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It’s an unseasonably cold day in Seattle, and Rebecca is standing in her kitchen, preparing for her regular Sunday afternoon outing. As she gathers her backpack and grocery bags, her dog sniffs around excitedly, anticipating the long walk and treats that await.
In the course of their errands, Rebecca and her dog will visit several stores and coffee shops, a bakery and a chocolate factory. But instead of walking in the front door, she plans to head out back and go Dumpster diving.
Rebecca, 51, owns a small duplex and has a job running an art program for a health care organization. She’s also an artist in her own right whose accomplishments include a piece that hangs in the Seattle Art Museum.
And she gets 99 percent of her food from the Dumpster.
“It’s so easy to eat for free,” she says. “The only things I buy are butter and milk.”
It’s no secret that American culture is a consumer culture. We like big cars, big houses and big bags of things bought at big malls and big-box retailers. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the few people who call themselves anti-consumerists, freegans, frugalists or just plain Dumpster divers. Whatever the moniker, these people delight in drastically reducing their consumer spending, finding life’s essentials at bargain prices or paying nothing at all.
“I like getting stuff free. It’s like a treasure hunt,” says Ran Prieur, 40, who lives in Washington state and whose extremely frugal life includes occasional Dumpster diving. “It’s kind of similar to what you get from gambling.”
It’s hard to say how many people are trying to live this way, but frugal communities say they are seeing more interest. A couple years ago, a group of friends in San Francisco made a compact to try not to buy anything new for a year; now there are “Compactors” all over the world. The Freecycle Network, through which people give away stuff they no longer need rather than trashing it, boasts thousands of participants.
Freegans — whose efforts to live outside the conventional economic system may include hitchhiking, foraging for food and eschewing regular jobs — say there is growing interest in adopting at least parts of their philosophy.
“A lot of people are recognizing that there are a lot of ways that people can provide for their needs,” said Adam Weissman, a spokesman for the main freegan Web site.
Being thrifty
Rebecca, who asked that her real name not be used because she worries she could lose her job if her employer knew about her Dumpster diving, doesn’t need to get food for free.
She says she likes the thrill of the chase, and the surprising bounty of good food she finds. And despite holding a steady job and having grown up in an affluent family, she says she sometimes worries she won’t have enough money. She also likes to “save a little here, save a little there,” so she can afford splurges like a laptop computer and keep funding her art.
For Rebecca, browsing Dumpsters also is a way to protest the country’s rampant consumer culture. She has salvaged furniture, clothes, art supplies and even appliances. Still, even she isn’t totally immune to the culture she avoids — feeling blue recently, she went in for a little retail therapy and bought a new pair of sneakers.
Rebecca grew up in Greenwich, Conn., the daughter of an ad man. As early as high school, she remembers searching through garbage while walking the streets of New York City. Her mother would walk ahead, pretending not to know her. Nobody else bothered her.
“That’s when I really started liking things cheap,” she says.
After high school, Rebecca went to art school, but in 1979, she decided to drop out and head to Seattle. Her artwork includes materials she’s found in the garbage or on the street.
To many first-time Dumpster divers, the most surprising thing is how much good stuff is out there.
Prieur, for example, says his trash bin excursions have netted him smoked salmon, high-end bacon, olive oil, plenty of produce and other goodies. Prieur, who owns a piece of land but has no permanent home, estimates that when he’s staying with his sister in Seattle, he gets 20 to 30 percent of his groceries from garbage bins.
His habit elicits mixed responses. A favorite item at his sister’s house is “Dumpstered” apple pie. But he’ll sometimes invite people over for dinner and get the cautionary response: “Just promise not to put any Dumpster food in it.”
Says Prieur: “There’s a big emotional thing attached to not eating out of the garbage.”
Baby squash, popcorn and granola
When Rebecca reaches the grocery store, she moves with purpose across the parking lot to a fenced-in Dumpster. With practiced nonchalance, she opens the gate and walks in, closing it behind her. On the ground, she immediately finds a bag of baby squashes. They go in the backpack to be steamed up for dinner.
Next, she hikes herself up and peers in the Dumpster itself. Out comes a bag of popcorn, a bag of granola and a package of rice. All are torn, but the contents appear clean.
“Aw darn,” she calls from within. “A box of chocolates — but they’re empty.”
Rebecca passes up pasta and a few other items, explaining that she prefers ready-made food because she doesn’t like to cook.
The granola isn’t her taste, either — she’s a self-described picky eater — but she can give it to her boyfriend.
She also passes up a bag of flavored potato chips, explaining, “I don’t like salt and vinegar.”
Climbing out of the Dumpster, Rebecca opens the gate again and heads out.
In 10 years of serious Dumpster diving, Rebecca says she’s never gotten sick eating food from the trash.
She has only occasionally been hassled by a store manager, but she will usually talk her way out of it by spinning a story that she recently lost her job. People sometimes lecture her, telling her eating out of a Dumpster isn’t good for her. She generally plays along with the spiel, “because most people assume that’s who you are — either homeless or mentally ill,” she says.
‘I hope that Starbucks has some decaf’
As she heads further into Seattle’s University District, Rebecca’s on the lookout for coffee.
“I hope that Starbucks has some decaf because I’m out of decaf,” she says.
But after rifling through several garbage bags, she only comes up with a pile of breakfast sandwiches. She feeds one to her dog.
In her escapades, Rebecca has found CDs, a $100 bill, an answering machine and a five-pound bag of coffee. It often amazes her to come across perfectly good things in the trash, and she will find herself speculating about what personal decision — a fight with a boyfriend, maybe? — would cause someone to throw out something like a CD.
