Who knew an activity that sounds so dirty on the surface could be so beneficial, not only for our planet but also for yourself? This morning a dumpster dive find that required really no diving came in especially helpful.
Jack, our orange tabby cat, decided to projectile vomit all over the beige carpet this morning. In a feined attempt I tried to catch him and get him to a solid surface instead of puking on the carpet. Instead I was left cleaning up quite a mess, hoping it wouldn’t add another stain to the already pet stained by the previous owner carpet.
After cleaning up the chunkies, I sprinkled the vomit with Borax (I’ve just discovered in my greeness it can be used for virtually any cleaning task you might have) and let it soak for a couple of hours. Then I used the nifty carpet steamer we found by the dumpster the other day to suck it up and scrub it down. We found out the reason it was put by the dumpster is because the hot water container leaks all over the place when you attach it to the steamer. The simple fix is to just hold the container and squirt the water you need on the spot and then scrub it and suck it out of the carpet. It may not be as convenient but the machine still works and doesn’t need to clog up our landfills anymore than they already are.
The free carpet cleaner we found sitting by the dumpster. It still works!
Another great dumpster find I made was back in Arizona when we lived in an apartment complex there. Someone who moved out had left a 32″ TV by the dumpster and a portable, rolling Rediwhip freezer like you’d see in the grocery story. Both worked so how can you pass up extra freezer space and a bigger TV for free?!
The free Reddi-wip freezer I found next to a dumpster in Arizona. The working items people throw out is sickening!
Have you found any great finds that someone else put out for the trash? Don’t be ashamed, share your story!
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i’m still jealous of that reddi-whip freezer…
Mitzi´s last blog ..The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
i’m sure i’ve told you this but when pmo and i moved into together, we found a perfectly good table and 2 chairs in the alley behind my rental. we were about to buy a $200 table and chairs so it was a real find. one of the chairs has since crapped out, but we’ve still got the one, plus 3 others we bought at goodwill and feather your nest for about $30 total.
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Wow — love the reddi-whip freezer! That has to be one of the best dumpster finds.
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Mitzi: Maybe I’ll will the Reddi-whip freezer to you. The table and chairs sounds like a great alley-way find. It’s definitely crazy what people throw out, especially rich people!
RecycleCindy: Thanks for the compliment on the freezer. I was pretty excited about that one but my wife T wasn’t so sure when I came rolling down the sidewalk with that thing!
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