in the garbage, I decided to get in the car and drive around the neighborhood. I stopped at one house because I saw a foot stool. When I peeked into the garbage bags stacked next to the can, I found towels. And more towels. 15 garbage bags filled with clean towels and bathmats. Some of the towels were quite nice. Many were enormous and a few were brand new.
I don’t need any more towels. But my landfill certainly doesn’t need any, either. On a whim, I called up my sister to ask if she needs any. She said she would take any towels I would give her, because she is a teacher and takes her students outside when it is nice. She has asked the students to bring towels to sit on so they don’t ruin their pants, but most don’t bring them in. What a nice solution.
Two weeks ago, I mentioned my garbage picking to a friend who also lives in the neighborhood. After showing her husband a few of my better finds, he has decided to drive around the night before and check things out. Last week he found a brand new Weber charcoal grill. But even more interesting, he said there were numerous box trucks driving around, picking through the trash, too. A cottage industry has arisen around our former neighbors’ wasteful ways. Yikes!
What makes me sad is that because my former neighborhood throws out so many useful things, it has become known to many people as a place to go and pick through trash on Monday nights. How did it become so well known for finding treasures at the curb? Because many, many people throw out perfectly good items, every single week. Every. Single. Week. How many things ended up in the landfill before it became the dumpster-diving hotspot? I prefer not to think of these things. I prefer to dwell on the fact that I no longer live there.
This astounds me. How in the world are people so wasteful?! At least people have caught on and are hopefully saving a good portion of the stuff from being thrown out.
Not to mention, what are they teaching their kids?! I can see why you couldn’t wait to leave and get your girls away from such mentality. Sheesh!
Mrs. Herb recently posted…Happy Birthday to The Southernmost Gentleman!
Wow why would people just throw stuff away like that? WEIRD
Michelle recently posted…What Is Your Pet Worth? How much would you spend on a sick pet?
It’s amazing some of the stuff that gets thrown out. Like you said, why not just donate it and help someone out? Crazy!!
Pretired Nick recently posted…Online advertising: Another piece of the pretirement puzzle?
That’s ridiculous, especially that some of these items were brand new. I wonder if your neighbors were too self-absorbed to even consider making donations.
E.M. recently posted…How I Stopped Spending So Much on Beauty Products
I think I too have an innate struggle when it comes to wastefulness. I’m still wasteful at times but it can be hard for me to watch others. One of the troubles I’ve had was keeping useful things around because I didn’t want to throw them away and I was going to sell them ‘someday’. I ended up with a lot of slightly useful clutter. I still get random things but I give away a lot more than I used to simply to have a bit more space. I can defiantly identify with the struggle of seeing good things thrown away!
Stephen at SE recently posted…The Free Digital Envelope System
It’s a crazy world out there. Besides missing an opportunity to pass along useful items to people who need them, these idiots may as well be tossing cash in the trash. And, what a terrible example to set for their children.
I’d love to be able to follow the lives of these people as they age. I’m betting they will be the ones crying that the Social Security program is hacked and won’t be enough to support them. Mark my words…
Ree Klein recently posted…There’s Only One Guarantee When it Comes to Money
Great points, Ree.
I really liked this post, Mrs. 1500. My sister lives in NJ and they have the same type of neighborhood where they used to live. They called it Junk Night and drove around so my brother-in-law could gather his find and fix items.
Tammy R recently posted…Addicted to Candy Crush
Wow, that is just downright crazy! I understand not wanting to use something any longer or wanting to get rid of something, but why be so freaking wasteful?! It is so bad on a variety of levels. It just saddens me to see things like this and to know that there are so many without and those that have needlessly toss stuff to the curb – literally. I can understand why you’d want out.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted…The Gift of Financial Literacy
Sounds like a killer opportunity for goodwill to put a donation bin nearby. Do you think your neighbors would use it if it were in the grocery store parking lot?
We occasionally see some exciting items left out for the garbage , but for us exciting is nice scrap wood or a nice cooler bag (with a liquor logo on it) that will be great to take to the beach and not worry if it gets lost or stolen.
I think my favorite was a canoe left at the end of our street with a sign that says “free canoe. It floats”. Mr pop still regrets leaving that behind!
Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted…He Said She Said: On Superstores
One time I replaced my dishwasher and had left it by the curb for the garbage people to pick up. It was old and disgusting and I had no way to move it myself. The day before the garbage company was supposed to come over, it was gone. Since then I have left numerous items on the curb with a free sign and everything has been taken before garbage day ever comes. I have neighbors do the same thing and it never bothers me. One neighbor stopped and picked up a bunch of wood we had and we helped load it up in his truck. Since we have a free sign on it, I think the stigma that it’s trash is gone and so my neighbors don’t feel weird taking it.
