Making life more comfortable in the margins of America depends on a few freebies now and then. I've written about dumpster diving a few times in the past, but there is my passion for free piles, both the giving and receiving ends of them.
Once I prayed to God for 3 free things that I needed, then went out to the corner the next day and found those three things and only those three with a sign that said "free". Living in the University district when the students move, free piles appear. When I do spring clean I reciprocate. I have been know to dumpster dive and take clothing I didn't need, wash it, and put it out with a free sign.
And then there are the oddities of freebies. Eventually they will take almost anything, and sometimes sooner than you think. I have an old TV once that "snowed" a little. If you banged it the snow went away. So I put it out with a sign saying, This is a good waiting for your unemployment check to come in TV, but sometimes you have a bang it a little." When I went down with more stuff five minutes later it was gone. I think it was a drive by snatcher, but my sign told the truth...
My landlord once put out a piece of furniture that had some nice drawer handles on it. It disappeared quickly, but showed up the next day without the handles. That doesn't seem like fair play.
More and more Americans are redistributing our glut manufactured items to those in need through free piles and free lists on line, or similar means. I encourage such sharing, but be careful to examine furniture and such for little tiny blood spots or small black insect bodies --i.e. bed bug infestation.
Yeah, I was going to say to watch out for those bastards. I wouldn't wish them on anyone--two of the places I lived in the U-District had them, and they're a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteYes, thought if was going to advocate picking up furniture, I'd better tell people how to protect from them. By the way just in case you can pray the items down with bleach, which does kill them, and then with isoprpyl alcholol, which will dry out the eggs and any in dormit state. These are some of the most effective deterents.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the problem is they get into cracks and joints, though, which you can't always get into to clean.
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