Around the end of the school year, Rebecca will spend more time in the neighborhood near Seattle’s University of Washington to forage for things that people throw out when they move — art supplies, coffee makers, that sort of thing. She also likes to hit the fraternity houses.
“Good God,” she says, “they’ll throw out everything.”
251 million tons of trash
The same could be said for Americans in general. Americans produce about 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day — or nearly a ton a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
For many who get their essentials secondhand or for free, one motivation is that they are disgusted by such waste. But their lifestyle is dependent on the consumer culture that they reject.
If Americans didn’t demand pristine produce and bread baked fresh daily, there would be little for Dumpster divers to find. And if we didn’t lust for new couches long before the old springs had gone soft, and new jeans months before their current ones had developed holes, there would be little for thrift store aficionados and garage sale lovers to buy.
Frugalists say they there are plenty of places to find stuff, if you know where to look. They get things on the sidewalk, through Internet posts and at organized giveaway events.
Laura Thompson, 57, does most of her “shopping” in the bathtub, with a stack of catalogs that she never orders from. When she really needs something, she either goes to a thrift store or tries to find it for free. Recently she lamented that she needed a raincoat, and a friend who likes secondhand shopping gave Thompson the one she was wearing.
Thompson is most meticulous about one thing: paper towels. She’s had the same roll of Costco paper towels since March 2006, and she estimates that there’s still about an inch left. If a houseguest asks for a paper towel, they most likely will be turned down.
Thompson only uses paper towels for “icky” jobs, like getting oil off anchovies. She relies on rags and cloth napkins for most other needs. She does have a little bit of a cheat, though: If she goes to a restaurant and is given a stack of paper napkins, she will take those home and use them.
Thompson, who also lives in Seattle, has been trying to conserve paper towels for about 10 years, motivated by a combination of environmental activism and lifelong frugality.
‘Down to the underwear’
Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller once held high-powered telecommunications jobs and were self-professed yuppies. Then in the mid-1990s, they read a book called “Your Money or Your Life” and had a revelation: They could just stop working.
Since then, they have lived on investments, occasional sales of Blix’s crafts and, in recent years, Heitmiller’s part-time work as a handyman. They are so enamored of their simple lifestyle that the Seattle couple even wrote their own book about it: “Getting a Life.”
One day in early spring, Blix was dressed in a pink sweater, turquoise turtleneck, khaki pants and knit socks. Everything she was wearing had come from a secondhand shop, “down to the underwear,” she noted — except the socks, which were knit by a friend.
When Heitmiller asked his wife whether everything he was wearing had come from a secondhand shop, too, she looked him over quizzically and said she didn’t know what underwear he was wearing.
Blix and Heitmiller started their post-regular work life living on about $30,000 a year. Lately, their budget has crept up to about $45,000, largely because of rising costs for health insurance and a decision to eat more organic food. They also travel more often to California now to visit their grandchildren.
To maintain their lifestyle in a comfortable three-bedroom, two-bathroom duplex, the two have become avid secondhand shoppers, as well as what Blix calls “curbside shoppers.” That means that they find things, like their coffee table, sitting outside with a “free” sign on it. Other items, including a television and kitchen table, were inherited.
The hardwood floor in their house was salvaged from another house, and Heitmiller bartered his handyman skills in exchange for some leftover carpeting they used elsewhere in the house.
Blix keeps a list of things that they would like to have, and she says she’s often surprised at how things fall in her lap. Recently they were considering buying some items for their front yard when a friend called with some mulch to give away.
“If you put a need out there in the universe, you’ll be surprised,” she said.
Blix doesn’t think she spends more time shopping than most Americans spend at the mall — the very mention of which makes her physically shudder. The couple goes out for a meal about once a month, and they’ll occasionally visit a coffee shop. Heitmiller has a cell phone for his handyman business; Blix does not want one.
‘A leftover from previous thinking’
Blix, 58, and Heitmiller, 62, say that, in deciding to live simply, they also are forced to talk honestly about money, something many couples don’t do. Still, like any couple, they have the occasional financial disagreement. The difference is that their most memorable disagreement is one that most couples wouldn’t remember at all.
What happened is this: Blix took a Costco gift card she’d received and bought a new set of flatware, to replace the set Heitmiller had had since his first marriage in 1968, without so much as a word of discussion beforehand. To Heitmiller, it was an “oddity” that she would buy something new to replace something that worked just fine. To Blix, it was her money and she wanted new flatware.
On the rare occasions Blix has spent money like that, she calls it “a leftover from previous thinking,” when she was more beholden to money.
The idea of not working sounds great to a lot of people, but there are downsides. Health care costs have risen substantially, and without an employer the couple is left to foot the bill themselves until Medicare kicks in. They have a high-deductible policy that doesn’t cover prescription medication.
Over the years, the couple also has noticed that they have grown away from many of their old friends, although now they have a new group of friends who think more like them, including those active in what is called the Voluntary Simplicity movement.
Blix says another problem she has is “time management,” meaning what to do with all the time she has because she doesn’t work. “You really are faced with, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ ” she says. “It’s something that I definitely work on.”
Three Dumpsters of bread
It’s looking more and more like rain as Rebecca walks along the water and through a park, pausing briefly to admire the view of Seattle’s downtown. The aroma of rosemary and yeast fills the air. She is nearing one of Seattle’s favorite artisan bakeries.
Behind the bakery sit three tan Dumpsters, each filled with nothing but bread — every type you can think of, bagged and looking as mouth-watering as they do on the shelves at Whole Foods. It doesn’t even smell bad here — the store’s other Dumpsters, containing actual trash, are around the front of the store.
Rebecca pulls out a loaf of ciabatta for herself, and then roots around for a whole-grain loaf for her boyfriend of 18 years. He’s not much of a Dumpster diver himself, but he will eat some things she finds.
