For decades I have been practicing the "have everything you want for free" game. It is remarkably simple and based the time in which we live. We are the people who live amongst the greatest surplus of man made goods the world has ever seen. The waste stream is so abundant that one need only know what they want and it will be found. If one of the wishers criteria is that the item come free or nearly than it will be free or nearly. I can recall wishing for metal shelves, then I thought "why don't I get specific?" so I elaborated and described a very certain kind, size, material etc. The next day I found it out in front of someone's home waiting for trash pick up. What is kind of funny is how brand and material specific you can be!
Last week I put on my wish list "enamel coffee pot." It's for candle making. One can store their cleaned wax in the pot. Then when it's time to make candles the pot is simply warmed in a water bath and poured into molds. I looked on ebay, $10 - $50 was the average. I decided to get more specific, the old blue one with the speckles. And I want a lid, for under $5. It's been three days. I just picked up this little ditty for $2 at a garage sale I walked by while walking Sesame. My only problem is it cleaned up so well that I might rather put flowers in it. I"m now adding to my list, "ratty enamel coffee pot for candle making." We'll see how long it takes.
Just one warning friends, "careful what you wish for!"
4 comments:
What a great post, Wendy! We do the exact same thing: we're specific about what we want. Just last night, I wanted to make a cushion cover for our vintage sofa. