I loved this episode! What made it so funny is that they were not discriminating in what they choose to pick out of the trash -- everything was wonderful. And, that is the point: Is that object you just pulled out of the trash worth it upon close inspection and consideration? If not, you have to be able to throw the fish back in the pond! Or, you will end up surrounded by trash. I have dumpster dived upon occasion -- people throw out some great stuff -- and I would not be considered alternative at all. My last rescues were two dining chairs that I cleaned up and sold for $30 on craigslist within 15 hours of posting them. So, I will probably keep "picking."

My dad is a major dumpster diver. Weirdest thing he brought home? An orator's stand. "Where did you get it Dad?" His response "Don't worry about it - I saved them".

Flash forward 25ish years - I would get excited to take out the garbage because people leave things in the salvage pile. I've picked up numerous treasures: a stainless steel designer kettle, mid century scotch glasses, a clothing steamer, an authentic gucci handbag - oh, I could go on. Everything gets a good bleaching.

Alas, the new building I live in has strict rules again dumpster diving and salvage items. I miss those days.

BTW, I've heard so much about Portlandia that I'm going to go home and download a couple of episodes and see what all the hype is about.

So true. If I'm going to salvage, I'd much rather a) pay someone else to do the refinishing or b) purchase a refurbished item from someone who picks and fixes for a living.

I know too many people with half-finished projects or houses full of garbage and clutter because they're convinced they're going to turn that old skid into a planter or something.

I'm reading "The Art of Eating In" and just finished the chapter on "Freegans". I guess I'm too squeamish to EAT dumpster divings, even if the packaging and disposal bags are intact and everything is pristine, as sometimes is the case. But scavanging furniture, especially wooden furniture? Yeah, I'd do that. More likely through thrift stores, though, since diving in actual dumpsters for someone under 5' tall is a bit problematic!

I agree with a lot of this! I agree that DIY has a lot of hidden expenses and time costs. That's a big turn off, for sure.

I have a small disagreement, however, with how you value the time your spent doing it. It's suggested that you multiply your hourly working rate by the number of hours it takes to complete the project. That assumes that you would otherwise be earning that rate if not for the DIY project. I think that is a rare situation. Most people would not be earning extra hours on the job if they weren't doing a DIY project.

I do a variation of dumpster diving. Twice a year, neighborhoods have city cleanups that will take anything except cars. People put out great unwanted furniture and outdoor living items. Different neighborhoods have different pickup weeks. I am selective about the neighborhoods I cruise for good trash, and it hasn't been doused with food or icky waste.

I LOVE this show- SO funny!! I have found some amazing treasures dumpster diving, but I do think it can be a dangerous hobby for hoarders- haha!

Trader Joe's is the best place to dumpster dive! I'm serious. Go there at night after the store is closed and you will find so much great food there. It is a crime what they throw away on a daily basis.

@paperkite
Agreed about the time thing—I'm not going to be DIY-ing instead of going to work. And if I were going to DIY, I would hope it would be at least somewhat enjoyable. Then you can calculate how much money you're saving by not going to a movie or something instead. :p

Watch the Bizarre Foods San Francisco episode. They had a meal exclusively prepared off of foods from dumpster diving. Very interesting.

I agree you can find a lot of great things dumpster diving, or city clean-ups ("free day" is what they call it in my city), but please, please beware the bedbugs that can be lurking in unwanted furniture! Check everything thoroughly before bringing it into your home!
I hate to bring it up, but it's a reality and dumpster diving is part of the problem.
Just dive responsibly! :)

Reasons Why You Might Dumpster Dive or DIY

No. 4: Serendipity. Dumpster diving will sometimes yield things you hadn't considered as part of your "look" or interests, but you still find to be beautiful. Digging out some piece of industrial detritis or kitschy ephemera can take you in a whole new aesthetic direction that you never would have found if you'd stuck with retail shopping.

I used to be a much more confident dumpster diver (though never did the food thing) until bedbugs hit NYC. Now, not so much.

It's fine for furniture & the like, BUT:
The whole "freegan" thing is just people who can afford to buy their own food taking it from dumpsters rather than people who really need it to survive (or doesn't your town have any homeless?).