A white hatchback pulls up and three young guys get out and head for the Dumpsters. Methodically, they begin gathering bread for themselves and their friends. They pause, arms and mouths full of bread, to discuss the merits of ciabatta vs. olive bread. No one comes out of the bakery to bother them.
Next, Rebecca heads toward an outpost of the local food co-op. Behind the shiny new building are two large Dumpsters, and next to those someone has set aside produce boxes. Rebecca says the good fresh fruits and vegetables are usually in there, but today they are empty. No matter; hiking herself up on the large Dumpster, she finds the mother lode — a breakfast burrito, samosas, pulled pork sandwiches and vegetarian burgers, all individually wrapped in tinfoil and some still warm. They aren’t set to expire until the next day.
“This is a nice catch today,” she says.
It’s raining as she begins the long uphill trek back to her house, her backpack filled with enough food to last a couple of days, until her next trip through the city’s Dumpsters.
“I’m a working girl,” she says. “I have a job. I own my own house. And I Dumpster dive. So there you go.”
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{"commentId":1878148,"authorDomain":"alolson"}
Would you ever consider Dumpster diving for food? Or furniture? As the economy worsens, are you more willing to adopt the frugalist lifestyle?
{"commentId":1878148,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"alolson"}
- 5 votes
#1 - Mon Jun 2, 2008 7:07 PM EDT{"commentId":1881214,"authorDomain":"rbralley"}
Dumpster diving is a ticketable offense virtually everywhere I've ever lived, but I would NOT have a problem with it if the law didn't get involved. However, there's nothing illegal about picking stuff up off the curb, so we do if we see something we like or need. When we go to the grocery store, we automatically look for stuff that's been marked down because its sell-by date is close. We've also been using thrifts and consignment shops for 99% of our clothing for several years now.
{"commentId":1881214,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"rbralley"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":1882591,"authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
Absolutely! But why dumpster dive, when you can have the dumpster come to you? Check out freecycling.
- J
P.S. Article clipped to the Living With Less group.
{"commentId":1882591,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1883076,"authorDomain":"sheila-1"}
I can appreciate a good bargain. I am 43 married, mother of three, and I love to dig in other persons trash to find bargains. I have pick up name brand clothes, books and have found furniture that only need a leg replaced. In this times of economic hazards, I don't think digging in dumpsters or even finding road side items are a bad deal. Better me than you.
{"commentId":1883076,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"sheila-1"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1884230,"authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
Seriously.. the all time best dumpster diving, hands down, is hitting university dorms at the end of the semester when the students move out. Most colleges will have roll off dumpsters in which you will find computers, furniture, books, clothes.. name it.
The best score ever was a fully working Vespa with the registration papers. Alas by the time I was able to grab a friend to help me get it out, it was gone.
-J
{"commentId":1884230,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1903616,"authorDomain":"shinpai"}
Our apartment is furnished by Freegan.
Some of it curbside/dumpster, most of it for free just before it got handed off to the trash, such as my swivel armchair now used as the comfy computer chair, two double beds plus frames, coffee table and matching end tables, random end table, phone/end table, table and four maching chairs. These I managed to aquire from a local U-Store type facility. Things get abandoned all the time and they are either dumpsterized or a paticularly profitable looking storage closet will be auctioned off. If you can be on friendly terms with the managers of storage facilities, they generally let you have what you want.
The ability to get so many things for free or at clearance bargins has allowed me to be a stay at home mom on my husband's tier 1 tech support salary while still enjoying many of life's other comforts, such as organic foods, cable, and a budding savings account.
{"commentId":1903616,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"shinpai"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1881032,"authorDomain":"evhan"}
This is a great series, I'm glad to have found this here. And welcome to Newsvine (despite the fact that you've already posted 68 articles... I've managed to avoid them, somehow).
While I may not be as extreme a case as some of those, if a "freegan" is simply someone who doesn't subscribe to the American lifestyle of excess, then you can count me in. Though the reason for this is less about getting something for free and more about a belief that it's unnecessary and irresponsible to live in great surfeit when much of the world is in a struggle for food and energy.
{"commentId":1881032,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"evhan"}
- 3 votes
#2 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 9:31 AM EDT{"commentId":1881171,"authorDomain":"wcurmudgeon"}
Two frugal suggestions... First, if you have a gas water heater, turn it it off to the "Vacation" setting. Turn it on half an hour before need in the morning, then turn it off again until next morning. The dishwasher heats its own water with a coil, and clothes are best washed in cold water anyway (you can use the leftover hot water in the morning for white things if necessary). Second, see if your electric company installs "Time of Use" meters which allow you to save big money by doing such chores as washing and drying clothes, running the dishwasher, ironing, etc., during "off-peak" hours.
{"commentId":1881171,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"wcurmudgeon"}
- 1 vote
#3 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 9:53 AM EDT{"commentId":1883867,"authorDomain":"ajr1"}
Great suggestion! I did not know this (water heater setting) - will definitely try that out. Thanks.
