I've had a storage unit for a couple of months because my daughter and I are moving again and you would be surprised what people leave next to the dumpster at the entrance to the storage building ,simply because they don't want to move it or use it anymore. We found a tall bronze floor lamp with a glass shade, a bamboo end table, a Fat Chef cutting board, a poster of a medieval galaxy as in Copernican old timey astronomy, a Chinese lantern, a bouquet of fake pussywillows, and a push broom. Someone else picked up a deli meat slicer and some picture frames that a storage tenant didn't want. If you happen to be renting a storage unit during your move, take a moment to check out the freebies that tenants put out simply because they don't want to move them.
It is amazing what people will leave behind because they do not want to deal with lugging it around. People often will leave items on the curbs near where I live and put signs that say free on them. I have found some neat things before when I have stopped to look through the piles. You also do your part by making sure the items do not go to the landfill.
I recently found a great resource for building your own stuff. I may be a little late to the party on this, but Ana White has a site with tons of great, free, plans for building furniture. They actually look do-able. I love the idea of making my own instead of putting out gobs of cash for cheaply made junk. If I remember correctly, she even built her own kitchen cabinets. She's kind of my new hero, ha ha.
Neat tip! What's more amazing is when you find out that the stuff they just left turned out to be rare collectibles or antiques which you could then sell for a hefty buck. I used to watch storage wars and you could never know when a seemingly ordinary piece of furniture turns out to be a rare item that collectors would buy from you.
I always hear about stuff like this, but I've never personally come across it. I've seen some absolutely beautiful "roadside rescues" on various blogs, and probably on Pinterest as well. I'm never that lucky. Some of that stuff is almost too good to be true. Like lovely antiques being tossed aside. I'm envious of their finds and your finds. I want to find some trash to treasure stuff too!