Dumpster Diving has gotten a lot easier since craigslist appeared. People will list free stuff, with a picture, and where it's been left. First-come, first serve. I got rid of a 7 ft tall aviary that way once in under 2 hours.

Pamela - your dad sounds just like mine! He brings all kinds of things home while "street shopping" and we even had a very embarrassing</B>, but defining moment involving Dumpster Diving (http://necessarypleasures.blogspot.com/2011/01/dirt-on-dumpster-diving.html)

I wonder if any of you have seen the documentary "Dive", about Freegans? I can certainly street shop with the best of 'em (and have even turned around and sold things I've found -- on Craigslist ... free $$!). But not sure I would ever eat out of a dumpster.

I have never physically entered a dumpster, but sanding down and repainting various castoffs (perfectly good wooden hangers my neighbor threw out, a Deco Revival buffet my mom inherited and hated, etc.) has always been worth it to me.

That said, I only DIY the good stuff and donate the rest to charity. I don't have room to hoard everything I find, nor would I want to keep it from someone who needs it more than I ever would.

Ugh. Freegans. I wonder if all the hipsters in Portland actually understand that Portlandia is making fun of them, not making them cooler...

Thanks badluck13, I was hoping someone would have mentioned that episode of Bizarre Foods here. That collective in San Francisco feeds thousands of homeless people (and anyone else who just wants a meal) with foraged vegetables and fruits collected from dumpsters.

No. Not for me. Someone in my high rise condo brought home a sofa found at the dumpster. Within a few days the entire building was infested with cockroaches. And it was so obvious where they had come from. It took months to get rid of them.

Hmm. I draw the line at dumpster diving for food, but I can honestly say that for three years of grad school, I never once bought furniture---everything was picked out of the trash or from the side of the road. I still oogle any furniture that's put out with the trash, just in case there's a treasure there.

@hellcat - That's what I'm afraid of!

I found this amazing chair on the curb in my parents' neighborhood, and I knew I could reupholster it but it looked absolutely destroyed and disgusting, and would have taken hundreds of dollars to reupholster (if the frame was in perfect condition, which it wasn't).

It was a beautiful mid century piece that someone unfortunately destroyed, but I'm glad I didn't take it off the curb.

Call me snobby but I just can't buy upholstered furniture from Craigslist, nor can I bear to snatch an upholstered piece from the curb. I think about it, but ultimately, logic prevails.

@SherryBinNH...I agree with you regarding dumpster diving for food. I don't think anyone who is on this website or who has enough money for a computer and the internet can't afford to buy food at a store or local market.

@lepidoptery @paperkite Brilliant comments, both. Your thoughts help me remember that just because someone states something with confidence ("Time is Money") DOESN'T make it true! An artist friend of mine gets a good percentage of her income by fixing up furniture & accessories and re-selling them on CL. I do sometimes wonder how much "per hour" she gets, but the ACTUAL truth of the situation is, she loves it. Yes, she could make more in a cubicle somewhere, but at what true cost?

As for my own anecdotes: my mother, relatively dignified but a "child of the depression," was a trashpicker (for you young 'uns, that's what we called them before there were dumpsters.) She even got the daily paper that day - it was amazing how many people put their unread newspapers directly into the trash. She scored things like a brand new stick-vacuum that required a $1 switch; brand new hairdryer that had shut off automatically (and temporarily) but the owner obviously hadn't read the instructions and thought it was broken; etc. etc. I feel I learned a lot!

Arrgh, overconfidently didn't "preview" my comment, which was supposed to read: "She even got the daily paper that WAY."

Using or repurposing other people's perfectly good cast offs can be a necessity, a hearty challenge, or just a simple pleasure. I have always been thrifty out of necessity, and I enjoy 'discovering' something of value to me. As far as food goes, SO much goes to waste, and dumpster divers are just the ones willing to scrape a bit of gunk off of something that doesn't look or smell perfect in order to use it. More power to 'em. I don't regularly dumpster dive, but recently cooked some tiny golden potatoes a friend had found in sealed packages in a dumpster. They were delicious and my kids devoured them. Who cares?

