Empire of Scrounge

aluminum rule

2012-01-30T00:54:00.002-06:00

Useful range of finds today--useful for different purposes, that is.

For the local homeless shelter: a large backpack, a zip-up fleece jacket, and two thick cotton hooded sweatshirts.

For my local charity shop: two sweater dresses.

For who knows who at this point: two digital cameras with accessories.

For my scrap metal pile: a brass hookah and many feet of copper wire.

And for me: a vintage aluminum folding rule with brass fittings.

a toast to the 99%

2012-01-05T19:44:00.002-06:00

Over the past couple of months a dumpster that I hit regularly--one located on the edge of an old-money, well-to-do neighborhood--has been particularly productive. It appears that someone from that neighborhood has been doing some serious, ongoing mid-winter house cleaning, and then discarding the results in the dumpster. Today I hit the dumpster again--and, aha, there was the next housecleaning deposit.

Here's an abbreviated list of what I hauled home, most all of which is headed to our local homeless shelter or other charities serving the poor: Fifteen drinking glasses, minus two that were broken and one that featured a Coors Light Beer insignia (sorry, I don't pass on watery right wing beer advertisements). Two bowls. One plate. Two silverplated serving pieces. One Pyrex casserole dish with lid. Two home childproofing kits. One Garmin navigator set. One Nalgene water bottle (new in the wrapper, $18.50). Three cotton throws. Numerous children's books. Four pair of girls' shoes. Numerous items of girls' clothing, including a Hello Kitty tutu skirt. Countless girls' hair bows. One Okiedog child's scooter/cycle. Children's water floatie. Ski goggles. Patagonia belt. Silver belt buckle. A shopping bag full of fancy women's bras and undergarments.

And a bottle of 2003 Bell'Agio Chianti. Very nice--having a glass now, as I write.

So a toast: to putting the waste of the 1% in the hands of the 99%....

2011-12-30T18:04:00.002-06:00

More post-Christmas-present finds:
Enough bars of engraved soap (really? engraved soap?) to last me well into 2012.
Forty-eight assorted 'Twelve Days of Christmas' tea bags.
And a dumpster full of boxed invitation/thank you card sets.
So, well....thank you!

after Christmas sale: think green

2011-12-27T13:54:00.003-06:00

Among the items scrounged from the trash the day after Christmas:
Portable dvd player, binoculars, opera glasses, bag of European coins, Canon PowerShot camera, children's cowboy boots, plush bear that sings 'Sugar Pie Honey Bun'...and a reusable shopping bag featuring the slogan, 'Think Green'.

CBS Evening News Video

2011-12-25T13:06:00.001-06:00

Here's the story. Merry Christmas all!

Holiday Scrounge

2011-12-23T12:14:00.000-06:00

The CBS Evening News has been following Jeff around recently for a segment soon to air over the holidays. Thanks to the First Street Methodist Mission of Fort Worth for the heads up. We'll have the video clip link up on Jeff's Media Page as soon as it airs.

scrounging time

2011-12-19T14:27:00.001-06:00

Scrounged yesterday: Kenneth Cole watch, new in the box.

Reuters scrounges a few more facts from Jeff

2011-12-13T21:58:00.000-06:00

Texas professor is dumpster-diving urban Robin Hood http://reut.rs/vfkNgG

sparkly

2011-12-06T02:01:00.003-06:00

The empire of scrounge runs on its own rhythms; I just roll with 'em as best I can. For example: The past three days have been cold and rainy, not exactly a bicycle rider's delight. I've gone out riding and scrounging anyway, and three days in a row the empire has rewarded me with jewelry. Sparkly finds for grey days. Thanks, empire.

rhythm and light part 2

2011-11-14T01:14:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago we donate some scrounged flashlights and batteries to our local Occupy encampment. Friday, out on a scrounge ride, I come across a dumpster holding, among other things, eight pair of scissors, some 350 new camera, watch, and hearing aid batteries....and seven flashlights, most with fresh batteries and all but one in working order.

rhythm and light

2011-11-07T19:30:00.004-06:00

All sorts of good and useful items scrounged this weekend--children's clothes, tools, winter jackets--but for reasons of rhythm, one small item was my favorite. About to head out on a scrounging ride, I notice that one of the bathroom light bulbs has burned out. Ready to ride, I decide I'll replace it later--from my collection of scrounged light bulbs, of course. But at my second dumpster, maybe five minutes into the ride, I discover a discarded lamp with one of those long-lasting light bulbs still in it. Home again, I screw the bulb into the bathroom fixture. It works. Of course.

Some good news, for a change :)

2011-11-03T23:21:00.000-05:00

two wheel tubular bells

2011-10-17T19:49:00.002-05:00

Steps for a groovy Monday afternoon bike ride:

a. Early in ride, scrounge from curbside trash pile tubular bells and electric motor from old doorbell assembly.
b. Strap tubular bells and electric motor to rear deck of bicycle.
c. Spend the next hour and a half riding along, scrounging, and listening to harmonic echoes of wind blowing through tubular bells.
d. Arrive home and recycle electric motor.

inside

2011-10-12T22:23:00.003-05:00

Inside a small back pocket inside a purse inside a garbage bag inside a dumpster: $8.