{"commentId":1883867,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"ajr1"}
{"commentId":1881190,"authorDomain":"bearart"}
My car (2007 BMW) gets 20% better milage when I drive @ 60mph rather than 70mph, and adds a whopping 2minutes and 15 seconds to my comute! SLOW DOWN AMERICA
{"commentId":1881190,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bearart"}
- 1 vote
#4 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 9:56 AM EDT{"commentId":1881209,"authorDomain":"rjbenedict"}
WE don't buy Starbucks, Very seldom shop at Safeway, potato chips are unhealthy and out of our diet (maybe once or twice a year) The same as pizza. If you want to save. go for a walk, look at the country you live in. you will be healthier and live longer to enjoy your family and friends. Most of the items you mentioned are not a necessity of life and even good for you. for the record, the cans of coke you show cannot be bought for 1.29 at our Safeway
{"commentId":1881209,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"rjbenedict"}
#5 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:00 AM EDT{"commentId":1881338,"authorDomain":"VTPackman"}
Less about dumpster diving for food, which America has been doing for decades, just the public refused to acknowledge/believe it, and more about the 10 ways to be frugal. This article is a joke. the fact that they mention starbucks at all is a mockery and a testament to how out of touch the writers are with the common middle class of the united states (who stopped drinking starbucks a long time ago). if we keep the suggestions along the same content lines, they should be:
1: if you have to have coffee drink generic
2: cancel your all of your magazines and cut off your cable tv and internet
3: you don't need ice cream
4: wear the clothes you have
5: bottled water, are you kidding me?!? drink from the tap
6: don't go to restaurants
7: don't rent movies
8: buying generic cereal is the only good advice you have given
9: don't drink soda drink tap water
10:skip the potato chips
{"commentId":1881338,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"VTPackman"}
- 2 votes
#6 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:20 AM EDT{"commentId":1881402,"authorDomain":"allison-linnmsnbc"}
VTPackman, you make a good point. What we were trying to do with the frugalist sidebar is show how easy it is to save money without changing a typical middle-class lifestyle much at all. Obviously, if people cut out luxuries, shop at discounters and make other changes you suggest, they can save much, much more money. We hope readers will submit more tips in this vein.
{"commentId":1881402,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"allison-linnmsnbc"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1881530,"authorDomain":"evhan"}
Or, if you have to have coffee, drink tea.
A 27-cent black tea bag has at least half the amount of caffeine as a serving of coffee (often nearly as much), and can taste just as good.
{"commentId":1881530,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"evhan"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1881889,"authorDomain":"cdd37"}
... or just dump the caffeine altogether. You'll be saving your adrenals in the long-run and will be much calmer, have "better" energy (once you get past the withdrawal symptoms).
{"commentId":1881889,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"cdd37"}
{"commentId":1883022,"authorDomain":"Andimia"}
the fact that they mention starbucks at all is a mockery and a testament to how out of touch the writers are with the common middle class of the united states (who stopped drinking starbucks a long time ago).
As a web designer who sometimes works long hours only to go home, sleep and come right back to work, I have to say that I still budget for starbucks and the one that I pass on my way to work always has people in it.
{"commentId":1883022,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"Andimia"}
{"commentId":1883091,"authorDomain":"mrsbuzz"}
I thought the same thing about the article. I've made so many changes on my own that far outweigh in cost the ideas put forth in this piece. How about not purchasing books anymore and going to the library - been doing that for years now. You get best sellers and I never have to wait more than about a week to get the book with the suburban inter-library system we have. And movie tickets? Are you kidding me? I live in a very cool suburb 1/2 hour west of Chicago and I can walk most places. That library I mentioned in 1/2 block away. The little theater around the corner runs 2nd run movies for $3.50 and that has only just recently been increased from the $2. they charged for many many years. Who cares if I see it a month after it's out of the main theaters? Not me, not if I'm saving $5. per ticket. Here's another first I've discovered - the Dollar Store - used to be just junk but not anymore. The Sunday newspaper that I used to pay $1.75 for I now get for $1. Better to sell papers at a loss than not sell them at all, right? And instead of buying single serve packs of chips at the store which is cheaper than buying them singly, try buying a family size bag of whatever and portioning it out each day with your family's lunches in baggies. Again, the Dollar Store sells the good sandwich size baggies that I like for only, you guessed it, a dollar a box. I bring my breakfast and lunch to work every day and I eat better, healthier and cheaper than buying my lunch in our hospital's expensive cafeteria. I save money on gas by living in a town where I can walk to most places I want to go. I own one of the cars that is better on gas. I find bargains when I shop for clothes, food, whatever, have found that by learning to live with the thermostat in winter at 64 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night, and mostly in summer using the overhead fans, I don't use so much energy which is now extremely costly in Chicago (as is auto gas). I've turned into Frugal Frida but it's the only way I survive at all anymore. And guess what? My job just cut my hours (and thereby, income) by 10%, so I'll have to find even more ways to cut back, and I will.
{"commentId":1883091,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"mrsbuzz"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1883621,"authorDomain":"barry-rutherford"}
A 27-cent black tea bag has at least half the amount of caffeine as a serving of coffee (often nearly as much), and can taste just as good.
Just make sure the Tea is produced in a country where they dont use child or slave Labor.
{"commentId":1883621,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"barry-rutherford"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1884193,"authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
2: cancel your all of your magazines and cut off your cable tv and internet
Cutting off internet access is unrealistic (especially as I telecommute). Also, Internet access can pay for itself by:
- Shopping online rather than retail (cheaper prices, saves gas, etc.)
- Freecycling
- Telecommuting
- Reading the magazines you just canceled for free
- Doing paid surveys
- Etc.
- J
{"commentId":1884193,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1885696,"authorDomain":"cswharton2001"}
I couldn't agree with you more! I laughed so hard when I read these tips I actually teared up!
Nothing new in this article or about these people. Remember when your parents used to clip coupons.
{"commentId":1885696,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"cswharton2001"}
{"commentId":1886817,"authorDomain":"bitchy-comments"}
If you live in a rural area, such as I do here in Southern Oregon, you NEED CABLE -- there's nothing else to do (besides type messages like this on the Internet). Here's a funny money-saving "tip": If you like prostitutes, go to RENO or VEGAS, find a "high-class HO", get her high on cocaine + Meth + BOOZE..........and she'll be so F***ED UP, that you can have her FOR FREE ! No Charlie Sheen $5,000.00 a night HOLLYWOOD MADAME'S 'ARRANGMENTS' HERE !!
