One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

The first Tuesday of every month is curbside trash pick-up in my hometown. This is for the big items people want to get rid of that will not fit into the trashcans that the waste treatment trucks pick up every Wednesday. Usually residents will start putting stuff out on the side of the road about a week prior to pick-up day. The thing that amazes me is that most often these piles of trash usually decrease in size as passersby spy something that they see as treasure. I have to admit that often times as I’m driving by, old discarded pieces of furniture usually catch my attention. And every now and again, I am tempted to stop and check it out. Most times though, I decide the piece will be more trouble than it’s worth to recycle. However, there have been times when I have actually gotten lucky. The best example is a wooden chair that I found on the side of the road in my sister’s neighborhood. My niece needed a chair for her desk, and this chair was the perfect size. The legs were pretty scratched up, (like a dog had used them for a chew toy) but with a little TLC, a couple dollars worth of fabric, and a fresh coat of paint, it turned out to be a sweet little gem of a desk chair. I’m glad there are other treasure hunters out there who are willing to re-claim, recycle, and re-purpose what one person sees as trash, but as for my pile of junk, you’ll have to wait to pilfer through it at my yard sale!