A day later, inside a carboard box underneath a layer of leaves inside another dumpster: vintage women's jewelry and two vintage Elgin women's watches.

that's Mr. Sink Face to you

2011-09-09T15:13:00.002-05:00

Scrounged: 1950's pink sink.

You lookin' at me?

curbside ambush

2011-06-08T16:17:00.007-05:00

Out on a scrounging ride a couple of weeks ago I notice a big curbside trash pile--scrap metal, wood, plastic--and just visible to one side, an old bicycle. Turns out to be a trashed-out CyclePro Ambush, a good, basic mountain bike from the late 1980s; when I return to pick it up, the guy who's clearing trash tells me the bike's been sitting in his backyard since he moved into the house years ago.

Next step: take the bike down to my friend and master bike mechanic Rick at Colonel's Bicycles here in Ft. Worth. Over the course of a couple of afternoons, we (Rick, that is--I mostly just stand around and try to look useful) clean and rebuild the bike from second-hand parts. Front brakes, water bottle cage, water bottle, seat, and rear deck from my collection of scrounged bicycle parts. Touch-up paint, scrounged. Two tires left at the shop by a guy who was changing out the tires on his high-end mountain bike. Freewheel and front wheel from a bike found discarded down by the Trinity River and brought into the shop a while back.

Needless to say, the bike's already been out on some long scrounging rides. And as I soon as I log off this blog, it's heading out on another one.

three for now

2011-03-18T03:51:00.003-05:00

Three recent episodes in the empire of ccrounge:

1. Saved from a big rollaway in front of a house under construction: a very large, heavy aloe vera plant. Hell of a time getting the plant (and myself) down the rollaway's ladder and to the ground. So, a couple of the plant's leaves get broken off--which, after taking the plant home, repotting it, and watering it, I use on my various cuts and scrapes. Mutual aid, Kropotkin called it.

2. Advice from a guy I meet at a dumpster: 'Man, you scrap copper wire? Well here's what you do: burn off the coating, you'll get more for it. Burn it at dusk--not during the day, not at night--at dusk. That way they can't see you. So that's how you beat 'em on that one!' Appreciate the attempt to be helpful--not that I have any intention of following his advice. And don't you do it either.

3. When you find a bunch of trash bags behind an antique store, do you suppose you might dig in them and pull out...antiques? Yeah, that's right--apparently they cleared their store room of odds and ends. Now, I know I post too many lists of my scrounged treasures, so I won't do that here. I'll just say...it was quite a haul.

damn that dumpster smells good

2011-02-28T03:42:00.002-06:00

Good weekend of high-end scrounging--I won't bore you with all the details--but Saturday, I hit a dumpster that turned out to hold bottles (full or mostly full) of Arpege Lanvin, Coco Chanel Eau de Toilette, Jean Patou Eau de Joy, and Laura Ashley No. 1.

Then Sunday, a Junior Leaguer apparently decided to do some house cleaning--no, really, I'm pretty sure she was a Junior Leaguer, given that her Junior League membership book from last year was among the items she tossed. Wow--what a haul from that one dumpster. But I'll just say this: judging by the prices I've checked on web, the box in which her designer watch was packaged is worth more than any watch I own.

and every lock that ain't locked when no one's around

2011-02-21T04:00:00.003-06:00

This weekend, bicycling down an alley that I know well and hit often, I happen to notice that a big, always-locked dumpster for some reason today isn't. Climbing up over the top edge and in I discover...well...I'll try to keep this short: an electric edger, a pitchfork (new), a power poll saw (new), a four foot level, woodworker's clamps, locks with keys (new), a table vice, a cold chisel, storage hooks, paint brushes (new), parts cabinets, and more tools and parts than I'll bother to list. Oh yeah, and a garbage bag full of expensive men's clothes--some of which actually fit me--and many of which themselves seem to be new, since the store tags are also loose in the garbage bag.

No phone, no pool, no pets.

it's the most wastefullest time of the year

2010-12-27T01:26:00.002-06:00

Extra long scrounging ride today because it was the day after Christmas, and we all know what that means: the waste machine will have been cranked up into overdrive. Sure enough, all sorts of items found, most all new or like new, many still in their boxes or with the tags still on them: women's shoes, clothes, warm hats, wallets, luggage, artist's paints, sunglasses...and just for me, a nice little stainless steel 3 oz. hip flask.

And of course dumpster after dumpster stuffed full of Christmas wrapping paper and gift bags....ah, won't the landfills look nice in a few days, all flecked with Christmas colors?

Dig

2010-11-15T00:48:00.003-06:00

Old Case pocket knives; a gold filigree mechanical pencil c. 1920; a solid gold filigree medallion, 1906; a first-place medallion for the Junior 50 Yard Dash, Peoria Parks, 1928; a first-place tennis medallion, 1934; antique charm bracelet charms with tiny working parts--so many treasures pulled from a dumpster yesterday--or more to the point, pulled from bags and boxes stuffed inside other bigger bags and boxes and all buried beneath still other bags and boxes inside a overstuffed dumpster.