Think of the Savings ! Why, that IDIOT Governor in NEW YORK should have done this more often..........and he's rich anyway ! But every Thousand Bucks per HO COUNTS !
{"commentId":1886817,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bitchy-comments"}
{"commentId":1967658,"authorDomain":"lab0826"}
Wow, no magazines, no books, no internet, no chips no soda, no nothing. What a boring life that will be! If we stay home more, to save money(which we do!), then you have to have something to entertain yourselves. Internet is crucial these days...as someone else said, you can shop online, and that saves gas, and energy. As for dumpster diving, its great, my father has been doing it for years! We have always gotten the greatest stuff from the trash piles. Vacuum cleaners, VCR's(back in the day), television sets, etc...My favorite find of his was a large wooden bookcase that I kept in my room for years, it was beautiful, he only had to repair one door on it. We have recently signed up for NetFlix, so the movies come to us.....again, saving on the gas, yet still having entertainment at a lesser cost than going to a movie theater. Anything is possible!!! Have a great dumpster diving weekend!!
{"commentId":1967658,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"lab0826"}
{"commentId":2152683,"authorDomain":"suzy-brewer"}
AMEN. I was getting on here to post the same thing, as a dietitian, skip the chips, soda, ice cream, and pizza and use that money to buy more wholesome foods, because in the long run it will save you money on doctors bills. That's an act of frugalness that will be evident YEARS down the road.
{"commentId":2152683,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"suzy-brewer"}
{"commentId":1881414,"authorDomain":"green-1"}
My wife and I heat our home about 90% with wood salvaged from construction dumpsters. In addition, I have built tables, shelves, work benches, potting benches, and simple furniture from dimension lumber and plywood acquired from dumpsters. I estimate that I have several hundred dollars worth of redwood waiting for appropriate projects. I have also found tools, tape measures, ladders, nails, deck screws, plastic pails and other used but still useful items. When I had a desk job, all my dress shirts and neckties came from thrift stores. Our house has solar panels, solar hot water heater, and a wind generator. We are debt free. I have not yet expanded to diving for food or clothes, but would have no problem doing so. Peak oil, climate change, food shortages. America needs to lose our sense of entitlement and start living more like the rest of the world.
{"commentId":1881414,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"green-1"}
- 2 votes
#7 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:29 AM EDT{"commentId":1889952,"authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
My wife and I heat our home about 90% with wood salvaged from construction dumpsters.
Cool that you reuse wood. I am curious as to using it for heat, though. I thought most commercial wood was treated with pretty noxious chemicals.
-J
{"commentId":1889952,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1881512,"authorDomain":"monica-2"}
My husband has been dumpsterdiving for years. He worked on Miami Beach until he retired and he used to bring home items such as name brand jeans, socks, shirts (all new). Items from a prop shop for house decor and the list goes on. Now our son also is diving. He works on yachts and he would dumpster dive in the area of boatyards and pick up items to sell at the Marine fleemarket. He always made about $2500 each year.
One year when the boys were small we went behind a bakery on Christmas Day! The boys and my husband were in the dumpster throwing out sweet rolls, etc -- this was to bait the pigs that my husband was going out to hunt for. A couple drove by and slowed down and I heard them say, "oh those poor people look what they have to do to eat on Christmas Day! I cracked up with laughter!
I agree, it is exciting what you can get for FREE!
{"commentId":1881512,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"monica-2"}
- 1 vote
#8 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:44 AM EDT{"commentId":1881532,"authorDomain":"karistrickler"}
I agree with VTpackman---This article was ridiculous! How many times do we need to hear the "Don't buy a latte every day" story? It's getting old and we aren't doing it anymore! Who needs to be told not to buy celebrity rags or not to eat chips? Give us something we haven't already been doing for 2 years!
{"commentId":1881532,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"karistrickler"}
#9 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:47 AM EDT{"commentId":1881602,"authorDomain":"dragndust31858"}
Finally recognized and vindicated! Too bad stores around here fenced, and locked up their dumpsters a long time ago, but I do what I can. In my case, I think this behavior started in childhood. Who didn't sneak into a neighbor's yard for an apple, tomato, or a piece of rhubarb?
It wasn't hard to get into this habit living in a state with a can deposit. Twice a year (before and after mowing season) I "do the ditches". During the month of April, I picked up about $300. This was added to my funds to purchase my 115mpg scooter, which allows me to leisurely cruise the country roads, and snatch the mid-year cans from the jaws of the roadside mowers :)
The scooter saves gas on nice days. When it rains, I'm forced to drive my 40mpg Toyota Tercel, but the car also comes in handy during Spring and Fall curbside pickup. I've managed to cram a household of furniture in and on the poor little thing.
Warning: these habits are quite contagious. My father dove a bank's dumpster to find they'd discarded several perfectly good computers, printers, and other office equipment. At 75, he walks several miles a day "pop canning" and has two large coffee cans full of change picked up along the way.
I'll never forget my daughter visiting from out of state. I brought the car to a sudden stop, and she sunk low in the seat with embarassment, as I rummaged through a pile of stuff. After she saw what I brought back, it became a family affair. When it got dark she wanted to run home for flashlights :)
Someone else mentioned water heaters. I cut $22 off my electric bill by shutting off the heater, and only turning it on long enough for a shower, and dishes. I've found the water will stay hot enough to sponge bathe for a week and a half.
Some may say this isn't a lot of money, but I've always said there would come a day when the "average American" would come to "us" for our expertise, and that day is here.