Generally I'm not a fan of dumpster diving, especially if it involves getting into a dumpster which I will not do. But, I live in Eugene Oregon where I went to college, just a short drive down I5 from portland. Here dumpster diving for college furniture is a right of passage. While most of our collected college furniture is now long gone I do have an amazing oversized wooden bookcase we found by a dumpster. My husband has sanded and stained it's rough edges and it still sits in our living room. The trick is time and location. The day college students move out at the end of a term in a college town is ripe for finding usefull furniture. My husband even grabbed a barely used backpack once and used it all the way through law school.

Food is one thing (yikes!), furniture is another! I have a standing monthly appointment with some friends, we get up at the crack of dawn, Zipcar a pickup truck, drive through the wealthy neighborhoods right before trash pickup. Literally every piece of furniture in my apartment, other than the couch (inherited) and the mattress were picked up off the curb. This includes: full rattan dining room table and 4 matching chairs, beechwood coffee table, matching dresser and side table, a vintage Bentwood rocking chair, matching midcentury-modern nightstands, a solid wood platform bedframe, a solid beech computer desk with a 1960s leather upholstered barber's chair (yes the foot pump works!!), a leather Moroccan pouf, a rolling TV cart that hides my cat's litterbox and the wireless printer, endless bookshelves including one mahogany one with beautiful carvings at the top and bottom, a big white sheepskin rug that I caught just as the owners were carrying it out to the curb, a set of two matching floor lamps in the trendy steel arch style, potted plants that are still alive, framed posters and original art on canvasses, and old metal street signs to decorate the walls.

Steer clear of the upholstered stuff (mold! bedbugs! cigarette smoke!) and look for solid wood in rich neighborhoods, especially in cities around the first of the month - you can nab so much excellent stuff for free, all it takes is a little cleanup, maybe a seat cushion, stain some wood to match if you have to, and bam, furnished apartment.

Um...no. I know everyone's values are different and people don't always throw things out simply because they are useless or past their "sell by" date. But the thought of pushing past all of the molded and ruined things to find a "treasure" just turns my stomach. I'd rather clip coupons, watch for sales, buy/cook in bulk so I don't waste or overspend on what I WILL use. Salvaging someone else's trashed food? No can do.

And I'm with whoever said they don't buy upholstered stuff off of Craigslist. I think there are just some times where new- or offered by someone you know and trust exclusively- is indeed better.

I have found amazing things while dumpster diving and curb crawling! For me, I could not put a price on the time it takes me, because I LOVE to refinish, refurbish, and renovate. It is something I would gladly PAY to do, anyway, so it is almost ALWAYS worth it to me.

I will NOT dumpster dive for food....gotta draw the line, somewhere. I also won't take a mattress.

I'm thrilled to take upholstered items if my upholstery skill level matches the item, or if the item is just so good that I just cannot leave it. In most cases, it's obvious that the item needs to be reupholstered, anyway. I have learned new skills while working on curb crawled items, without fear of "ruining" them, but, depending on what it is, I might take the item to a professional (I have found one such "moldy chair" that I was able to strip, repair, and treat, before sending it off to a pro for re-stuffing and button-tufting; and a metal phone table from the 50's that I took to a body shop to have the dings removed, and professionally painted). I've found great deals on upholstery fabrics, and in the end, my investment is still very little, compared to the thrill and pride I feel every time I look at or receive compliments on one of my rescued pieces of furniture, or other great items.

I am nowhere near brave enough to do that, nor would I ever want to. I knew several people in school who scored some great finds while curb crawling, however.

We should just bus all the dumpster divers to the houses of that TLC "Hoarders" show, and voila!, 2 problems solved!

a) I would argue your time is worth MORE than how much you make per hour.
b)There is a lot of value for a lot of people in stepping back from consumer culture. Not buying anything new, and contributing to all the waste that went into making that product. Not patronizing stores with sketchy labor policies sources. etc.

My boyfriend would bring home ANYTHING from the dump. I got rid of most of the junk after he passed away. My best DIY skill is writing the check, so I'll stick to buying a restored item from a tradesperson who knew what they were doing.