After my mother went from living with me to a nursing home, I downsized from a 2 bedroom to a 1 bedroom apt. and took a truck full (back of my little ranger pick-up) to the local Goodwill store. There were clothes and household items the both of us could not use anymore.Everything was in good shape and I am sure others got good use of them.I threw out only what could not be repaired or cleaned.It amazes me what people will throw away these days..

I know how you feel... my husband and I have a house full of hand-me-downs because no one in my family could throw things away!!! So when we unpacked and found we couldn't fit everything in our little apartment we made a trip to Goodwill. Down here in Mississippi you don't just throw stuff away... somebody needs it.

I had to move twice in a 2 year period after living in one place for 11 years.  I wish I had known about Freecycle at the time.  When I think back on all the stuff I threw away during those moves I could kick myself.  Now nothing gets thrown away unless  it is completely un-usable.

I do not dive into dumpsters (not knocking those who do), but hey that's just me, 'kay?

Anyway, one day I went out to toss some garbage in the dumpster, which was very very full at the time.

Sitting right on top of all this garbage were books in perfect condition, one of which was a copy of Homer's The Iliad.

Needless to say, as someone who appreciates the written word, I was disgusted, and I quickly retrieved the books from the garbage.  It saddens me that a person would have so little respect for books to just turn them into garbage rather than give them away to someone who would care for them properly.

Here in San Francisco, it is common to put perfectly working anything on the street.  It is customary for the snatching.

Kitty,

Once I was walking down the street in Philadelphia and saw a copy of "The Good Earth" sticking out of a trashcan. I rescued it because I couldn't stand seeing a book go into the trash, and because I liked that particular novel. Imagine my surprise when I got home to find that it was a first edition, and signed by the author! It wasn't in great shape, so not exactly worth a ton of money, but I was very pleased by my find.

Incidentally, I don't crawl into Dumpsters either. I'd be too afraid I'd cut myself on something unseen and sharp, or sprain my ankle. I will, however, rescue things that I can easily reach.

Thanks for reading Smart Spending.

Best regards,

Donna Freedman

Living in a college town works out great for me because everyone is so willing to throw away just about anything. I have managed to obtain an exercise machine, coffee table, wine rack and baker's shelf. All perfectly useable. I have also seen people throw out perfectly good refrigerators and tv's when they move out of the dorms. Those were quickly snatched up by the crowds of people that visit the dorms every year during move out time to search the dumpsters.

I am an avid thrift shopper and bargain hunter and although I don't agree with college students "tossing" items away as they are moving home in the spring as the article mentioned, I do totally understand why they do it.    My oldest son goes to college a thousand miles away from our home and rather than driving him to and from campus, due to the cheap fares we had been able to get, it has always  been cheaper for me to fly out, pack him up and fly back home with him in the spring.   Last spring I packed up the small fridge that we had purchased for $60 at a retail store for him for his dorm the fall before (freshman year his roommate had a fridge so he didn't need one).   Imagine my surprise when it cost me $65 to UPS it home, more than what we had paid for it  and not including the packing materials I had to purchase to ship it home in - and then it "died" a short time later, just a few months out of warranty.   Needless to say I definitely wouldn't pack up another fridge to ship it home - I would have my son leave it behind.   It is just too expensive to ship some items home and if the student doesn't know where a Goodwill or other thrift store is, they're just apt to leave the item in the dumpster as the universities penalize you monetarily if you leave anything in your dorm room.   Now many of the universities, including the ones that both of my sons' attend, have donation sites  right on campus to take things to and I think that has helped tremendously.  But the donation sites are still a relatively new occurrence and I don't think every university has started to do that.   This spring we left several items at the donation site that would just be cheaper to purchase again in the fall when he returns to his university than to ship back home.  

As a seasoned dumpster "diver", I have no qualms about using thrown out items since I thoroughly clean everything before use. I frequently check Craig's List for items that responsible people are attempting to keep out of the trash. What irks me almost more than anything are people who will post a couch or a bag of clothes or a kitchen set saying that they would love to give it away rather than trash it, but if no one on Craig's List takes it within x number of days, in the garbage it goes! C'mon people!!! If you're going through the trouble of dragging it out to the curb anyway, you may as well throw it in the back of a truck and drive it to a donation center.

This article makes me think the big money is to open up a PODS or storage unit place near campuses and offer deals for summer break...