Dumpster divers rule!
{"commentId":1881602,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dragndust31858"}
- 1 vote
#10 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:56 AM EDT{"commentId":1881615,"authorDomain":"dixiebooks"}
Tip for those considering diving: If you use office supplies, try diving behind office supply stores. You'll be amazed. I once picked up a brand new 2-drawer file cabinet/safe made by Sentry, complete with paperwork and keys. Also, for the eBayer's out there: if you need packing supplies try shops that sell furniture and home-decorating things. Their dumpsters will be full of bubblewrap of various sizes as well as packing peanuts.
{"commentId":1881615,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dixiebooks"}
#11 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:57 AM EDT{"commentId":1881618,"authorDomain":"dragndust31858"}
Finally recognized and vindicated! Too bad stores around here fenced, and locked up their dumpsters a long time ago, but I do what I can. In my case, I think this behavior started in childhood. Who didn't sneak into a neighbor's yard for an apple, tomato, or a piece of rhubarb?
It wasn't hard to get into this habit living in a state with a can deposit. Twice a year (before and after mowing season) I "do the ditches". During the month of April, I picked up about $300. This was added to my funds to purchase my 115mpg scooter, which allows me to leisurely cruise the country roads, and snatch the mid-year cans from the jaws of the roadside mowers :)
The scooter saves gas on nice days. When it rains, I'm forced to drive my 40mpg Toyota Tercel, but the car also comes in handy during Spring and Fall curbside pickup. I've managed to cram a household of furniture in and on the poor little thing.
Warning: these habits are quite contagious. My father dove a bank's dumpster to find they'd discarded several perfectly good computers, printers, and other office equipment. At 75, he walks several miles a day "pop canning" and has two large coffee cans full of change picked up along the way.
I'll never forget my daughter visiting from out of state. I brought the car to a sudden stop, and she sunk low in the seat with embarassment, as I rummaged through a pile of stuff. After she saw what I brought back, it became a family affair. When it got dark she wanted to run home for flashlights :)
Someone else mentioned water heaters. I cut $22 off my electric bill by shutting off the heater, and only turning it on long enough for a shower, and dishes. I've found the water will stay hot enough to sponge bathe for a week and a half.
Some may say this isn't a lot of money, but I've always said there would come a day when the "average American" would come to "us" for our expertise, and that day is here.
Dumpster divers rule!
{"commentId":1881618,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dragndust31858"}
#12 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:58 AM EDT{"commentId":1881634,"authorDomain":"bpartoens"}
I started dumpster diving several years ago when I was diagnosed w/ a chronic disease and my husband lost his job because the company he worked for let people over 40 years old go ,or those who had ill family members go(a memo said these employees drove the cost of the self funded insurance up and if they continued aging or being ill they would be fired). I did it for the aluminium cans so we could pay the hospital and Dr. bills that the insurance said they would pay and then rescinded on. Aluminum has tripled in price in the past 3 years in our part of the country so it really helps. I was able to pay off the bills in a year. While getting the aluminum I have found all sorts of great items from unopened perfume and cologne,clothing--many w/ tags on,new and gently worn shoes,crutches(my husband is awaiting knee surgery so that is a great find), to furniture and occasional food.I take almost any item if it is great shape and give it to several local charities. Sometimes the item needs only a button or to on it so I fix it up and give it to a shelter. I made enough money last year finding aluminum that my husband and I went to Belgium in April to see a specialist(Dr.), in the disease I have and we are now moving over there(I made money for the trip, not the move but $1,800.00 in aluminum cans is good). Last night I found a brand new (tags and all)wallet for my husband while at the library(in the trash can next to the library). It is amazing what people discard. Why not donate it if you can't use it? Often I have my 13 year old help me clean up the side of a road to get aluminum and we find amazing things there that people hurl out of their windows.
{"commentId":1881634,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bpartoens"}
#13 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:01 AM EDT{"commentId":1881914,"authorDomain":"dialmedelina"}
Hey if OSHAMO is Pres. he will lead us the Jimmy Carter way:
Eat Less, don't drive, freeze or fry in our homes! I'm in! How 'bout you? The rich just stay them same.
{"commentId":1881914,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dialmedelina"}
- 1 vote
#14 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:35 AM EDT{"commentId":1882980,"authorDomain":"mearth1961"}
Please don't inject your political opinions into this thread.
{"commentId":1882980,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"mearth1961"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1894495,"authorDomain":"amazinggrace21"}
If you do not like it please feel free to turn off your computer Amazing grace 21
{"commentId":1894495,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"amazinggrace21"}
{"commentId":1881922,"authorDomain":"jade-ranes-b"}
I would like to see a story on how single people like myself can REALLY save money. I don't go to Starbucks (I don't drink coffee), or the movies, or out to eat or out to drink. I have student loans and medical bills and am bringing home less than $28K per year.
The area I live in is pretty high (rent wise), but it is safe (VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AFTER LIVING IN A HIGH VIOLENT CRIME NEIGHBORHOOD FOR YEARS). My car is 7 years old, paid for. I also live only 5 miles from where I work. I cannot bike to work as I live in Texas and already we have 100 degree days. We also do not have public transportation here or car-pooling.
I was my clothes in cold water, only run the dishwasher at night (off peak hours) & try to keep the thermostat at 78. My PC stays off iclusing teh surge protector until I am ready to use as does my TV and DVD player.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreicated.
{"commentId":1881922,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"jade-ranes-b"}
- 1 vote
#15 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:36 AM EDT{"commentId":1882090,"authorDomain":"dialmedelina"}
Sorry to say there may be no suggestions except you need have a $60,000.00-$90,000.00 a year paying job to keep up with daily expenses of today. If the rich OSHAMO is Pres. He would never understand what it is like to try and live on $28,000.00 a year, sorry but he does not feel our pain.
