I don't know about you, but when I hear that term I think of those reality shows with people so cheap they dumpster dive for food and serve discarded cake to their friends at birthday parties. Come on, people... Buy a cake! It's like $3 for a mix!
Anyway, as much as I hate the way it is portrayed, salvaging junked items is actually a lot of fun. Because I feel I need to speak for all thrifters who "dumpster dive" PROPERLY, I am writing this post to instruct others as to what it entails and how to go about it the right way.
First of all, I never actually dive into dumpsters. I don't get in them. I don't dig through them. I don't touch any trash that I don't plan on bringing home. And if it truly is trash, I don't bring it home. Only once have I actually taken something out of a dumpster, and that was when my neighbors threw out their coffee table, and I took it. It was actually sitting on top of a chair they threw out, so technically it wasn't touching any garbage.
Some people have salvage businesses in which they do literally sift through dumpsters for items they can sell. If that's you and you've got a whole thing going, that's your business. I'm not like that.
What I consider dumpster diving is taking a discarded item (almost always furniture... maybe always... can't think of a time that it wasn't furniture) from a curbside or street next to a dumpster or trash pile. With 2 kids and a relatively small apartment, I don't need the smell or germs of something that's been sitting under bags of refuse for several days.
One method I have and that I recommend is going out on the first week of each month before trash day. The first is when people move (or sadly, are evicted), and items that cannot make the move or that are left behind are discarded. I would say that generally 95% of these things are junk (or will be by the time you find them). But every now and then you find a piece that, at the price of zero dollars and zero cents, is worth trying to rehab.
I have found dressers, tables, chairs, barstools, beds, bookshelves, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. They often need a little cleaning and a lot of love, but it's worth it. I have posted before about my coffee table that was a trash find. I still love it! But it's getting a lot of use by my toddler, and I think I might need a new one soon. You know what's awesome, though? I spent nothing on that table, and almost nothing making it functional again! If I have to throw it out, it won't break my heart - I got more use out of it then I could have hoped.
A few tips, just common sense stuff, must be applied when repurposing trashed finds.
1. Clean, clean, clean it. Even if it looks fine, just run some cleaner on it, just to be sure.
2. If it's been thrown out, there's a reason. Make sure it's not irreparably broken or stinking of pet urine.
3. If it is broken, fix it. Don't just throw a coat of paint on it and call it rehabbed. Take the time to love it. Sand it. Mend it. Buy new hardware for it. Do what you need to do to make it completely functional.
4. Make sure it is safe. I do not recommend salvaging electronics unless you plan to have them rewired (or at least have the wiring tested by a professional. This does not mean plugging it in to see if it turns on. Please please please be safe. Don't use something with broken glass or broken edges. When it doubt, toss it out.
5. Use integrity if you plan to resell. Make sure you don't sell anything you wouldn't use yourself.
Lastly for this post, I will show you an example of a trashed find. These 3 chairs were discarded by a family near my in-laws' house, and I plan to redo them soon. I'll post when I do. In the meantime, let your imagination run wild as to what you might do with them!
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