I have a confession. I have a secret passion that involves greed, scheming, metal bins and waste. It's called dumpster diving. Generally, I personally try to avoid the "diving" part, that's what my husband is for:) Anyway, my love of dumpster diving began innocently enough. When we lived in Des Moines, I noticed that whenever I saw a moving truck in the parking lot, the apartment dumpster would usually be overflowing with goods. I noticed a broom handle sticking out here, a picture frame peeking through there, but it took me a while to muster up the guts to take action. Well, on one said 'moving day' I noticed a perfectly good book shelf sitting next to the dumpster. Immediately, I began scheming (because heaven forbid anyone should see me taking the trash in instead of out). Finally, when it got dark outside, I grabbed my accomplice (Jamie) and pretended to take out the trash. After a few nervous glances to make sure no one was around, we grabbed that puppy and scurried inside as quickly as two people awkwardly carrying a book shelf while trying to appear nonchalant could.
The bookshelf was just the beginning. Since that day (well over 2 years ago), I have rescued a swiffer sweeper, a vacuum, a ficus tree, an office chair, a body-length mirror, and an exersaucer from the trash (just to name a few). Now, every time I drive past the dumpsters at our complex, like magnets, my eyes are drawn to the metal treasure chests on wheels and I perform a quick scan to see if there are any precious gems beckoning me. My confidence has increased as well. I used to only go out at night and take Jamie with me, but slowly I began solo daytime diving. I guess you could say I've become a regular ol' dumper:)
*Although, I feel I should clarify that I've never actually crawled into a dumpster, I just grab the stuff placed outside it or within an arms reach (I don't care to catch a disease)*
Anyway, I just want to bear testimony that one man's trash will probably end up becoming my treasure. Oh and here's a picture of something I didn't find in the trash....love that girl!
