One man's junk

dmclone · 05-12-2008, 08:54 AM

Yesterday was our yearly "lay the crap you don't want out by the curb" day in Johnston. It's amazing to see the number of people in the area throwing complete junk into the back of their truck. I actually saw someone drive by in a U-Haul and pick up a ton of stuff. I guess some of the items make sense to re-use but 99% is just junk. The whole time I was thinking about how these people we're paying $4/gallon driving around to pick up items that are worth 10 cents.

isuno1fan · 05-12-2008, 08:56 AM

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

ISUFan22 · 05-12-2008, 08:59 AM

I know for a fact there are actually "organizations" that go around picking this stuff up to donate to those in need. Some of it is given away immediately and other items are repaired and then given away.

And then of course there are some people that pick the stuff up, fix it and resell it.

Cyclonepride · 05-12-2008, 09:00 AM

Great title!

When you put it that way, it sounds a lot less appealing to pick it up.

I saved $22 by putting a couple of old washing machines out, and someone took one immediately.

bostinelosd · 05-12-2008, 09:02 AM

If someone dug through my garbage cans under coffee grounds and diapers for something I might look down on them a little. However if I put stuff I dont need to the curb and someone picked it up, its just like a free garage sale. If they can use it, all the power to them.

ISUFan22 · 05-12-2008, 09:03 AM

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

Cyclonesrule91 · 05-12-2008, 09:05 AM

Saturday was junk day in Waukee. It was quite comical watching the packrats come sift through everyones junk. I notice a mid 90's crew cab Ford farm truck going slowly down our street, it stops and out steps a lady wearing sweat pants that might have looked good on her when she was 20 but had no business wearing them in public now and a huge cowboy hat and old cowboy boots (she probably just picked up down the block a ways). Anyway, she gets out of the truck at a house across the street where they have just got done pottytraining their youngest girl so that was in the junk pile. She picks it up, looks it over pretty close, takes out the pee catcher, sniffs it, and then puts it back together and throws it in the back of the truck. I am sure I would have gagged if I wouldn't have been laughing so hard at what I just witnessed. All kinds of people pulling trailers or had 4x8 sheets of particle boards strapped inside the truck bed so they had more space to throw the junk. Then after dark, there were guys walkiing up and down the street with flashlights looking through all of the left over piles. We had company that night and they were leaving at 12:30 and as they were leaving there was still people driving by and searching.

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....

keepngoal · 05-12-2008, 09:07 AM

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 just bought a new one last night (thank you taxpayers), and I left the old on the corner... and it wasn't a push/pull/drag crap to the curb day....

it was gone this morning.

Not sure what that says about my neighborhood, but I am taking it as a good thing, because someone needed a 5 year old grill.

-keep.

Cyclonesrule91 · 05-12-2008, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by keepngoal

we just bought a new one last night (thank you taxpayers), and I left the old on the corner... and it wasn't a push/pull/drag crap to the curb day....

it was gone this morning.

Not sure what that says about my neighborhood, but I am taking it as a good thing, because someone needed a 5 year old grill.

-keep.

Agree, I bought a new grill last year and put the old one to the curb. At about 6 in the morning I hear a bunch of banging. I look out the front window and there is some guy beating the crap out of the grill frame so he could take only the grill part and not the frame. Don't know if he was going to make a tailgating grill or what but he made a mess on the front of my lawn.

I would bet it wouldn't last till the next afternoon when you put it out to your curb.

keepngoal · 05-12-2008, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by Cyclonesrule91

Agree, I bought a new grill last year and put the old one to the curb. At about 6 in the morning I hear a bunch of banging. I look out the front window and there is some guy beating the crap out of the grill frame so he could take only the grill part and not the frame. Don't know if he was going to make a tailgating grill or what but he made a mess on the front of my lawn.

I would bet it wouldn't last till the next afternoon when you put it out to your curb.

it was gone by the next morning... set it out at 6 pm... noticed it was gone at 8 am.

-keep

dmclone · 05-12-2008, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Cyclonesrule91

Agree, I bought a new grill last year and put the old one to the curb. At about 6 in the morning I hear a bunch of banging. I look out the front window and there is some guy beating the crap out of the grill frame so he could take only the grill part and not the frame. Don't know if he was going to make a tailgating grill or what but he made a mess on the front of my lawn.

I saw the exact same thing with a grill in our area. They just want the internals for some reason.

keepngoal · 05-12-2008, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by dmclone

I saw the exact same thing with a grill in our area. They just want the internals for some reason.

probably meth production.. in fact today I am blaming everything on the meth drug problem we have in this state.

-keep.

redrocker · 05-12-2008, 09:30 AM

we used to call it "The Town Swap Meet"

Thornhill · 05-12-2008, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by dmclone

I saw the exact same thing with a grill in our area. They just want the internals for some reason.

They sell them as scrap.

CyinCo · 05-12-2008, 09:40 AM

This was my first time witnessing this. But it went down in my subdivision much the same way. Several of our neighbors put their stuff out days ahead of the junk pickup day. There wasn't much left of the piles by Saturday morning. I saw a u-haul truck going from pile to pile sifting through the junk. My neighbor had an old grill out and someone stripped it clean. They only left the frame.