Climb in. Dig around. Find the past.

empire toast

2010-11-07T19:27:00.002-06:00

Some great finds over the past ten days or so. Last weekend, a single scrounging ride resulted in everything from saws, pocket knives and lanterns to luggage, sunglasses, and old cast iron dutch ovens. Yesterday's ride yielded ten cans of spray paint (useful for the art I create out of scrounged stencils and paint--you can see a couple of examples at www.culturalcriminology.org), plus a power sander (runs fine), bicycle pedals, and other goods.

The only bad news yesterday was accidentally leaving behind a scrounged water bottle during another ride. No matter--the empire is self-healing. Today I scrounged 4 more bicycle water bottles--and a high-end bicycle helmet, a Serfas bicycle saddle, Shimano bicycle shoes, and some Rudy Project bicycling shades. And three 'Debra Manikin' hair styling heads. And four polished pewter plates from the Dallas Safari Club. And an IPod docking station.

And a crystal wine glass. And twelve bottles of good wine.

Toast!

the real trickle down

2010-10-28T01:42:00.005-05:00

At the far end of one of the scrounging circuits that I regularly ride is a Goodwill store, with a couple of dumpsters sitting behind it. Over the last few months I've noticed something: more and more folks digging in those dumpsters. Talking with them, they generally tell me that they're looking for anything useful--of use to them or their friends or neighbors. [The other day a friendly older fellow also warned me about the broken glass in one of the dumpsters. Much appreciated.]

So, in contrast to the elitest myth of trickle-down economics, here we have the real trickle down, and doubly so. The recipient of used or no longer needed items, Goodwill itself sorts out those it can't use or doesn't need, and discards them. Meanwhile those who can't afford to shop for new goods, or even for the used goods at Goodwill, sort through a dumpster full of discarded discards....

sort of makes you want to take up sewing

2010-10-13T00:53:00.003-05:00

A long enjoyable bicycle ride on a beautiful fall day, but nothing much scrounged along the way--until, at the end of the ride, I spot a full roll away (big portable trash container) in the front yard of an old house that's being cleaned out. It takes a good bit of moving heavy trash bags and digging down through old mattresses, decaying newspapers, and the like, but the roll away yields all sorts of treasures, among them: a 1940s/1950s metal and heavy glass 'malted milk mixer'; a delicate little porcelain cup (somehow unchipped and unbroken); a big Modigliani and the Artists of Montparnasse art book; a bunch of old bowling patches, circa mid-1970s; and a package of Rocket brand sewing needles, perhaps from the 1950s, its cover a man and woman riding a rocket ship through outer space, her purse flying out behind, he holding his hat, and the earth glowing in the distance.

dumpster diver: the musical

2010-10-08T13:26:00.002-05:00

Hey, check this out:

www.dumpsterdivermusical.com

tools

2010-09-22T03:07:00.002-05:00

A week or so ago I pulled from a dumpster a whole bucket full of hand tools, some brand new. Tools are always on of my favorite finds--the gift that keeps on giving, to me and others.

Then yesterday, even better: Toward the end of a ride where I'd already scrounged some nice items for an upcoming charity yard sale, and a big load of copper wire, I found all sorts of old/antique tools scattered about in a dumpster. Specialized files, wooden handled screwdrivers, some sort of wooden shaping tools, even an old Ford Motor Co. wrench.

Oh yeah, and a nice Italian made switchblade, the blade dangerously sharp--and, unfortunately, stuck at the moment in the open position.

no, really

2010-09-15T02:20:00.002-05:00

So many good finds lately: cool black cowboy shirts, baseball gloves, old record albums....

But today, home from a long day of teaching, only time for a very short bicycle ride, just to stretch the legs out. I'll only be gone ten minutes, I swear, just a spin around the block. Really. I'll be right back....no time to scrounge.

Except that the one dumpster I look in, not six blocks away, turns out to be full of toss outs from a young woman of some privilege, it appears. So in I jump, and when I emerge a half hour later, I've scrounged purses, wallets, and Coach coin purses and make up bags. Clothes and scarves and Nike shoes and a big pile of jewelry. Soaps and shampoos and some eucalytpus and spearmint bath salts. Theatrical makeup and some sort of beaded flapper hat. And....

No, really, I'll be right back.

now buy some peace

2010-08-28T15:19:00.004-05:00

Some very nice finds lately, from scrap metal and old electric motors to bath soap, packages of cocktail napkins, magnifying glasses, women's tennis shoes, rolls of wall paper...and a cool blue and white striped cowboy shirt (that turns out to be just my size).

And yesterday, an inside look at the culture of consumption--a birthday card that I found amidst throw outs from a nearby retail store. 'Should I buy more stuff or leave more money to the kids?' the card begins, above a photograph of a woman shopping for clothes. 'Ha! I crack myself up!' it continues, and then inside the card, the punch line: 'Happy Birthday. Go Shopping.'

The inscription follows.

