[MamaWrites]

Anyone have any experience dumpster diving? Are you for or against it? I have been thinking of this topic for a future blog. What do you think?

[matthewsmom2]

Well when my ficance was growing up...this is how he got things, as in clothes, food, and toys. He and his 5 other borthers and sister were all homeless for quite some time...as in over a few years in and out of shelters...etc b/c when his parents got money they decided to spend it on crack and meth instead of providing anything for their children. My ficance is not against curb watching to see what people have put out of their trash...but would never dumpster dive again. We as a family dont have a lot of money...but we make it with what we have and provide our children with necessities that are from stores...he wants better for them then what he had.

my step dad on the other hand goes around with his trailer and loads up refridigators, washers and dryers basicly anything metal and what not...breaks it down and sells it to metal companies...makes a good extra buck doing it too!

[MJ7]

I wouldn't actually dive in, but when we were living at an apt years ago we found a nice trampoline sitting right by it and a newer nice baby gate at a later time.

[oweirdo]

I got a daybad frame once from behind the dumpsters at the apartments we lived in, but thats it. I would never "dive" in...

[Alejandros Mommy]

I wouldn't "dive in". My dad used to go and look around for things like tables and chairs...all made of wood. HE would then get the outline/frame of it and make his own piece He loved making things. He would then "chuck out" the things he got after making what he wanted.

[MamaWrites]

Ah, I see there is a difference between curb shopping and dumpster diving. Is that it?

[misskitty]

big difference! climbing inside one of those things and rooting around in it takes much more commitment then just plucking something spontaneously from the curb. neither is it safe nor clean. you would have to dress properly and wear safety gloves at a minimum and God knows what you'd find - some rude surprises i'm sure. even scouring bulk trash collection, which is about as clean a trash event as you are going to get if you are lucky enough to live where those occur, can net you more than you bargain for. you and i have found amazing stuff and always pretty clean to boot. but my my other girlfriend and i once found drug paraphanelia in an enticing looking little box (which we promptly put back) and another time had to clean what my friend, a former nurse, recognised as cocaine residue from a beautiful and otherwise clean antique (which we kept). like other responders, i would only take from a dumpster what was around or directly on top.

[mcmama]

On recycling day, if sunday papers are put to the curb or if there is a town recycling center, it can be very profitable to "dumpster dive" for coupons.

With the free electrasol coupon that was in the sunday paper this week, I think there was a lot of "curbside pickup" and dumpster diving going on!

[siageah]

I used to dumpster dive a lot and probably will again in the future. I did mostly stores and found a TON of stuff. Electronics, cases of cereal, Christmas decor, furniture, tiles, etc..you name it. Some stores routinely will toss items and write them off rather than attempt to store them or salvage them. It is really a shame what stores toss.

One bread store (a large chain) would routinely toss out all of the loaves baked the day prior. HUGE plastic bags full. Til word caught on that they were so wasteful and now they are donated.

You don't even have to "dive" in. Most things can be obtained just by some poking around. Naturally it helps to have a stick or hook, gloves, and sturdy clothes. But heck, you can just pop open the top or the slide open the sides of most dumpsters and 50% of the time you'll find something perfectly good just sitting there at grasping level.

[mommysqueek]

Yes, I also have found many treasures next to ones garbage. I got a really nice teeter tooter for the kids and a mini picnic table.
Amazing what a liitle lysol and bleach water can do!