jambaloney here!
i wrote a post a while ago about free stuff - i LOVE free stuff. but it has to be useful and that can be a bit of a trick - takes practice ;-) in the city, i used my bike:
i now have truckdura which has far more capacity, though truth be told, i will always be more proud of the bike, nonetheless - this is the cargo hold:
a week ago, i went to get some tires for the garden. twice a year, there is a heavy garbage pickup and the spring one is about 3 weeks away so there are piles of junk (treasures) accumulating at the side of the road... this is what i brought home:
here it is, out of the truck:
first off, here are some shelves for seedling on our porch after kymber re-pots them, this was an awesome find as i was slated to build something similar out of scrap wood and brackets... time and effort SAVED!! ;-)
here are some odds and sods... i always collect metal mesh shelves from old fridges etc. for the greenhouse - they will make awesome shelves for plants that don`t block light or collect water after misting - have TONS of these! there are two aluminum running boards form an old truck which will make great shelves for outdoor use. also an old tackle box which will be super for small parts in the basement (screws etc.), a milk crate (which one can never have too many of ) and a shovel head, only missing a handle.
here are two doors, the top one is a great storm door that needs just a bit of TLC, again for the greenhouse. the bottom one is a real find, it has a double-paned tempered glass window that is shattered on one side... the same size as the one i broke!! with one pane left in this door, i get free replacement of what would have been a very costly piece of glass!!!!!
and finally, 35 tires of various sizes... i cut the sidewall out of 31 of them at the curb to save space in the truck.
the next day, in a fit of lunacy, i went to the tire store in town and got 38 large tires. i cut 34 of them on site as well (i can only fit 18 not-cut tires in the back at a time). i had to take the sidewalls with me ( the recyclers on contract with the tire store will only pick up complete tires) but no matter, there are many uses for sidewalls... but that's a later post ;-)
cheers all!!!!
blogger, of course, has been acting all wonky! jambaloney had to re-do this post several times as it was not showing up as a new post. however, both Helga and Winston left comments that we were not able to get posted with the new post...hope this makes sense.
ReplyDeleteanyway - here is Helga's comment:
"Hey Jambaloney - I can clearly see that you found a lot of useful FREE stuff ! It has to be fun going out there and scouring about in search of these types of homestead treasures - Great Haul indeed !
I love the bike with that cart - reminds me of the many types we'd see in villages in Germany. Some bikes even pulled along two or three donkeys loaded to the hilt with stuff. Whatever works - right !!
Cheers my friend ... Helga"
oh helga - i did, the shelves are already in place on the porch and i got the glass off the old door!
Deleteand yes - it is a lot of fun - like a scavenger hunt for adults!
i did a lot with that cart - it worked our great - no donkey experience though ;-)
thanks for stopping by!!
and here is Winston's comment:
ReplyDelete"Jambe,
I see you are well on your may to a PhD, like me. Always amazing what people just throw away. Casement windows...the crank out type...were very popular many years ago, but most folks today want to change them to sliders. More good stuff for us, eh?
Those wire shelves are also prime for use in a root cellar. Since you like to play gopher so much, better get busy.
Winston"
w:
Deletea phd... in getting other people's useful junque - maybe, eh? :-))
i am amazed at what people throw away - in rare cases, like moving, i can understand.
lots of those crank windows... the casements aren't the best, but the double paned inserts are top notch!!
never thought of the root cellar use - lots of time left 'til harvest!! ;-)
cheers!!
Jambe,
DeleteThose of us who survived the nonsense to earn a PhD realized what it really means...we survived the BS piled higher and deeper!
Winston
thank god! ;-)
DeleteI see you and MDR have been comparing notes again. I am amazed that two men living what a thousand miles or so apart have the same ideas all the time when it comes to spare parts.
ReplyDeletehahaha!
Deletethanks rob - i'll take that as a compliment!!!
MDR will be drooling ;-))
cheers buddy!!
I am, thank you very much.
Deletesorry for the tease - oh yeah, got another 8 windows on thursday ;-))
DeleteNothing better than a load of spare parts LOL - saves a whole heap of time and money. Good job!
ReplyDeletethanks - it saves a lot and also saves the environment - even just a bit at a time.... there are a lot of recycling options that aren't just about sorting cans and bottles..
Deletethanks!
Great finds! We don't have the curb side pickup out here, that I know of, but I wish we did.
ReplyDeletetoo bad - do you know where the posh neighborhood in town is? cruise around there on garbage morning - you will be amazed - especially this time of year!!
DeleteYou need you an old truck like 'Sanford and Son' I always loved the old truck on that show.
ReplyDeleteohhhh - YES YES YES!!
Deletefunny you mention that, there are a number of pickups here that have homemade wood boxes on the back where the metal one used to be... the look awesome i'll get one and send you pick... garage spilling off and all!
cheers duke!!
You need to attach those tires to the sides of the truck as additional protection.
ReplyDeletehttp://framboisemanor.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-starts-with-f-and-rhymes-with.html
LOL- the internet has a very long memory.
i do plan on using a pile of the inserts to line a boat launch down at the river some day, never thought about the truck though... uh... thanks for the tip ?? ;-))
Deleteso do you buddy - hahaha!