'Dear -----,
You already bought a car. Now buy some peace. I hope this next year is "your" year!
Love, -----'

Sunday on the Bike with Scrappy

2010-07-26T14:33:00.002-05:00

Among the fruits of a Sunday scrounge ride:

Five pair of like-new Air Jordan hightop sneakers (just the thing for my sore right ankle)

Nikon CoolPix camera (just the thing for ongoing urban photographic research)

runs nicely, weighs heavily

2010-07-19T16:27:00.003-05:00

Some finds from scrounging rides this past weekend:

Two pairs of Sancho boots, Spanish handmade, barely worn if at all (echoes of Dylan?).

1950s Singer sewing machine, green, in two tone green case. Runs nicely; weighs heavily.

Lowe Alpine Outback 60+15 mountaineering pack--soon to be delivered to the homeless shelter.

don't be looking in the trash...for America

2010-07-06T02:11:00.002-05:00

The true meaning of the 4th of July, discovered the day after.

Coming around the edge of dumpster I've just dived, I spot two police cars parked behind the liquor store next door. In the next moment, one of the officers is on his loudspeaker, warning me: 'Don't be looking in the trash'. I nod and bicycle away.

Arriving at the next dumpster a few blocks to the east, back to looking in the trash, I discover a handful of American flags, leftovers from yesterday's patriotic celebrations, stuffed in a black garbage bag among wet food scraps and plastic wrappers.

Don't be looking in the trash--you might find something.

my baby drove up in a Mary Kay Cadillac

2010-06-22T04:09:00.002-05:00

Scrounged: 57 bottles of Mary Kay Day Radiance Oil-Free Foundation, new in their little boxes.

I guess

2010-06-14T02:32:00.003-05:00

As you may recall from earlier posts, I do my best to avoid cars, trucks, gas, oil and related environmental disasters--and if I'm going to use any of these in relation to salvaging/trash picking, then I take the calculation of ecological harm vs. ecological help pretty seriously. So when on a bicycle ride yesterday I discovered a dumpster full of metal display racks, I thought about returning with my old truck to get them all--the dumpster was after all only a mile round trip from my house--but decided to just haul a couple home on my bicycle and leave the rest. Not worth even that much gas and oil.

Today, though, getting ready to load various accumulated scrap metal into my truck for a trip to the scrap yard tomorrow, I reconsidered, and decided to add the racks to the load. Returning to the dumpster, the racks were still there--but now so were working power tools (Skil saw, Ryobi hole/metal saw); a whole storage bin filled with packages of screws and nails; ratchet tie downs; a large carpenter's level; an outdoor extension cord; a trailer hitch; a prybar; and more.

In other words, a dumpster full of just the sort of stuff useful for someone who salvages materials, rebuilds broken castoffs, and hauls scrap metal. That Ryobi saw in particular I'll put to good use--I've been waiting to find one of those for years.

So, all in all, worth the mile's worth of gas and oil.

I guess.

Hi, my name is Scrappy

2010-06-08T02:23:00.003-05:00

Hi, my name is Scrappy, and after a long afternoon out scrounging in the sizzling Texas sun, I like to come home and clean up a bit. Maybe have a shower with a big, heart-shaped bar of gardenia-scented soap, imported from France. Wash my hair in Citre' Shine Shampoo--it's Nature's Prescription for Shine, you know. Brush my teeth with Colgate Anticavity Fluoride and Antigingivitis Toothpaste (Total Whitening Gel).

Product loyalty? Nah, it's just that I scrounged all three, new in their packages, on my ride yesterday.

Cool. Clean. Free.

13 of 30 minus one

2010-06-02T02:26:00.002-05:00

Some of the many finds over the past couple of days:

27 bandanas, new with the tags still attached (94 cents each, Walmart).
7 pair of flipflops, new, tags still attached.
13 cans of beer remaining in what had been a case of 30; sadly, one of the thirteen didn't survive the trip home on the back of the bike.

In the empire of scrounge there will be casualties.

send 'em to the Greeks?

2010-05-05T04:03:00.003-05:00

First, an update from the last post: Among the many items scrounged from that home clean-out were four or five garbage bags full of yarn, knitting supplies, knitting needles, patterns, and the like. So, we took all this to a local senior citizens' center, and now they report that they are busy knitting sweaters for homeless folks. Roll on, buddy.

More recently, another home clean out--another elderly woman passed away, I'm sorry to say, as I learned from her son, whom I met while pulling all manner of useful items from the big roll away dumpster in the front yard. He was gracious enough to encourage me to take whatever I thought could be of use to someone--and so I did. In fact, it took many trips back and forth to salvage it all.

And just yesterday: A dumpster holding what appeared to be the leftovers from a middle class family's move into a new home. It took a good bit of moving boxes and digging, but I managed to salvage bicycle shorts, water bottles, hats, a new wallet, a new box of thank you cards, and a few other items. Then I noticed one more box, wedged into the bottom of the dumpster, difficult to get to. My usual question: Dig for it or leave it? And my usual answer: dig for it. Pulling it open, it seemed to hold only crumpled wrapping paper, but upon grabbing out the paper...there in the bottom were two silver/silver plate jewelry boxes, a carved wooden box, and a photo-top jewelry box. And in them were a few small pieces of jewelry...32 British pence...and right at 7 Euros in bills and change.