God Bless and God Help America
{"commentId":1882090,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dialmedelina"}
{"commentId":1882605,"authorDomain":"cb980"}
Good grief....we blame the government for everything....now we have someone blaming someone who isn't even president yet....but he will be...and what a mess he has to clean up from obviously your favorite party!!!!
{"commentId":1882605,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"cb980"}
{"commentId":1889995,"authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
Jeez Frosty... completely pointless observation twice now' do you have Aspergers* or something?
-J
(*) apologies if that's slighting anyone with Aspergers. I wouldn't want to be compared to the poster either
{"commentId":1889995,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"josh-of-arc"}
{"commentId":1894437,"authorDomain":"codfish4"}
Medical bills are always a good way to go broke. Without getting personal, do pay attention to the drugs you use. Of course use generics, but also note that doctors use new fancy medicines when simpler medicines work as well. A friend was given one of the of new pain killers for a short term at five dollars a pill. The new pain killers were developed for long term use meaning the pain killer could have been a simpler and cheaper analgesic. Doctors sometimes prescribe way too many procedures and tests, when actually a good internist should be able to use their experience instead of lab results.
You live in a high rent area? In what type of area, all rentals apartments or subdivided homes? In some areas, you can get a break on the rent if you do minor chores around a subdivided home which saves the landlord who lives downstairs to save money too. In some apartment complexes, police officers are giving free rent to live there. Can you provide similar protection or are in the security field?
{"commentId":1894437,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"codfish4"}
{"commentId":1882004,"authorDomain":"bluebayou24"}
This article reminded me of a friend I used to have, I say used to because he died of cancer a few years ago. We called him Grandpa even though he was only a few years older than the rest of us. He was one of those people with the Midas touch. He found bargains and free bees just by being at the right place at the right time. He use to go dumpster diving. I remember him finding a pair of sneakers and they were in great condition and his size, what a find....well when he puts his hand inside the shoes he found a box with a set of diamond wedding bands! One time he found a bust of Jesus which he kept. We always used to tease him about finding Jesus in the dumpster....before anyone freaks out over that cute statement it was meant with love and personal between friends. Living in a rural community you have to take your trash to the county dumster. You'd alway find people sitting there in their lawn chairs chit chatting and waiting for someone to throw out "their" next treasure.
{"commentId":1882004,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bluebayou24"}
- 4 votes
#16 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:45 AM EDT{"commentId":1882008,"authorDomain":"bdreinv"}
More ideas to save money, wash your own car, change your own oil. When grocery shopping buy only whats on sale, wall mart honors all competitor grocery adds in Phoenix.
{"commentId":1882008,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bdreinv"}
#17 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:45 AM EDT{"commentId":1882156,"authorDomain":"dawnikki"}
There are good and bad things about DD. My step-dad has done this since I was a young kid. I got food poisoning more times than I can count. The shoe store would throw out 100's of pairs of shoes, but they would slash the sides with a razor blade to make them unusable. Lucky me, step-dad would take a hot glue gun and seal up the slash mark. My favorite was in middle school when my school bus was driving by the grocery store dumpster and someone on the bus called out to me, "Hey, isn't that your dad"? He was straddling the bin with food in his hands. It was such a pathetic sight, the whole bus became silent and no one ever said a word.
{"commentId":1882156,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"dawnikki"}
- 1 vote
#18 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:05 PM EDT{"commentId":1882167,"authorDomain":"mewieland"}
Check out books, magazines and flicks from the public library. Look into free (or highly reasonable) yoga and excercise classes at neighborhood churches and parks. Bring your lunch to work every day. Plant a vegetable garden and enjoy fresh food all season. Lots of local garden clubs around, members love to share seeds, plants, recipes, etc. Buy in bulk with friends, relatives and split up the goods. Walk everywhere you possibly can. Great way to stay in shape will conserving fuel. Open the windows and let in the fresh air when it gets too warm. There are plenty of ways to cut corners in these hard times.
{"commentId":1882167,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"mewieland"}
- 2 votes
#19 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:06 PM EDT{"commentId":1882334,"authorDomain":"alaskadan2k"}
I use a bit of a different approach when trying to save money. Instead of cutting down on this and that, I watch what I spend and like to use a coupon and shop online whenever I can. Prices are so much cheaper online and coupons make things an even better deal. Sometimes I buy coupons off of ebay.com (yes, they sell coupons there). Other times, I use sites like daddyodeals.com to find deals I wouldn't normally have known about.
{"commentId":1882334,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"alaskadan2k"}
#20 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:26 PM EDT{"commentId":1882397,"authorDomain":"knuchly2"}
We've gotten clothes, furniture, bedding, kitchen/household items and even original artwork from apartment dumpsters.
Here are 2 tips I haven't seen on here. Though I bet the previous posters already do these.
Frugal vacation souvenirs: I once saw a family buying local t-shirts at the thrift store I was working at. Instead of those tacky tour shop shirts they were local high school and local sports and businesses shirts. As well as local artwork.
Get to know your thrift shop employees. If they know you come in once a week or so and know you are needing something in particular they might hold it for you. We walked in one day this year while I was still pregnant and they GAVE us a giant garbage bag full of baby clothes, and held back a double stroller for us which we paid only $5 for. About 25% of the clothes were still brand new and many still had store tags.
Make your own pizza. It's actually very easy and you can use up leftovers as toppings.