When I read this, I felt I had to share personal experience. My mom actually has cousins that make a living off picking out rich people’s trash and reselling it. The live in Houston. I, also, grew up poor and sometimes we would find nice things in people’s trash. I would say score all the time!
Savvy Financial Latina recently posted…Never Burn Bridges
That’s awesome! I’ve written a few posts about our finds. I found a high powered name brand lawn mower in mint condition that needed a $9 filter and a clean up, a brand new fence post with the tag still on it and oddly enough I need to replace one fence post, our fern that we brought back to life, garden posts, our planter barrel which I just recently fixed up and so much more. I’ve blogged all about it… with piccies as well. If it’s on the curb and free and we can use it and save it from going to the landfill, I’ll take it!
Canadianbudgetbinder recently posted…Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable Diapers And Your Baby Budget
I love how folks eventually find out about the waste and create an industry out of it. Here in nyc, there are so many grocery stores and restaurants that toss perfectly good food at night that you can really survive on being a freegan (and eat some good food to boot). It’s not for everybody, of course, but their resourcefulness just shows how much waste we create as humans.
Sometimes it’s just easier to throw things away than it is to sell or giveaway. I’m not saying it is right, but with all the people going through the trash I would save gas and just throw stuff away. I never actually have, because a free sign on an object makes it last less than a couple of hours.
Financial Black Sheep recently posted…I Moved and Started a New Adventure
Whether you are rich or poor, it’s no reason to be so wasteful. Why throw something away if they are still functioning well? If oyu don’t need it anymore, donate it. There are other people who can make use of what you might want to throw away.
KC @ genxfinance recently posted…Maximum 401k Contribution for 2013
Some (not all) of our neighbors are the same way. I’ve scored a few slightly broken toys for Daughter Person from trash day in our neighborhood. I tend to keep using things beyond their useful life (sometimes way beyond in the case of clothing…), and then I still feel bad throwing them out even though I know that a charity isn’t going to want them. Freecycle is a great option too, and in our neighborhood, several charities will come pick up stuff from your front porch, you just need to tell them to come by.
Mom @ Three is Plenty recently posted…“Lifetime” of a car is 100,000 miles….
I don’t understand being that lazy- some charities like salvation army will come pick it up for goodness sakes! One of my high school friends is helping my pregnant sister prepare for the baby by walking around her neighborhood on “junk day” looking for things- so far she’s found a near new convertible crib and a top-of-the-line stroller that was trashed because the shade hood doesn’t open easily. I’m glad for my sister, but the trend is ridiculous!
Hard to understand the mentality. I’ve noticed that a lot of the lawn service companies that mow my neighbors grass always have random things in the back of their truck that I’m sure they’ve picked up as they drive through each neighborhood to do their work. Competition is on the rise.
Zach @ Dividend Ladder recently posted…What We Can Learn From The Defensive Apple Commercial
I think I would have trouble doing it in my own neighborhood…probably doesn’t say much about me lol
Evan recently posted…Are People’s Priorities Distorted? Do I Judge too Quickly?
It takes barely more effort to post it on Craigslist as “free, sitting on the end of my driveway” than it does to just put it in the can if you just want to be rid of something.
I’ve gotten rid of a lot of (to me) worthless stuff that way and it feels good to know someone – even if it’s just a scrap metal guy – is getting some use from it.
I think you were both arguing the same point, which in essence was “people are lazy shitbags” I believe?
Ha! FIREstarter, sadly that is the case for many people.
It’s amazing the stuff that you find on the curb! I can’t wait to find out what neighbor hood you were in. I’m glad you moved!
Great that you’re putting their waste to good use, then!
If they do not need those things anymore, why don’t they simply post it on craiglist. It will take only a couple of minutes…
Daniel recently posted…5 Awesome Riding Lawn Tractors
I don’t list items because I know within 24 hours someone will pick them up with no additional work on my part. When I take stuff to the curb, it isn’t because I intend it to be picked up with the trash, but rather I want someone who wants the items to come pick them up. I want them to go to someone who would find additional use for them, whether that is for personal use, or to fix up and sell, or to sell them as scrap metal.
Dragging stuff to the curb is my way of donating/giving away without any additional work on my part.
Although to be fair, nothing I have set on the curb would go for more than $10 at a garage sale or craigslist. I certainly wouldn’t drag a perfectly good chair to the curb. But for how I value my time, going through the effort to sell $10 items just isn’t worth it.
I hear you, but that’s NOTHING compared to what my town has become!
I live in Old Tappan and the once hard, working class neighbors have been forced out by elitist, snobbish jackasses who live for prentiousness and arrogance. I’m talking about a McMansion boom which has turn apart this town, wiped out forests, destroyed wildlife and continues to do so as I type this. Every new home is bigger than the previous there are no less than 3 “castles” being erected within half a mile of my old home. I’m talking a dozen odd bathrooms, 4 car garages, the works–each palace is for but one single showy family of elites.