What do you think--send 'em to the Greeks?

play it some more

2010-03-19T14:50:00.002-05:00

The day before yesterday I discovered a Dumpster full of trash bags containing the toss-outs from, it seemed clear, the home of an elderly woman (sadly, the amount of medications and medical equipment suggested the end of a life). So much there I had to call in a car--my bike couldn't handle it--and now I'm sorting through clothes, bins of yarn, glassware and the like, getting it all ready for the charities.

But a couple of items from the trash bags that I can't help keeping for myself--cultural treasures, at least to my mind: A 1930s Falcon Miniature camera. A Johnny Cash, 'I Walk the Line' album. A Chuck Berry 'Sweet Little Rock and Roller' album. And the slip cover from an early Jerry Lee Lewis mini-album (four songs). Black, red and yellow, the cover annonces 'the great ball of fire, Jerry Lee Lewis', and includes this quote from a fan:

'I play your record over and over until the record player gets too hot. Then I take it over to a neighbor's house, and we play it some more'.

you can never have too many...deal with it

2010-03-15T20:52:00.002-05:00

Some finds over the past week and a half:

Lightly used purses, new purses with the tags still attached, a Cole Hahn purse, more purses. Swiss army knife (in the Cole Hahn purse). Like-new hunting gear, including a down filled coat. Bars of soap, new. Sunscreen. Axe body spray. Craft scissors. Desk top clock. Women's black dress gloves. Women's red winter gloves, new. Women's jewelry. Nassau Bahamas fridge magnet ($4.50, new). A book on Modernist design. Women's clothes. Six Miller High Life beers (left two, hauled four home). Twelve Diet Dr. Peppers (left eleven, hauled one home). A cast iron sink so heavy that I had to build a makeshift ladder out of scrap to get it out of the Dumpster.

And amidst it all:

A plastic bag, 'Wink. Shoes and Accessories. You can NEVER have too many'.

And a women's 'Happy Bunny' cap, tags still attached ($12, Kohl's), 'It's all about me. Deal with it.'

Indeed you can't, indeed it is, and indeed I will.

love and loathing

2010-03-01T14:15:00.002-06:00

Two or three weeks ago I discovered a Dumpster jammed full of black garbage bags, each of them in turn stuffed full of a woman's discarded possessions. The bags contained so much high-quality merchandise--handmade books, designer clothes and shoes, kitchen and home furnishings--that after loading my bicycle and my bike bag, I left the remainder on display next to the dumpster in hopes that someone else might benefit. The items I discovered also made it clear what sort of person this woman was, or at least what sort of person she thought herself to be: Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama supporter, liberal, poet, lover of high-end consumer style.

A couple of days ago, digging into a Dumpster near this first one, I found other black garbage bags...and soon enough realized that she had been back with more. More handmade books, more poetry journals, and: six purses, six pairs of shoes (including like-new hiking boots and cowboy boots), scarves, belts, writing paper, cards and envelopes, designer writing pens, boxes of tea, pillow cases, kitchen towels...and a double pocketful of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, all inside those black bags.

Hey, I love you babe--so much good stuff that I'm now able to take in to the charities, and a really cool writing pen that I'm now using--and I hope to find the third installment soon, should you be of a mind to discard more. And hey, I loathe you--what an awful sort of myopic self-indulgence your waste reveals for someone who fancies herself a poet. An angelheaded hipster you're not.

I saw the best stuff of a generation locked away in Dumpsters, destroyed by the madness of consumption.

empire giveth

2010-01-31T01:14:00.002-06:00

Out on a scrounging ride today the time and temperature sign in front of some store or another says 31 degrees. Problem is my hands get cold and so I lose the fine touch needed to evaluate trash bags from the outside by feel. As a result I tear open a bag inside a dumpster and cut my finger on a shard of broken light fixture globe. Still, I'm finding some good stuff and don't want to have to stop, get my [scrounged] bike bag that I've left hanging on the handlebars of my [scrounged] bicycle, get out the [scrounged] bandaids...so I keep at it...but the finger is bleeding a bit worse than I thought, so I'm about to stop and get my bike bag...but let me just see what else is in this one trash bag...and there it is: a complete, self-contained first aid kit. Alcohol wipes. Bandaids. Gauze. Medical tape.

The empire giveth.

Afghan police

2009-12-23T01:38:00.003-06:00

With the number of people in need these days and the winter coming on, I've been especially on the lookout lately for warm clothes, blankets and the like--and so I'm pleased by the haul from my last three scrounge rides (Saturday, Sunday, and today--Tuesday). Today I found in a dumpster four trash bags stuffed with men's clothes, and managed to haul home wool sweaters, lined jackets, dress shirts, hoodies, jeans, and more. Saturday and Sunday I likewise scrounged a clean blanket and a fleece-lined windbreaker. Sunday's ride also turned up a package of permanent markers, a little wicker basket, balls of yarn, an Umbra fireplace set, a little wooden flute, Christmas ornaments--and a beautiful old Afghan throw, rows of multi-color flowers on a black background, carefully sealed in a plastic container and tossed into a dumpster. Also in the plastic container was a little note, written in what looks to be an old hand. Parts of it I can't make out, but here's what I can:

Dear Francine--
Handle this [ ] Afghan gently. It was my Grandmother Petershon's handiwork. It needs to be aired and probably patched. I have no idea how long it took for her to put it together. Everyone [ ] how to knit and crochet so there was probably lots of leftover "wool" to use!
Enjoy it!
Love--
[ ]

Riding home with the Afghan and the other scrounged items strapped to my bike, I got to thinking that there was a police car following me. Probably some mix of street sense and parnoia, since I've recently had a number of run-ins with the police while out scrounging. Worse, a friend told me that last week, after stopping his car to chat with me when he saw me out scrounging on my bike, a police officer pulled him over and asked if I'd been giving him any trouble, adding that "we've been having some problems with that guy."

