Trash Walking

As my previous post might have suggested, I have trouble not hauling home usable items I see put out for the trash truck....
Several years ago I had the opportunity to visit friends temporarily living in Tokyo. They had an apartment in the suburbs of the city, where nearly all of the housing was in what I would call medium to large apartment buildings. One thing about apartments in Japan, though, they seemed to all have balconies... which I think is an apartment life life-saver. It makes the apartment seem much less like a college dormitory, and having a personal door to the outside air is a wonderful cure for claustrophobia. These balconies are an important energy saving device too, since they were used to dry laundry.
Anyway, my friend had found the best motivation for a brisk walk every morning! She would check out the dumpsters for treasures as she circled the neighborhood. Apartments are small in Tokyo, and there is no storage space for extra belongings. There didn't seem to be any demand for second-hand items, either, so the only thing to do with unwanted kitchenware and decorative items was to toss them into the trash. If one piece of a set of dishes was broken, the rest were thrown out, it seemed. My friend did not have to ask me twice if I'd like to come along on her rounds. This was the first and only time I have looked forward to exercise! We found such great stuff! Some days, we could hardly carry it all back. I didn't end up spending much on souvenirs on this trip, but I still had trouble getting all of my treasure packed into my bags for my return. Here is one set of plates that I brought home from Tokyo. They were recently hung in my new "yellow room". I don't know how many were in the original set, but five is good enough for me. They all have gold metallic accents, and three of them have birds in the design along with the flowers. So, you know I think they are fabulous. Thank you Brenda, for a great time in Tokyo! Every time I think about going back there, I think...well, if I'm staying in a hotel...how can I dumpster dive?

Comments

[tess1960]

Oh Linda, how beautiful. I can just imagine how gorgeous these plates are on your wall. My youngest daughter and son-in-law live in a college town so you can imagine the dumpster-diving going on there. They have furnished an entire living room for friends with kids that had expanded their family and moved to a bigger place, not once but twice. I laughed so hard when my son-in-law told me about the wonderful chair the two girls took turns carrying 5 blocks home because it was just perfect for her friend.
Dumpster-diving, with caution, is the ultimate going green. I have on numerous times set things out by my trash area to watch it disappear the same day. One man even knocked on my door and asked if he could have the whole box of books. I helped him load it!!