My newest neighbor:
After demolishing the nice, exquisitely maintained home which previously stood there, and work first started on the Master’s Mansion, they had a Film Crew there to Document this historical occasion! From that moment on I had 6 days a week of building going on for Over Two Years which would never let up. The beep-beep-beep of trucks, the humming and vibrating of heavy machinery which vibrated the shit out of my bedroom. Once that was done it wouldn’t end because of all the extra add-ons.
An olympic sized swimming pool and who knows what else behind their palace: maybe a tennis court, maybe a stable… On and on like this.
I used to get sleep at night, now they have over a dozen lamps Mounted On Their Mansion (not path lights) which are on, get this, 24/7! Sunny day outside and these lights are blazing away! Meanwhile, due to my upbringing, I’m always turning lights off in my home when I leave a room. Unplugging things that are draining electric. And these guys are just throwing their money away next door, virtually shouting to everyone “Look at me, I’ve got money to burn and I don’t give a damn!”
They butchered 99% of all the trees on their property to have crappy shrubbery installed and the ground raized so genetically-engineered sod lawn could be grafted to the earth. Now every week or two they have one of those lawn services come to trim it. Not only them, but their like-minded neighbors who envy them and play this one-upmanship game. One gets a dozen floodlights to light up their mansion, to the other has to get just as many if not more so. One gets a super-sized swimming pool, the other has to have one just as big. One gets a 12″ satellite dish, the other gets two of them or better yet a 2-footer. On and on, jackass neighbor after jackass neighbor.
These homes all have the same basic design with a swooping driveway of hand-placed and cut stones dominating the front, around that sits their precious lawn. What I’ve noticed is that each King owns multiple vehicles, all very expensive luxury cars and usually at least one SUV or Hummer. Now despite having 4+ garages (each door has a spotlight above it which also is on 24/7–go figure!) the garages are Empty! I thought this funny but I began to see it their way: if you own these fancy cars you can’t hide them behind garage doors, they’re to be flaunted! And that’s just what they do, they park them in these circular driveways which serve as “display cases” for their wheels! And if that’s not enough–garages and driveways which can hold quite a complement of vehicles–they frequently just park their car On The Road because that way nobody can miss is when driving by! It’s as though they can’t get enough attention whatever the hell they do!
So if one neighbor Isn’t having a twig moved from their precious lawn, another neighbor is having their grass cut or fertilized or whatever, or another neighbor is”upgrading” some component to make himself look bigger and more powerful than the other one. It used to be peaceful and quiet here but now there’s Always some Asshole having something done: trucks are everywhere because nobody (except yours truly!) can tend to their own homes by themeselves! You know: spider in the garage: call an exterminator! Leaf on the lawn: call the green keepers! Squirrel running by: call animal control!
Speaking of super-perfect lawns which they have Services come every week or two to trim, as well as their newly planted crummy shrubbery… All have in-ground sprinkler systems which they run whenever… If having lights on 24/7 isn’t enough some of them have these sprinklers running 24/7, I mean even if there’s a massive rainstorm outside and we’re getting 2 feet of water–they gotta be running!
The domain of my #1 enemy snob neighbor is always being upgraded. Some Queen there parades around pointing and barking orders at her underlings: that gazebo is too small, knock it down and build a much bigger one… Weeks ago saw the elimination of the last of the natural trees on her property: she was parading around with a chainsaw gang, pointing and shouting orders. I get the impression that this rich bitch is playing some sort of life size dollhouse game where constant changes can be made at the snap of her fingers and that’s her entire life while her husband sits in an office somewhere as a company exec pulling in a million or more a year!
I live in an all-natural home that dates back to my grandfather’s time and tend to it 100% myself. The new neighbors Despise me for having a natural lawn with natural trees and wildlife moving around. They despise that fact that my house is small, non-pretentious, and dirty in places. They want me out. They say I have no taste or style and of course am a poor white boy compared to them!
I also recycle everything. I don’t put Poison down on what passes for my lawn. I don’t drink bottled water. I don’t drive an expensive car.
Holy shit, this is a pretty awesome rant. Can I publish this on a Thursday? It’s the least I can do for you taking the time to type it out! Your neighbors live ridiculous lives.
That is epic!
Stay there and stick it to them James!
I can say with quite certainty that some of our best “purchases” have been from someone setting it outside for the trash. Our entertainment center we currently use now was found outside by the trash, it was so nice I went back outside a couple times just to see if someone forgot it!
Steven recently posted…Why this is a Retire Extremely Early and Paleo Lifestyle Blog
We get tons of great stuff from the trash. It’s amazing. Our younger child’s bike was in the trash just because they couldn’t figure out how to get the chain back on. Sigh…