As it turned out, my coordinates of paranoia and street sense were accurately attuned--a couple of minutes later a police officer tapped his siren and pulled me over. After some questioning he let me go--no criminal trespass warning like the one I was given a while back for looking in a dumpster on a medical campus.

But I swear, I'm not looking for problems--just warm clothes and the occasional Afghan.

quilts, dreams, probation

2009-12-12T20:41:00.002-06:00

Leaning into a dumpster today--one of those with sliding doors on each side-- pulling out some nice blank journal books and postcard sets, and realizing that there is much more to be had--many more white plastic trash bags, their sides poking out at sharp angles--always a good sign of boxes or books or picture frames.

And now I notice a face in the opposite sliding door openning, a woman about to toss in a bag of garbage, who pauses, smiles, and asks what I'm up to. I begin to tell her as I continue to pull out bags, and as it happens the next one turns out to be full of quilting squares.

'Oh my', she says, 'quilting squares! My sister is a quilter!'

'Then please take them,' I say. 'I'd give them away anyway, and it'll save my having to haul them home on my bike. And let me see what else is here.'

And so I climb into the dumpster and dig further, and it turns out that there are many bags of quilting supplies, fabric, quilting books, ribbon, lace, and the like. So I pull all of this out and give it to her, and all the while we're talking about how much America wastes, and she's promising me, 'I swear to God that none of this will be put in the trash again.'

By this time I've also noticed that she has a slight Spanish accent, and that she speaks in a remarkably calm, considered, and precise English. And now she tells me, 'Thank you so much--you've made my Christmas,' and 'God bless you--you are doing good work'.

So, as she's about to leave, I say from inside the dumpster, 'My name is Jeff--it's been a pleasure talking with you', and I extend my hand to shake hers, but then pull my hand back and say, 'Well, my hands are dirty, we probably don't want to shake hands'. But she extends her hand to me--extends it inside the dumpster that is--and says, 'My name is Bianca.' And with that she's off, and I'm back to openning bags inside the dumpster.

A few minutes later, her face reappears in the same sliding door openning.

'I'm sorry to bother you again, but I have a question: Do you ever get in trouble for doing this?'

I tell her that I do, and recount a couple of my encounters with police, and she says 'So, have they put you on probation?' I tell her no (not for dumpster diving, anyway), that it's been more like being ticketed for criminal trespass, or being banned from certain areas.

'Well, the reason I ask', she says, 'and you won't believe this, but I swear to God it's true, is that last night I had a dream that I was pulling figurines out of a dumpster, and then the police came and caught me, and sentenced me to 150 days of probation.'

'Well,' I say, 'the first part of the dream sort of came true, but not the second--not yet, anyway.'

And with that she's gone again.

damp vermin

2009-09-15T02:13:00.003-05:00

Dark and rainy here for the last three days solid. Rained for something like 35 straight hours. Then it rained some more. Darkly.

Out today on a bicycling scrounge ride--in the dark rain--I discovered two boxes of books in a Dumpster. I found myself drawn to certain of the titles, which I plucked from the boxes, wrapped in a scrounged plastic bag--to keep them out of the rain, you know--and hauled home. Among them: Conrad's Heart of Darkness; Camus' The Plague; Kafka's The Metamorphosis; and Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground.

Then when I got home, I awoke to find myself a large, damp vermin.

hard times

2009-09-07T03:13:00.002-05:00

Scrounged three different 'clean outs' today--my name for a collection of trash bags or items in a Dumpster that suggest someone has been cleaning out a garage, bedroom, cabinet, or desk. From the items scrounged, it appeared that I encountered, in order, a college student clean out, a middle class clean out, and an upper middle class clean out. Quite the variety of useful items as a result, from new Burt's Bees products, women's clothes, and an aluminum baseball bat to sunscreen, tea, gourmet coffee, and guitar picks.

Less useful but more revealing were the two empty Hermes boxes, tucked into a Hermes shopping bag along with accompanying receipts, found at the last clean out. One receipt--for $530--covered a 'handrolled scarf' and a 'scarfring'. The other--for $611--covered a muffler and twill tie.

Good to see the upper middle class sharing the burden of hard times.

The Recycled Home

2009-09-04T12:13:00.004-05:00

From the NYTimes, a profile on a scrounger extraordinaire: "To Dan Phillips, who constructs low-income housing in a town in East Texas, almost anything discarded and durable is potential building material... "

The story is accompanied by an excellent slide show, which starts here.

texas special

2009-08-31T20:57:00.004-05:00

My favorite recent find, scrounged from a Dumpster last Friday: a 1954 Lionel model train set. Above a photo of the engine.....making its way through a canyon of scrounged Indian cloth.

worth it?

