When we moved to our new home, our old dinning room table came with us only because we could not afford a new one.  It was too small for us and had one chair that was able to stand, but not safe to sit in.  A friend of mine called us at 6 am on a Saturday and said she found us the perfect table at a garage sale.  As our housewarming gift, she put down the money to hold it for us.  How lucky could a set of newlyweds in their first house be to have friends like this?  We went to pick up the table, but before we left, we put the old one in the front yard with a "free to a good home" sign.  When we returned 45 minutes later it was gone, all of it, including the broken chair.  We now have neighbors who ask if they can put items to give away in our yard since we live on the corner with the busy cross street.  We have become the neighborhood freecycle, and nothing ever lasts more than an hour in the yard!  

I hate to have yard sales and usually donate anything with use still in it to the Salvation Army Thrift store or CHKD store. Frequently however, I have items that are not quite good enough to donate but not quite bad enough to trash. These items I put out front in my yard with a sign that says FREE. Usually by the time the day is over everything is gone. I have gotten rid of old and stained bedsheets(maybe they were going to use them for painting?), plastic hangers(the kind from clothing stores), flower pots, framed prints and posters, a lamp, some old costume jewelry, some ball caps, and even an old milk can painted red.

I've rescued tons of stuff from various jobs over the years...the office chair I'm sitting in now, tons of tape (electrical, masking, transparent), and even $1400 worth of studio lighting. Came in handy when a neighbor wanted some jewelry shot for her website. It pays to work for any global corporation that has no qualms about wasting stuff.

I live in a military town and like collage town's the dumpster's are filled with goodie's just a month ago I was by a dumpster that's at a apartment building and a girl friend of some poor guy who found her mate cheating on her well she took every thing they had in there apartment bagged it up and as she was throwing the bag's in I was taking them out, what a find that was, she threw out a 1996 silver dollar, a five dollar silver canada coin, there were picture's, towle's,dishes,a real good find that day, so keep it coming and I'll keep diving,  thank you people

Guilty-I throw everything away if I no longer use it, but recycle responsibly.I usually give old TV's and VCR's to our school district. I even gave them a couch for theatre that I only had for a few months. Looked great at the store, but way too big for our home. I now simply do not buy anything else.

My kids think I am a pack rat because I have a hard time of disposing of items not needed now.  Everything I give away something in just a few weeks I am wishing I had it back!  

When giving to the Goodwill ask them about their 2 week policy.  The store here throws away items not sold in two weeks!  That is amazing to me, there must be someone somewhere who could use those items.

Here in Indiana, it's commonplace to leave unwanted items out at the border of your front yard for people to pick up.  Many times, there's a sign on the item cluster saying that they're free.

When there's enough stuff, people will also have yard sales/garage sales, either on their own or in partnership with one or more neighbors/friends.

It's hard to believe that students are buying appliances, furniture, etc. for every year of college and just tossing them at the end of each year.  Big screen TVs!?!  MORONIC!!!

One thing we have back here are storage places.  I know of one where probably every piece of furniture used in a dorm room could be stored--with space left over!--for as little as $45 per month!  That would be $135 for three months of storage--far less expensive than starting from scratch in September!

You have to wonder about our society and how we've gotten so wasteful.

Perhaps, it's a kind of status symbol to be able to say, "I can afford to waste."

We are teaching our selves (and us our kids) to have too much (we are pigs). The more we have the less valuable individual items are. In some ways it's good to value/worship THINGS less. My wife and I wonder if the next generation will throw out the heirlooms as THINGS don't seem to matter so much to this group.

Many college grads will be making $300 plus dollars per day when they graduate. What's a vacation day worth? If they think this way, how much time will they waste to  get rid of an item?

I've seen my wife bust her tail for 3 days to do a garage sale (prep and sale day) for a $250 sale. I'd rather donate to Good Will and go fishing for a day. My kids?

This next generation (us too) need to feel it's OK to make a bad "business" decision to hep others (Good Will) or just to help the world by reusing things even if it's not profitable.

All high schoolers should visit a landfill (outside where they can smell it and get it stuck to their shoes) for a few hours. Out of sight out of mind.

I DO dumpster-dive occasionally, since I moved to Hawaii.  You wouldn't believe the volume of really nice stuff VACATIONERS though out after their week/month/season.  

I am proud to be frugal, but please don't confuse that with struggling financially (I am a Baby-boomer millionaire plus).

The toughest part of retirement for me -- about 5 years ago -- was downsizing belongings without chucking them into the landfill.  Even Goodwill said they didn't take perfectly good items like metal desks.  This expereience has made me passionate about recycling on the beautiful island I am fortunate to live on.

Salvation Army used to clean. repair, recover items giving work and skills to those who needed it and recycling alot of furnture. Now, at least in my state, its illegal to donate anything to any thrift that isnt "perfect". I think that explains alot of the bigger stuff clogging our alleys. I live in Richmond Va in an urban neighborhood where the alleys are like department stores at the end of every month and especially at end of college terms. We dont have dumpsters but cans and there seems to be a habit of leaving reusable things just beside them. Just today a brand new looking microwave was sitting at the cans in my alley along with a nice computer desk, a perfect brass lamp, a Clean persian rug and a set of small bookcases. My house has a growing number of "rescued" items and a friend of mine actully rounds stuff up and lists it for sale on Craigs list all the time.