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Forum Thread

You threw away what?!

237 50 June 21, 2012 at 05:05 PM in Finance
I decided to put my log book on this forum so you can all see the crazy amount of free stuff in good condition that I find while walking my dogs at night in NYC. My girlfriend and I recently moved into a new apartment on the Upper East Side and we had been noticing how much brand new (or antique) stuff is left out on the curb.

So for fun (and because we are both as cheap as they come), we started grabbing stuff that is in good condition. Either we use it, try to sell it, or give it away.

Oh, and keep in mind, bottles and cans have a $0.05 deposit on them so we return those.

We just started keeping track, here is what we have so far:

6/18 - 18 books, 1 milk crate, 4 deposit cans ($0.20)
6/19 - Aero-Swiss Humidifier (Valued over $100), Keurig Coffee Machine ($120), Small Dust Buster, Best Fitness Leg Developer (Over $100), 11 deposit cans ($0.55)
6/20 - 7 deposit cans ($0.35)
6/21 - 37 bottle deposit cans (took the dogs on a long walk this afternoon) ($1.85)

That's the last four days, I'll update this as we get new finds.

Anyone else do this either out of necessity or as a hobby?

Stephen

Check out the new blog @ http://youthrewawaywhat.wordpress.com ... my site where all I do is talk about garbage!

Community Wiki

Last Edited by stephenNYC July 30, 2012 at 06:41 PM
Here is the master list of all of our finds to date! It also includes what has sold, the upcycle projects and any other benefits we have gotten from our trash!

Found:

TOTAL: 8 milk crates
TOTAL: 635 My Coke Reward Points
  • 18 books
  • Aero-Swiss Humidifier
  • Keurig Coffee Machine
  • Small Dust Buster
  • Best Fitness Leg Developer
  • Giorgio Armani Sunglasses Case
  • June issue of Backpacker Magazine
  • Verizon Phone charger
  • 7 dresser drawers
  • 2 Wilson Titanium Tennis Rackets
  • Large Kitchen Garbage can
  • Michael's Arts and Crafts drawers
  • A crochet purse
  • Shannon Hand-Crafted Lead Crystal Cake Plate and Server
  • Cooks Panini-Maker
  • 3 Magazines -- Elle, Cosmo, and Glamour
  • 2 Picture frames in their original plastic
  • Film Quarterly magazines from the 1960s and 70s
  • CAT5e Ethernet Cable
  • DesignForLiving Water Bottle
  • Broyhill Nightstand
  • Cheese Grater
  • NIB Wilson Titanium Tennis Balls
  • Some eating utensils
  • Two Hard Rock Cafe Glasses, NIB
  • 254 my coke rewards points.
  • Black and Decker mixer
  • Frying pan
  • Lemonade pitcher
  • Coffee table
  • HP1040 Fax Machine
  • HP Floppy Drive & Smart Card Reader
  • Dell Keyboard
  • BodyBlade Classic 4
  • Bake King Cupcake Pan
  • Step stool
  • United States Annotated Code Chapters 28 (Federal Rules of Evidence) and 42 (Public Health and Welfare), 2001 edition with the 2012 supplements.
  • A Trash Can
  • Laundry Basket
  • Kelty Kids Ridgeline Backpack
  • Budweiser Billiard Cue
  • HP Toner
  • CAT 3 Cable
  • Holmes AccuTemp Window Fan
  • "The Naked Nude Nude" screen print art
  • HP OfficeJet Pro K850
  • 2 Electronics Stands
  • Laptop Desk with Built in Fan
  • Signed Artist Proof, Fragment by Arline Sherman
  • Small screwdriver set
  • Players Image Alignment Golf MIRROR Training Aid
  • 2 Family & Friends CPR Training Kits with Manikins
  • Pantone Color Tint Selector by Pantone Library of Color
  • 3 Books on Woodworking
  • 10Base-T Concentrator
  • A bunch of cedar shoe-horns
  • S-Video Cable


Upcycled:
  • Two dresser drawers into kitchen shelving
  • Film Quarterly Magazines into Art for wall

Converted to Cash:
  • HP1040 Fax Machine, Recalled for $100 rebate. Used to buy new printer
  • Bottle Deposit Returns: $16.30
  • HP Toner and HP1040 Ink Cart, HP OfficeJet Carts/Toner (11) -- $26 @ Staples
  • BodyBlade Classic 4 -- $68 via Ebay
  • Michael's Storage Drawers -- $25 via Ebay
  • Air-O-Swiss Humidifier -- $25 via Ebay
  • Both Wilson Tennis Rackets -- $27 via Ebay
  • Kelty Kids Backpack -- $36 via Ebay

380 Comments

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Joined Jul 2004
Master Of Scamps
> bubble2 17,139 Posts
3,445 Reputation
Scampsters
07-05-2012 at 11:20 AM.
07-05-2012 at 11:20 AM.
Quote from Frogstar :
Time to become a pool shark Whee
So you are going to go down to the Y and bite swimmers ankles.