2009-08-21T03:20:00.003-05:00

I take burning gas very seriously--as in, I pretty much try to avoid it. So even when I find so much stuff that I can't get it all home on the bicycle, I think hard and carefully about going back to pick it up in my old truck.

Out riding today, though, I discovered enough stuff in four nearby Dumpsters that I decided it was worth a return trip by truck. As it turned out that round trip to the four Dumpsters covered exactly 3 miles--and since my old truck gets about 15 miles to the gallon, my mental calculations tell me I burned 25.6 ounces of gas--less than a quart. Here's what I hauled home at the cost of those 25.6 ounces:

A seven drawer desk (minus the middle drawer). A big roof-top skylight, double-paned. Lengths of angle iron and six cast iron window sash weights. An aluminum shower stall. Two pieces of pegboard. An ironing board. An attic turbine. A large coil of copper pipe, insulated. Some other bits of scrap metal. And a reusable cotton 'World Market' shopping bag.

Worth it?

mine it

2009-08-18T04:36:00.003-05:00

Run to the scrap yard today: 200 pounds of tin, 25 pounds of aluminum, 25 pounds of copper.

Much of the tin and the aluminum came from a big roll-off that's been parked for a couple of months on the street in front of a high-end home remodeling project. At various times over that two months I've scrounged from this single roll-off enough beautiful cut sandstone to border my garden, hundreds of board feet of aged lumber, and two or three truck loads of tin, aluminum, copper, and brass. Today in fact, after the scarp yard run, I bicycled by and plucked out more: two heavy brass/copper faucet assemblies, some lengths of brass pipe, and an electric motor.

In the empire of scrounge you stake a claim, mine it till it runs dry, and then watch for the next one to come along.

scrounger clean

2009-08-10T02:35:00.002-05:00

Scrounged all sorts of good and useful items today: Cole Haan women's shoes and two men's wallets (destined for my neighborhood charity shop), travel-size shampoo and toiletries (destined for the homeless shelter), a half-full bottle of Danzka vodka (destined for my liquor cabinet). Two NFL bobble-head dolls (destined for who-knows-where). And of course more:

The three bars of Dial soap, the three bars of Dove soap, the bottle of Pantene shampoo, and the little tin of Burt's Bees Lip Balm. Not to mention the big new bottle of Body Essence Cucumber Melon Body Wash I scrounged last week, or the other scrounged bottles of body wash I have on hand; my selection of scrounged deodorants; my bewildering but usable array of scrounged hair care gels, waxes, and putties; or those bottles of Mint Revitalizing Conditioner, each priced at $16...tossed out and subsequently scrounged behind a hair care store.

Hey, I'm not squeaky clean. I'm scrounger clean.

trash throne

2009-08-05T03:16:00.004-05:00

Sunday I scrounged a hydraulic hair stylist chair from a Dumpster near...well, yeah, a hair salon. Looks about like the one on the right, except for a couple of minor nicks, easily enough repaired. Appropriate throne for the empire of scrounge, don't you think?

Heading out to pick up the chair in my old truck I also loaded in various metal discards that I had discovered in other Dumpsters and trash piles on an earlier bicycle ride, so today made a run to the scrap yard: 180 pounds of tin, 16 pounds of #1 copper, 32 pounds of brass, 16 pounds of aluminum clips.

Sittin' pretty in the empire.

London Scrounge

2009-07-30T20:01:00.001-05:00

Video and Audio: The BBC reports on why scrounging in London (skip diving) has suddenly taken off. The accompanying Web article contains a sidebar that cites Jeff Ferrell's "Empire of Scrounge" as "The ultimate skip diver's read."

Burberry, Bush, Obama

2009-07-30T02:11:00.003-05:00

Heading out on a scrounging bike ride today but I don't make it far. The first dumpster I hit, three blocks from my house, contains seven or eight white plastic kitchen trash bags filled with women's clothes, kids' clothes, jewelry, and accessories. I load my bike bag with some small items, ride home, come back in the old truck, and haul home the rest.

Among the items: Burberry cologne; Coach date book, new; Neiman-Marcus purse; countless t-shirts, warm up pants, and shorts; five or six large brooms; boxes of party invitations, new; and a Gap winter coat, in its pockets packets of Splenda, safety pins, a tube of Clinique lipstick...and $6.27.

Oh yeah, and a Bush/Cheney '04 t-shirt and an Obama for President '08 t-shirt.

Progress? Yeah, but for '12, how about this campaign slogan: Buy less, share more.

camo-chic revisited

2009-07-27T02:59:00.002-05:00

Among my finds the last couple of days: Twenty-six items of girls' clothing, like-new and freshly laundered, still on the hangers, thrown away in a Dumpster behind a row of shops. More Limited Too and similar brands, a couple of designer labels--and more camouflage chic, this time a Bongo brand skirt with pink detailing and sequins.

Coming soon: The AK-47 makeup kit.

chinese commodified camouflage chic

2009-07-24T03:01:00.003-05:00

Apologies for the alliteration--couldn't resist.

