Weddingbee Blog

..because it ain’t just for dirties.

(If you haven’t seen Parts 1 and 2 of this sales series, check them out right now!)

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DISCLAIMER: What goes on in this post may gross you out just a teeny-tiny bit and make you question why I was even allowed to become a Weddingbee blogger in the first place. Yes, my friends, today we are talking about trash picking and why you should memorize local garbage routes and pick-up schedules. I promise this is not going to turn into an episode of “Hoarders.” Maybe.

PHOTO: Our guest bed, which is actually an antique sleigh bed that my dad dumpster-dove for. Let me just say that this is an UNBELIEVABLE FIND. Thanks for taking one for the team, dad. (And it’s not every day you find your dog looking incredibly precious on a bed she’s not supposed to hang out on, hence why the photo quality is so poor. Document cute moment on cell phone, then tell the dog to get off the bed.)

I’m sure we all know somebody who is constantly getting new stuff. They’ve never owned a worn-down couch, you’ll never see them out in the same outfit twice, and they change home décor as often as we wedding-planning folk change ideas about our wedding theme. (ALL.THE.TIME.)

Yet, for as often as they get new stuff, you don’t remember them ever having a garage sale. Their basements are not crammed with old junk. And come to think of it, their garbage heaps are OVERFLOWING every single week.

They are the typical throwers-away of all things still good. Call them wasters, landfill-fillers, whatever. The truth is there could be a bounty of goodness hidden in their curbside piles whether you’re down to explore it or not. And let me tell you something: if you don’t find it, some other scavenger will. So I’ll leave that choice up to you.

Now hold up, I’m not talking about ripping bags open and sorting through old Kleenex and moldy food. I’m talking about the big stuff that people don’t want and set out for the good ol’ garbage collector. And that, dear readers, is your newest treasure-hunting locale.

PHOTO: Can you even tell I have an obsession with chairs yet? Mr. Jam and I swiped these out of some dude’s garbage pile in the next town over, and now they reside in our Furniture Graveyard (AKA garage porch) waiting to be cleaned up and made over with a few coats of white paint and some vintage fabric. PERFECT-O to put at the green and silver formica table my parents got for us at a garage sale.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Truthfully, not much of anything at all. You won’t need money, no dark clothes to hide under the blanket of darkness (since they probably won’t care if you steal their garbage, just as long as you’re not TP-ing them), or a rock-solid attitude ready for negotiations.

Maybe just throw some blankets into your car to protect against the straight-up GRIME that will probably be on your garbage finds. I’m telling you, some of this stuff is gnarly. Mr. Jam’s car is filled with dirt right now from some wooden thing we picked up last week that was probably housed in some cat-riddled basement for years. Seriously gross. But a good find, nonetheless.

It’s wise to memorize some local trash pick-up schedules and garbage routes, especially in some nicer neighborhoods. Is that a stereotype? Oh well. Drive around neighborhoods at night when people set their garbage out: it’s quick, easy, and a total bonus when you see something worth investigating.

Don’t forget to take a +1 to help you load treasures into the car, unless you really want to scratch paint trying to do it all yourself. Clearly I have been there, done that.

THE GOOD FINDS:

Antique items, unique furniture, undamaged mirrors, old frames, barn wood, and items that need a minimal amount of clean-up are really great finds in anybody’s book. You should know going into this that most items are going to be dirty and beat up, so imagine whatever it is looking 100 times better with a clean finish and a fresh coat of paint.

Talk about a great feeling knowing that this antique kitchen storage (as seen above) only needs to be hosed down and followed up with a few touches of wood glue! And voila, a place to store the Pizza Pizazz when we’re not using it (and FYI, if you don’t have a Pizazz and you eat a lot of pizza, YOU NEED ONE.).

PHOTO: The kitchen storage cabinet we picked up from the side of the road in a thunderstorm (a.k.a. FREE GARBAGE). It was dirty, falling apart, and had killer potential. Yes, we’ve since gotten rid of the college microwave and moved into a new place. And yes, our MillieDog really does eat that much food in a month.

STAY THE HECK AWAY:

Trust me, honey, you want to stay far away from upholstered items (hello, have you even heard of bed bugs?), things that require more money and attention than they’re worth, and items you seriously don’t need or like.

Come on, I totally know that feeling: “I don’t really love it, but it’s free. I’ll take it!” Just think about what you can use or improve and go from there.

WEDDING SCHTUFF:

Obviously you’re gonna have a hard time finding your dream wedding dress lodged in a pile of garbage-y rubble. But keep an open mind and look for some things you can use to get your ideal wedding look. How about some of this old wood to make a “Wedding Thatta Way” sign? Or these decrepit suitcases that I can stack up in engagement photos or as wedding-day decor? What about having a friend to paint over these old, huge canvases to hang behind the head table?

For our wedding, we’ve hoarded collected the super old blue mason jars (complete with age-telling air bubbles in the glass), a really heavy white antique door to use as decor somewhere, and some various other tchotchkes. For what? FOR FREE.

The possibilities are endless, so what are you waiting for? Get over your disgust of curbside trash and hunt around for something totally unique. So what if you get it home and realize it’s not worth salvaging? You can always put it on your curb next week.

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So what’s the verdict? Are you too grossed out by the thought of hauling in someone’s true-blue garbage? Have you ever salvaged anything from a trash pile? Is there a line you wouldn’t want to cross when it comes to getting free goods?