One man's junk

mramseyISU · 05-12-2008, 10:41 AM

Ours was last weekend. We set out an old refridgerator that was left in the house when we moved in. Most of it worked but we had a better one. Anyway I get a knock on my door a couple hours later. Some guy who'd never heard of soap was wanting me to to help him load it into his truck. I'm not smart enough to be a jerk since I just wanted it gone so I go out there. He and his wife had found a new set of furniture for their living room and this fridge was the icing on the cake for them. They had 2 junk office chairs both of them were missing wheels that she was throwing a fit over because he scratched the wood on them. He tells me he decided to go scrapping so he could buy some brakes for his truck since it's been 10 years since he replaced them.

cycloneworld · 05-12-2008, 10:43 AM

In Ames one year, we put out a chair that we kept in the basement of our house that our cat had used as his personal litter box.

It was gone in a matter of ours.

cytech · 05-12-2008, 10:44 AM

I imagine the second hand shops come around and collect stuff too.
I run a few storage facilities in the Cedar Rapids area and whenever we have lien sales for people who don't pay. The second hand stores usually end up buying most of the units up for sale.

It is also nice because I get junk days several times a year. So I can throw whatever I have laying around into a empty unit and auction it off with the rest of them.

Phaedrus · 05-12-2008, 10:50 AM

I'm always amazed at what people will throw out, frankly. My elliptical trainer I keep in the basement was set out on someone's curb, because it was "old". Never really used, but "old" gets it put on the curb.

While I don't cruise neighborhoods, I definitely keep a weather eye for anything particularly valuable, like a bunch of 3/8" sheets of plywood, or a boat motor. Or a weight set.

Kyle · 05-12-2008, 11:16 AM

This reminds me of move-out day in Ames. There was all kinds of good stuff to pick up. My roommate and I salvaged a couch from beside the dumpster and used it for a year. Someone else spoke for it after that and used it for another few years. An end table that I've had in my home for the past 3 years was also salvaged from an Ames curb.

There is often a lot of stuff that gets thrown out not because it's junk, but because people are moving or upgrading and have nothing better to do with their stuff.

c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s · 05-12-2008, 11:18 AM

True story...

A friend had 4 old but usable tires. He set them out on the curb with a sgn that said "Free". They sat for a week and nobody took them.

He then tried a different tactic and put a sign on them that said "$10.00 each or 4 for $30.00."

They were "stolen" that night.

bmuff · 05-12-2008, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by Cyclonesrule91

Next year we are having a yard party and will sit and watch in the front yard. A comedy show wouldn't have been as entertaining as what we saw Friday night and it was FREE....

Now that would be fun. Kind of like the train wreck that is karioke at The Fox on Saturday nights. Good free entertainment is hard to beat.

ketchupnmustard · 05-12-2008, 11:39 AM

From the title, I thought this was another thread about the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

CyGal · 05-12-2008, 11:48 AM

Ours was a couple weeks ago. We set out a couple of old dressers that we had inherited a long time ago. There was nothing really wrong with them, we just didn't want them any more. Some guy stops by and asks my husband if he can take them. Apparently, the guy is from Pella, and there area lot of, as he put it, "pregnant Mexican's" there who are always looking for new furniture for the babies stuff.

Also, last year when we were getting ready to move, we put out a couple of old car speakers that we hadn't used in 4-5 years, and a sign that said 'FREE'. Some kid came by, looked them over, then came to the door to ask if they worked. Apparently he didn't want to get rid of them if they didn't work.

SeattleClone · 05-12-2008, 01:07 PM

I wondered why there was a bunch of junk on everyone's curbs when I got back into town yesterday. This must be an annual thing? Do unclaimed "treasures" get picked up by the garbage men on Monday then, or do you have to take them back? I wish I would've known about it, I have a couch I would've set out.

TOMMYBOY · 05-12-2008, 01:48 PM

I to like to check out the scary people on trash night myself. I have to say I have a good job and live in nice house and I still will hunt for trash as you guys like to call it. I think it is a lot of fun to see what things you can get. I have gotten metal shelves for my garage, snow blowers, lawn mowers garden and tillers. It is amazing how wasteful or non mechanically inclined some people are. Just this year I picked up a snow blower that was only a few years old and ran great. All that was wrong was a bad primer bulb. I could go on. I just see it as a way to get things for myself with out having to drop the cash!!! That may make me Look like a hawk fan but that is not the case!!!

aeroclone08 · 05-12-2008, 02:01 PM

A few years ago my parents were having the bottom part of the driveway redone and the concrete company had a bobcat parked down near the curb. It happened to be junk day for us and people were actually climbing on the bobcat trying tom move it or take litte things from it. We had to call the owners and have them move it up the driveway to keep people off of it.

Mrs.ISUFan22 · 05-12-2008, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

Anyone have a list of when other cities are scheduled to do this? I have an old grill to get rid of...

We missed it....it was on the 3rd of May.

CYKID · 05-12-2008, 02:10 PM

The last time I checked aluminum was worth $1.40/lb at a recycler. I'm not sure what grills are made of but they must be made of something fairly valuable to a scrapper. The price of steel has doubled in the last five years and shows no sign of coming down. I imagine a guy could get $600 worth of scrap in a night fairly easily. Good part time job(I guess).

SouthernHawk · 05-12-2008, 02:20 PM

So, a buddy and I were walking around yesterday, interested to see what everybody had thrown out. We came up to this desk, and it had a bunch of white stains on it. We didn't think anything of it, so my friend opened the drawer.... inside were half a dozen pamphlets with information on what to do if you have AIDs or HIV.

Needless to say, that white stuff all over became a little more interesting. Glad I didn't touch it.