{"commentId":1882397,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"knuchly2"}
- 1 vote
#21 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:35 PM EDT{"commentId":1882653,"authorDomain":"pcm44"}
Although it's not a question of frugality with me, when I travel I always try to look for a t-shirt that promotes something more local than just the town I'm in...I call it "indigenous shopping" and I think it's plain cooler than buying a mainstream cheesy t-shirt.
{"commentId":1882653,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"pcm44"}
{"commentId":1882405,"authorDomain":"blryan2003"}
I agree with the Texan, I live in rural WV and there is no public transportation, let alone biking trails. I do all of the things like coupon clip, buy off brand and lower the thermostat. However, I would like to know how to save more money and the environment at the same time, which by the way is not "giving up chips" or "dumpster diving".
{"commentId":1882405,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"blryan2003"}
#22 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:36 PM EDT{"commentId":1882408,"authorDomain":"lynn3309"}
If you live in an apartment, be sure and look at your dumpsters there. In one complex, I got a pair of wonderful namebrand stereo speakers someone had tossed. The pretty Martha Stewart shower curtain I used in that apartment was also rescued from the same dumpster. All I had to do was launder it. I never buy baskets for my plants; too many people throw them away. In my present apartment community, I recently got a complete stereo, which works well, from the garbage. It smelled of cigarette smoke but I simply sprayed it with Lysol and its now OK. Last month, I found a huge box of nice clothes. I took the garments I couldn't wear to Salvation Army but kept the items that were my size; in fact, I recently wore one adorable dumpster dived, name brand knit top to a job fair and no one knew the difference. A college kid moved out and left his furniture by the garbage. I was able to carry a nice little entertainment center piece to my apartment. I later saw the same thing at Wal-Mart selling for $97. I have a very nice pole lamp I fished out of the dumpster; I just had to purchase a shade for it. I walked my dogs one day over to the next complex and someone had left a box of brand new paperback romance novels there. After reading and enjoying the books, I traded them at the local used book store for $11 in credit. Someone else also left a perfectly good computer chair and some shelves by the dumpster over there. The computer chair is upholstered and would cost about $100 or so. Yesterday I retrieved a Sterlite drawer, still taped up, and saw the same thing selling at Target for $10. When the college kids go home, or when leases are up, are the best time to find these things but I keep my eye out for stuff every day. If I can't use 'em, I'll give 'em to charity -- that way it's helping the environment by keeping stuff out of the landfill.
{"commentId":1882408,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"lynn3309"}
- 1 vote
#23 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:37 PM EDT{"commentId":1882907,"authorDomain":"bluebayou24"}
I couldn't agree more! If everyone realized that recycling doesn't just mean putting things in the neat little green bin for the collectors to pick up but that what you don't want anymore could be the exactly what someone else needs. We have a little church in the woods that has a "closet" for every one, clothes..furniture..appliances..it's all free. If you've been blessed to have enough excess to through out...put in your curb for someone to pick up or donate it!
{"commentId":1882907,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"bluebayou24"}
{"commentId":1882472,"authorDomain":"HollyZee"}
My particular branch of the family was always poor, and I've stayed that way. Long ago I went the Thrift-Store way to buy clothing and household items for myself and my son.
A number of years ago I did some Dumpster Diving, but nowdays I'd never get my body back out of the bin. Remember the old saying "Skinny Dip"? Well, these days I "Chunky Dunk" but suspect things are going to get a lot tighter before its all over and I'll be slipping back into those Skinny Dipping ways.
You can find Designer clothing at Thrift Stores, you just have to look. Newer Thrift Stores may not have knowledgeable people working the back rooms. Check and see what the prices run. Some Frugalist are sharp about jewelry, and look through the "jewelry" very carefully....even there people will dispose of a surprising amount of good stuff....they think poor old Aunt Julia didn't have anything but "costume" junk.
I don't know the laws about Dumpster Diving in my community and need to find out, but we sure do have a number of Thrift Stores. And Second-Hand Book Stores is the only way to go for reading material.
Turn off all the extra light, cut down on the Air-Conditioning. I let the house stay pretty warm before I turn it on. As for giving up things...I've given up a lot of things I'm not even concerned about now..I don't have a car, just keep up my Drivers Liscense for identification.
I'm happy to have found a place that presents Frugal Living in a positive light and then proceeds to tell you how to do it.
Thanks.
HollyZee
{"commentId":1882472,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"HollyZee"}
- 1 vote
#24 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:45 PM EDT{"commentId":1882549,"authorDomain":"ccase491"}
Personally I think it is a SIN for this country to be so wasteful and just throw perfectly GOOD food and items away, one of the reasons prices are so high for anything, is that stores, have to hike the price up to offset their cost of items that don't get sold, and get thrown out,,, let's open up our minds and think of alternative ways of meeting both the retailers and consumers needs, I see nothing wrong with using food that is still eatable keeping it from going to waste. Here is a Frugal Tip... if you use that high price LEAVE IN hair conditioner... substitute a national but cheaper CREME RINSE, put 1oz to 7 oz of water, put in spray bottle shake well and use on hair in AM to detangle and condition ... no need worry about if it will harm hair or leave it oily, most products now-day have no oil. I have been using this for years on my daughters very long hair and it always looks great, smells nice and hair is in great condition even though we only wash her hair 2 X a week.. pennies vs Dollars.. And I use plain old cornstarch baby powder lightly as a makeup setter and powder,,, I am not willing to pay 15.00 for mineral finish powder or any other high price cosmetic poo poo!
{"commentId":1882549,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"ccase491"}
#25 - Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:53 PM EDT{"commentId":1884030,"authorDomain":"babsinny"}
there is no harm it works great I did it for my kids when they where little 3 buck where I made mine for 10 cents
{"commentId":1884030,"threadId":"276542","contentId":"1532808","authorDomain":"babsinny"}
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