Two days ago pulled from a Dumpster a Limited Too brand bicycle bag/book bag. Camouflage green and brown with pink borders and a pink strap, a flower sewn into the front panel. Limited Too, but Made in China of course. So many signifiers: feminized commodified military chic globally produced waste. Full of other waste too when I found it: candy wrappers, sugar-free gum, tissues.

And in the front pocket: five one dollar bills, neatly folded and paper clipped together.

Hey, I can use that to buy beer. Wait a minute: I already have beer. The empire provides.

something's broken

2009-07-23T04:06:00.003-05:00

A few days ago pulled an electric fan from a trash bag tossed in a roll away. Apparently thrown away because it was 'broken'--a condition which I remedied in less than a minute by straightening the fan's front cage, which had gotten bent in such that the fan blade couldn't turn. Today, found two high-end desk chairs thrown out behind an office--both 'broken'. That is, one has some chipping on the right armrest; the other needs a screw replaced in the left armrest.

Should take about a minute.

drinking problem

2009-07-23T03:56:00.004-05:00

Scrounged from a Dumpster a couple of days ago: eight 40 oz. bottles of Bud Ice beer. The same Dumpster from which I scrounged a big bucket full of various single, 12 oz. beers a month ago.

Someone have a drinking problem? Not I.

metal calculus money and Korean cowboy boots

2009-07-16T00:27:00.004-05:00

Good run to the scrap yard today: the bakery metal from yesterday, a few odds and ends from in and around my shed, and a metal table and metal cooker picked up on the way. The scrap tin total: 320 pounds at 5 cents a pound--sixteen bucks. The rest: 12 pounds of copper, 15 pounds of yellow brass, 11 pounds of die cast, 4 pounds of aluminum cans, 11 pounds of electrical balast, 35 pounds of electric motors.

And as always in the empire of scrounge, some bonuses pulled from the bakery roll away, items too good for the scrap yard: three solid 8 foot 2x12s, two heavy aluminum cooking platters of some kind (featuring a pleasing pattern of little indented spirals), and some sturdy old cake tins.

Back on the bike later I find two garbage bags full of clothes and shoes--I bring home a pair of Justin boots, a pair of high top shoes, and a bunch of nice ribbed cotton t shirts. The remainder I leave on display beside the dumpster....including a pair of made-in-Korea cowboy boots....

Waylon said, 'you just can't live in Texas unless you've got a lot of soul'. Sole? Seoul?

metal calculus

2009-07-15T02:02:00.002-05:00

Out on a scrounging bicycle ride today I discover a big roll away trash container behind our little local bakery. Looks like they're doing some remodeling and installing new equipment--the roll away is full of old metal shelving, baking tins, aluminum baking sheets, metal fasteners, and the like. I pluck some copper tubing and brass connectors from the mix and put them in my bike bag, but in deciding whether all this merits a return trip in my old truck, two sorts of metal calculus must be undertaken, one economic, the other environmental: Worth it financially? Barely, given that the great bulk of the metal is tin/iron, worth four or five cents a pound at the scrap yard. Worth it environmentally? I figure it is--it's only about a mile round trip from my house, so not much gas to burn compared with all that scrap kept out of the landfill.

Oh yeah, then there's the existential calculus: I like loading scrap metal in the summer heat. So back I go to the roll away, my dogs Sam and Deogee riding with me in the truck.

If I think of it, I'll let you know after a run to the scrap yard tomorrow how the economics worked out.

hot run

2009-06-26T02:36:00.002-05:00

scrap yard run today in 101 degrees of pure Texas heat.

120 pounds of steel, 44 pounds of yellow brass, 15 pounds of aluminum, 31 pounds of insulated copper cashed in.

100 pounds of Sam the German Shepherd riding shotgun.

bandage jars

2009-06-24T02:39:00.003-05:00

Just scrounged: six doctor's office bandage/swab jars--thick glass, stainless steel lids. Found amidst a dumpster full of medical supplies thrown out by a local doctor's office: sterile pads and bandages, surgery kits, and the like. Street medicine, anyone?

scrounged jeans and seam rippers

2009-06-09T02:42:00.002-05:00

scrounged six/seven pairs of jeans this weekend--like new, just my size--so, bring them home, throw them in the wash, and once dry: on to the seam ripper! always a pleasure removing the Calvin and Polo tags.....no logo....or maybe DDive brand....

Agnes Varda, The Gleaners and I

2009-06-03T03:24:00.000-05:00

This warm, funny, inventive documentary is both a diary and a kind of extended essay on poverty, thrift and the curious place of scavenging in French history and culture. Agnes Varda, an intrepid woman in her early 70's and one of the bravest and most idiosyncratic of French filmmakers, spent eight months traveling through France recording the lives of people who gather what others have thrown away or left behind. Varda's gleaners retain a resilient, generous humanity, which is clearly brought to the surface by her own tough, open spirit. The film is studded with found metaphors and serendipitous insights. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times

Radio: CFRB 1010 AM (Toronto); CJAD 800 AM (Montreal)

2009-06-02T22:15:00.003-05:00

Jeff Ferrell interviewed by Peter Anthony Holder:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

MP3s used with permission from Holder Tonight.