Jambaloney, Great find there my friend! Tires are great for using in the garden as a pot/containment area or you can have them shredded in small pieces to make a walk way. The shelves always come in handy for just about anything. Now the windows and doors would be perfect for a green house or replacement of broken windows/doors :-) I do know what you mean about posh neighborhoods. We used to go through posh neighborhoods when we lived in Florida years ago. Man did we find some really great items at the curb side for bulk pickup. We would scanned the newspapers and check the internet for bulk pick up in the posh areas to make sure to head out the night before when everyone puts things out curb side. We found beautiful diningroom furniture, night stands, end tables, headboards, dressers, large clay flower pots, and patio furniture. Since we moved to Oklahoma
ReplyDeleteI haven't really found anything worth picking up. That's life!
Sandy:
Deletei think i have collected 175 tires since we have been here... we need 72 fro the potatoes alone!! i got another 8 windows on thursday - i think we may have enough for our greenhouse now!!
rich people throw away a lot of perfectly good things - i got a lot of really good stuff when we were in ottawa - many house plants that just needed love and computers i would fix up and give away... and furniture too!!
sorry you aren't in a treasure trove anymore...
thanks for stopping by!!
free junk is the best type of junk there is! hehe..I did several drive-by(s) of a BBQ in the trash the other day and A* kept on yelling at me that we already..I think in another life I was a packrat...I am still waiting for a moonshine still to be thrown out by somebody( and recovered by me)..then my garbage empire will be complete! hehe
ReplyDeletefree junk really is - the only better thing is successfully figuring out what to do with it!!
Deletefor example, i am sure the lid of that bbq would make a delightful chicken nest !!
you need to ship us some moonshine when you find a still, here's hoping!!
cheers pal!
I guess I need to expand my thinking. I get rid of everything. I keep nothing and I have no vision for things outside of their intended purpose, but I am learning much from you folks.
ReplyDeletei am really glad to hear that! re-using/recycling is a great way to teach yourself new tricks - and save money in teh process... most things have all kinds of uses... here is a site with LOADS of things people have done to reuse stuff:
Deletehttp://www.instructables.com/
hope you find it fun!
I am glad we live so far apart because we would be competing for the same junk.
ReplyDeleteI love it, good work.
nah - we would team up and share the spoils... like modern day junk pirates!!
Deletewe can put a jolly roger on the Sanford and Son truck - what do you think?
cheers MDR!!!
I LOVE free stuff. We have a very rural dump, which has an area for free stuff, and one day, for some reason, some complete moron left a very nearly new file cabinet with new keys, file dividers inside, and hanging files. I have a very ritzy office filing system now. To get the best stuff, you have to be committed to looking.....and I should just be committed !
ReplyDeleteMy eldest son is very good at the junk perusing. Before he got his degree as a sculptor, everyone else in his class would pay through the nose for metals and wood, and he would take the homeless people out to lunch and ask them where the best dumpsters were, People throw out incredible things, as you know, ranging from furniture, to new building supplies which have exceeded what they needed for the job, and even silver or gold jewelry when someone dies ! Keep it up Jam. The items themselves deserved to be repurposed. Everything we need is here on Earth for our journeys, and it's often unnecessary to pay money for it. Fond wishes to you both.
bankrupt offices/foreclosed homes/moving day...
ReplyDeleteyou never know when someone gets rid of perfectly good stuff - filing cabinets are pricey - great find!!
i wish i had a dump, although i might camp out and kymber would hate the smell - lol!!
your son is a genius - i'll bet he got the best materials for nothing!!!
i feel the same way about "stuff" - it should be used until it's really done... i get all kinds of free wood, metal poles, pallets, etc. that i don't take pictures of... all good finds.
thanks jane!!
Jambaloney, It is always interesting to me that our families who live in two different places, and who worked in different fields, see so many things so similarly ! And yes, our son since graduation has moved on to items he buys, but some of his best work used to be materials obtained free or for little money. This is the website to his company:
ReplyDeletehttp://veraseri.yolasite.com/
jane:
ReplyDeleteWOW - i am super impressed - email to follow - thanks for sharing!!
Jam,
ReplyDeleteWe did a "stake out" on our rural dump this morning, and unfortunately, nothing but genuine rubbish ! Still, we'll keep checking and see what they have.
that's a drag - it should have been a good weekend after moving day >> may 01.
Deletethe garbage day after the first of every month is usually good, mind you , rural people don't move that often ;-)
hit the town June 01 - cheers!
I am going to go around town this week, large item pickup week, and see what I can find. So far, I only have two overn shelves. I use them to keep chickens from scratching up flowers. I just lean them from the edge of the flower bed onto the side of the house. You might need some help like that when you get chickens. Isn't cutting sidewalls out lots of work, really difficult to do?
ReplyDeleteAn old bbq grill can be used for a sun oven stand or for plants, lots of uses.
Anyone near a college can find lots of stuff on moving day at the end of semesters and especially at the end of the school year.
Blogger took away some of blog favorites. AND, it took away the "Join this site" button, so no one can follow me. Bummer. I cannot figure out how to get it back.
Plus, blogger does not record accurately how long it has been since some people post!
large item pickup is always a great time to get free stuff!! i will keep the oven shelves in mind if we get chickens - thanks!!
ReplyDeletecutting sidewalls out is no that bad at all - i have a lot of practice mind you, but all you need is a really sharp stanley knife. the key is changing teh blade before they get dull - about 5 tires per blade. i can cut both sidewalls off a tire in under a minute UNLESS the tire is a really tough kind - racing tires for small cars are the worst! we'll make a detained tire gardening post soon!
college moving day is awesome, back in ottawa it was like a buffet!!
i am glad you scavenge - it is a great skill.
sorry blogger is giving you hassles. seems to be going around.
cheers!