I spoke with one of my friends today, a former coworker. He’s a handy guy who does most of his own home improvement work. He’s not afraid of large-scale projects like concrete patios or kitchen remodeling, and usually rents a dumpster for all of the debris. During his kitchen remodel a few years ago, his neighbors kept putting their bags of grass clippings in his dumpster, much to his chagrin. He wondered what gave them the right to use up the space he was paying for. This weekend, something unexpected happened.
He’s replacing the siding on his house, and again rented a dumpster to hold the old siding. Early one morning, he heard a noise by the dunpster, and assumed it was one of the neighbors putting their junk in his dumpster. But he wasn’t getting a donation this time. The guy was pulling stuff out of the dumpster. What was going on? Did he wake up in Bizarro World?
The next day, the same thing happened. A different guy was crawling around in the dumpster, picking out every piece of metal that he could get his hands on. It reminded me of the Great Catalytic Converter Grab, where thieves were slicing off the precious metal-laden components with battery-powered Sawzalls:
Tool of choice for catalytic converter thieves everywhere! Get yours today!
Is this a return to Depression-Era values? Is frugality back in? Will roving bands of cheapskates be congregating at a dumpster near you? Will they use Twitter to pull together their Project Mayhem-style flash mobs? And will they chant “His name was Robert Paulson” over and over? Oh, the horror…
OK, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. But these neo-dumpster divers didn’t live through the Great Depression (the two guys were in their 40’s). Maybe they’re taking a page out of Grandpa’s playbook in order to pick up a little extra dough. It reminds me of one of my uncles, who scoured the streets of his Queens neighborhood for useful junk (he did live through the Great Depression). His favorite expression was “Waste not, want not.”
Maybe history is repeating itself.
HONEY, HAVE YOU SEEN MY SAWZALL?
My question to you: Have you ever gone dumpster-diving? Let us know in the comments.
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#1 by Matt @ My Financial Recovery at July 9th, 2009
The best I have done is pulled an entertainment center out of the dumpster area in an old apartment complex. I used it for a couple of years before I moved and it fell apart. Still saved me about $200 I did not have at the time.
#2 by enrique s at July 9th, 2009
Matt,
One of my buddies furnished his first apartment with garage sale bargains and bulk trash day finds. That was over 20 years ago, and he’s still very frugal. He has never bought a new car, though he could well afford one.
#3 by Onaclov at July 14th, 2009
Nice with the Fight Club quote….I recognized it immediately.
Onaclov´s last blog ..Circuit Analysis II Lecture 14
#4 by enrique s at July 14th, 2009
Onaclov,
After seeing it on cable, it quickly became one of my favorite movies. I try to catch it whenever it’s on.