Thursday, October 9, 2008

One Man's Trash...

...inevitably gets put to use by someone in my husband's family. Kris still blushes when he talks about his childhood memories of his dad picking "treasures" out of trash piles. I have to be honest that the first time we went on a bike ride as a family and Mr. Eric made the return trip with a vacuum laying across the handlebars, I was grateful I was new to the area and didn't know anyone.

Two major items that have come directly out of the trash or have been brought home when someone else was going to throw it away are the weed-eater and the lawn mower. Mr. Eric is genius when it comes to fixing things. I can't list all the things that Kris and Mr. Eric have made out of wood that has been salvaged from a dump at new construction. This is seriously just the short list.

So, the other day, we were heading to the ball field for Kris to play his softball game, and we saw a tractor in a trash pile by the road. Kris says, "Million bucks says my dad sees that and picks it up." Sure enough, they get to the ball field with a smile on their faces and a green tractor in the back of their truck.

Therefore, without further ado...



And after having been married for over five years, I have been sucked in. These are the "treasures" I picked up yesterday.

On the way out somewhere I called Kris and told him that the neighbors had put this shelf in the trash and that it looked like it was in good shape. He rearranged our entire garage and gave the boys their own shelf for their toys. They LOVED it, and really enjoy taking their toys from the shelf and putting them back.

And I saw this fabulously cute bed in a trash pile when I went to visit some friends yesterday. What I had to do to wrangle it into my car was positively shameful, so I'm trying to forget about that and focus on what a cute bed this is.

8 comments:

Pajama Mama said...

Alas...I admit. We are trash pickers, too. But, for the record, we also LEAVE things in perfectly good condition for others as well at dumpster areas....

I just joined the Pelham-Camilla Freecycle....

Anonymous said...

My dad has become just like that. I never know what he is going to have for the grandchildren that are "treasures". I think I need to be more like that.

Pajama Mama said...

I just tagged you on my blog. Go see what it's about...

http://flintriversoapfactory.blogspot.com/2008/10/ive-been-tagged.html

Have a happy Saturday!

Hilliard Family said...

Your neighborhood has WAY better trash than mine! Love the bed! By the way, in Germany the Americans call it "junking". They get bulk pick-up once a quarter and everyone goes out to see what they can find. Perfectly acceptable.

Anonymous said...

Girl your shame is simply a result of the region in which you live: the east coast. In Seattle, trash picking is a point of PRIDE. I can't tell you how many people brag about the "finds" they found on the side of the road....I can be found bragging about my trash all the time....including but not limited to the side table in my living room and the old table in my former apartment. It's also the chic way to get rid of furniture in Seattle. Don't put it in your yard if you don't want it taken. :) -Cat

Christy Ward said...

This is hilarious!!! Love it!! I am going to have to start noticing my neighbors trash, too!!

KateVonGlahn said...

I really do like the bed!

Anonymous said...

I just now saw the video with this. I am laughing so HARD!--Cat