in praise of garbage picking
Check out this winner of a Readymade garden makeover contest — all the pieces were scored from the street or from friends. I’m not sure about the astroturf-covered couch (looks scratchy) but I love the idea of repurposing an old metal wheelbarrow as a firepit. (The usual warnings about making sure it’s free of hazardous paint would apply.) I am a diehard garbage picker myself — just today I brought home an umbrella-shaped outdoor clothesline someone had put on the curb. I also recently rescued a retro outdoor chaise that just needed a little re-webbing and a sturdy wooden bench that was once in a dentist’s waiting room. What’s greener than reusing something that someone else put out on the curb — and what’s more fun than seeing the potential in someone else’s trash? –Mary T.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:11 am
Please let us know where you find webbing. I have a chair project just waiting to be finished.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:32 am
I too, am a scavenger- if it’s free: I love it!! Plus I’m totally stealing the wheelbarrow as firepit idea. We scored a free rusted out wheelbarrow with a flat tire. What providence!
August 21st, 2009 at 8:40 am
Priscilla, I bought mine on eBay. I aim to have a webbing how-to on here one of these days!
August 21st, 2009 at 11:58 am
haha. i thought the last issue was kinda weak, but my favorite thing in the whole issue was the tiny pic of the wheelbarrow fire pit. love it!!!
August 21st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Where are these mysterious places where people put salvagable goods by the side of the road, free for the picking?
Where I live, if there’s a chair by the road, it’s saving the parking spot of the guy who shoveled it – don’t touch the chair if you value your life!
August 21st, 2009 at 7:38 pm
“Garbage picking”? No, no. It’s officially called “Dumpster Diving!”
August 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 am
I love “re-purposing” other people’s hand offs and in addition to keep an eye on the trash piles as I pass, always scroll craigslist for Curb Alerts
August 24th, 2009 at 5:01 am
[...] 1) A great idea shines through even in a small photo. Ita-darling says of Readymade: “i thought the last issue was kinda weak, but my favorite thing in the whole issue was the tiny pic of the wheelbarrow fire pit. love it!!!” See it here. [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 6:31 am
[...] market cornered on those). I’ve also seen them at the eBay) and used it to re-web vintage or discarded webbed chairs I’ve found at yard sales or on the street. Re-webbing is easy — believe [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 11:57 am
This is so NOT a good idea with the resurgence of bedbugs.
January 7th, 2010 at 5:08 am
[...] already confessed to being a garbage picker, but here’s someone who has me beat: LeChatCrochet. She’s the very definition of [...]