Friday, May 11, 2012

Bulk Trash Day

Actually this is about the eve of Bulk Trash Day. It happens twice a year in our neighborhood. People drag their big items, like couches, old entertainment centers, lamps, some appliances to the curb on a day other than garbage day. As the junk accumulates, loaded down trucks begin roaming the streets. Some aren't as heavy as others, but mattresses, chairs, pipes hang over the top.
When my children were little, we tended to not want to leave them outside and especially around the edge of the yard near the street. My husband, mostly, would hurry them inside or to the back yard. I keep singing Neil Diamond's Hot August Night, "pack up the old ladies and babies" or something like that. The rusted trucks combing the neighborhood left us uneasy, to say the least.
I hear a person can make a living doing this. People find treasures from others trash. I find myself eyeballing the piles sometimes. Maybe, just maybe, I might see something I can use. Usually though, I imagine what happened on that chair or couch. Did someone throw up or have other accidents in it? Did the owners smoke like a smoke stack? Hard to tell too much of that when it is sitting outside on a fresh spring evening.
I leave the treasure hunting to those adventuresome entrepreneurs. I don't really even like garage sales or thrift shops. My girls do. They love flea markets and the others, finding great bargains. I admire them, but for myself, I guess I'd rather do without than pick through most of these trading venues.
How about you? Do you seek treasure in others trash? Or would you rather get something new on sale? Maybe both? 
Aw, but craft sales...

1 comment:

Miss Mollie's Musings said...

Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show-"pack up the babies and grab the old ladies."