I did find an ornate pool cure with wood carved handle and mother of pearl inlay. Cant remember what i did with it.
Reply
Joined Mar 2009
Schrödinger's Frog
> bubble2 19,435 Posts
2,134 Reputation
Frogstar
07-05-2012 at 11:29 AM.
07-05-2012 at 11:29 AM.
Quote from Scampsters :
So you are going to go down to the Y and bite swimmers ankles.

I did find an ornate pool cure with wood carved handle and mother of pearl inlay. Cant remember what i did with it.
I might eat at the Y, but I don't plan to bite any ankles.
Reply
Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
> bubble2 31,436 Posts
2,810 Reputation
Zoe Moon
07-05-2012 at 11:47 AM.
07-05-2012 at 11:47 AM.
In case you're not a pool player...lay the cue down on a table and roll it. If the tip wobbles as it rolls, then it's not straight and won't be worth much.
Reply
Joined Mar 2007
L9: Master
> bubble2 4,744 Posts
1,604 Reputation
square_one
07-05-2012 at 11:48 AM.
07-05-2012 at 11:48 AM.
Quote from stephenNYC :
Hell no. It was back in late high-school. I was the front man for a metal/hardcore band and we were Myspace famous (HA). Need I say more?
what band?
Reply
Joined Jun 2012
Trash Connoisseur
> bubble2 237 Posts
50 Reputation
Original Poster
stephenNYC
07-05-2012 at 12:06 PM.
Reply
Joined Mar 2005
I run SD Secret Santa
> bubble2 16,570 Posts
1,265 Reputation
w3kn
07-05-2012 at 12:32 PM.
07-05-2012 at 12:32 PM.
Augusta, GA? That place sucks.
Reply
Joined Mar 2009
Schrödinger's Frog
> bubble2 19,435 Posts
2,134 Reputation
Frogstar
07-05-2012 at 12:37 PM.
07-05-2012 at 12:37 PM.
Quote from w3kn :
Augusta, GA? That place sucks.
Iagree
Reply

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Joined Aug 2007
heartless
> bubble2 9,258 Posts
5,728 Reputation
noungning
07-06-2012 at 01:51 PM.
07-06-2012 at 01:51 PM.
Nice haul again. Especially the fax recall. Thumbsup
Reply
Joined Jun 2012
Trash Connoisseur
> bubble2 237 Posts
50 Reputation
Original Poster
stephenNYC
07-06-2012 at 05:59 PM.
07-06-2012 at 05:59 PM.
Quote from w3kn :
Augusta, GA? That place sucks.
Yes, it does. Not very nice people there either.

Quote from noungning :
Nice haul again. Especially the fax recall. Thumbsup
Thanks Big Grin we got a brand new printer for $10 AR Big GrinBig GrinBig Grin
Reply
Joined Mar 2005
I run SD Secret Santa
> bubble2 16,570 Posts
1,265 Reputation
w3kn
07-06-2012 at 06:37 PM.
07-06-2012 at 06:37 PM.
Quote from stephenNYC :
Yes, it does. Not very nice people there either.
The girls at Hooters there were awesome though. Well, that and Sconyer's BBQ.

It's been interesting following your blog. I definitely think twice before throwing things away now!
Reply
Joined Jul 2009
Permanently Bland
> bubble2 15,176 Posts
2,874 Reputation
PaintTheSkyGrey
07-06-2012 at 06:46 PM.
07-06-2012 at 06:46 PM.
Quote from w3kn :
Augusta, GA? That place sucks.
Quote from Frogstar :
Iagree
Iagree

I've spent many occasions at Ft. Gordon.
Reply
Joined Dec 2005
L10: Grand Master
> bubble2 6,614 Posts
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Nikayla
07-08-2012 at 12:23 PM.
07-08-2012 at 12:23 PM.
I like the tunes, not so much the .... what do they call it? Screaming? If you said you were the lead singer you do have a nice voice, when your talking Wink

I had 14 serious stalkers at one point. Most were pretty creepy. It was just because I worked at a convience store as a cashier and was 21 and "hot" in other peoples words. I had a lot of regular customers who said they came by everyday to see me but the stalkers ones would follow me around town or other somewhat creepy things. Like try to catch me when I was not behind the counter and touch me or feel my ass.

This thread is cool, but I have way to much stuff already. I would be the one tossing it out. Although your posts still make me wan to go on the hunt. Except not in the trash. Everyone around here has bin trash so the bins already reak really bad empty let alone full. I've never spotted anything curbside that I wanted to take home.

What about that Keurig? Did you ever get it working? I have one on my "find on clearance" list. I roll gift cards at Target so I don't really pay for much, as long as Target carries it and I can find it at a decent price.

I have recycle bin dived for coupons in the paper only bins. Actually I am thinking of doing that on Monday for today's coupons.
Reply
Joined May 2012
L6: Expert
> bubble2 1,853 Posts
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UncleJase
07-08-2012 at 12:29 PM.
07-08-2012 at 12:29 PM.
I don't know how people listen to that. Gave me a headache with in 30 seconds.
Reply
Joined Jun 2012
Trash Connoisseur
> bubble2 237 Posts
50 Reputation
Original Poster
stephenNYC
07-08-2012 at 12:47 PM.
07-08-2012 at 12:47 PM.
Quote from Nikayla :
I like the tunes, not so much the .... what do they call it? Screaming? If you said you were the lead singer you do have a nice voice, when your talking Wink
Quote from UncleJace :
I don't know how people listen to that. Gave me a headache with in 30 seconds.
It's definetly an acquired taste. I don't listen to that type of music any more. Like most things in high school, it was a phase that I grew out of. Hardcore and Metal represent the teen angst I think a lot of kids feel.

Quote from Nikayla :
I had 14 serious stalkers at one point. Most were pretty creepy. It was just because I worked at a convience store as a cashier and was 21 and "hot" in other peoples words. I had a lot of regular customers who said they came by everyday to see me but the stalkers ones would follow me around town or other somewhat creepy things. Like try to catch me when I was not behind the counter and touch me or feel my ass.

This thread is cool, but I have way to much stuff already. I would be the one tossing it out. Although your posts still make me wan to go on the hunt. Except not in the trash. Everyone around here has bin trash so the bins already reak really bad empty let alone full. I've never spotted anything curbside that I wanted to take home.

What about that Keurig? Did you ever get it working? I have one on my "find on clearance" list. I roll gift cards at Target so I don't really pay for much, as long as Target carries it and I can find it at a decent price.

I have recycle bin dived for coupons in the paper only bins. Actually I am thinking of doing that on Monday for today's coupons.
I've always felt sorry for good looking female cashiers. My little sister was a cashier at CVS for a year while she was in college, and the stories she told me made me pretty pissed.

The hunt is more than half of the fun. It has been a quiet garbage week actually, so we have been focusing on moving what we have via Ebay and Craigslist. I will post our numbers as soon as we have some of our auctions finished. The BodyBlade is going well so far.

I keep forgetting to grab vinegar for the Keurig. I'm really hoping that fixes the issues. If it does, I'll have to make the decision whether its something we want to keep and use, or try to sell. Seems like they don't go for much more than $50 on ebay for the most part. I feel you on the actual garbage bins -- I wouldn't be doing this if I had to dig through those nasty things. It's just so damn easy here because everything is just sitting out on the street, and now I'm getting hooked on selling it on Ebay. It's pure profit and takes me little effort to do. I listed a ton of my old electronics (phones and ipods) and I've raked in over $300 in the last 24 hours.

Doing this dumpster diving def makes me think about the stuff that I own and how much I use it. Since we don't want to get cluttered here, I have been taking a hard look at every single thing I decide is worth keeping.
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Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
> bubble2 31,436 Posts
2,810 Reputation
Zoe Moon
07-08-2012 at 01:28 PM.
07-08-2012 at 01:28 PM.
Quote from stephenNYC :
I keep forgetting to grab vinegar for the Keurig. I'm really hoping that fixes the issues. If it does, I'll have to make the decision whether its something we want to keep and use, or try to sell. Seems like they don't go for much more than $50 on ebay for the most part. I feel you on the actual garbage bins -- I wouldn't be doing this if I had to dig through those nasty things. It's just so damn easy here because everything is just sitting out on the street, and now I'm getting hooked on selling it on Ebay. It's pure profit and takes me little effort to do. I listed a ton of my old electronics (phones and ipods) and I've raked in over $300 in the last 24 hours.

Doing this dumpster diving def makes me think about the stuff that I own and how much I use it. Since we don't want to get cluttered here, I have been taking a hard look at every single thing I decide is worth keeping.
Does the Keurig have scale in it? If the vinegar doesn't work, try some Durgol Express, it works great on water scale and is safe to use on coffee makers. We use a kettle to boil water for tea and every few months I use Durgol on it and it's spotless inside when done.

We were walking through downtown Bellevue yesterday and saw a dumpster ahead with, from that angle, what looked like a wooden desk sticking out of the dumpster. So I got all excited but as we got closer you could see it was a broken plywood cabinet with white laminate on the other side, wasn't salvageable at all. Oh well.
Reply
Last edited by Zoe Moon July 8, 2012 at 01:30 PM.
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