Have you ever driven through a neighborhood on garbage night and seen something and thought, “I can’t believe they threw that out.” It always amazes me when we put something out at the curb and it’s gone within the hour. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure? Well, recently I’ve been driving around on garbage night to see if I spot anything FREE. It’s also a good excuse for this momma to crank up the radio and get some alone time! My husband thinks I’m crazy and well, I have to admit, I was a little nervous about telling you all. Last weekend, I found a nice large picture frame minus the glass, a heavy decorative iron piece (I think it’s a door mat), and two new bags of mulch. Who throws away two full bags of mulch? This is probably the first time I’ve seen anything worth stopping to pick up. This stuff was just leaning against the cans in the street. I have to say my first time was a bit scary. It was still light outside, and I had this vision of someone coming outside and yelling at me for taking “their trash!” Weird, right? I spray painted the frame black, picked up a broken frame at a store (for $3,) and took the glass out of it. Then, I added a piece of poster board and inserted my 8-year-old’s art work. Voila! A home decor masterpiece! So, here are pictures of what I found and how it turned out.
Frame: FREE
Glass: $3.00
Son’s Artwork: Priceless!
If anyone has any fantastic ideas for the iron piece, I’d love to hear it. I think it’s too heavy to hang anywhere. Have you ever taken anything from trash to treasure?
Here are some other folks that have turned trash into treasure:
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Is the iron piece large enough to “cover” the front of your fireplace in the off months? Paint it to match the trim, and dress up that gaping black hole that serves no useful purpose in Florida…
Or, use it outdoors as a garden trellis–hook it on the brick or siding and grow morning glories against it.
Or, make a giant hotplate out of it by putting footies in the four corners. Good by the grill? or at Thanksgiving, when you have six giant casserole dishes?
…end of my creativity for today …
Oh, I LOVE trash day in our town! This year I found so many treasures – an old sewing machine cabinet/table with hardly a scratch, several corningware dishes for my new kitchen that just needed a little scrubbing, and a cute little stool I’m working on recovering.
It does feel so weird to go picking people’s trash…I prefer doing it after dark with a flashlight.
Sarah-Oh I wish I could find something as fun as a sewing machine cabinet. I have high hopes that one day I’ll get lucky!
You are singing my tune. I don’t know where you live but here in the south I call that Treasure Hunting. I post occasionally about my treasure hunting over at Savings With Sadie.
When I was a little girl, I was a “dumpster diver.” I loved bringing home new treasures. I think you did great on the frame as well as the iron piece. I love iron and would love to have it. It does look like one of the doormats I have seen before. However, I would also considering hanging on a back porch or even inside. I know it is heavy but I love the look of iron and group it with other like or not so like items. Also, could use it to place pottery or flower pots on outside on a porch or use it on top of something for a table top. You got me wanting to go to a garage sale this morning and I need to work on my site. By the way – enjoyed your post over at MSM on Skype.
Sarah, if I saw you near my house at night, with a flashlight, I’m calling the police.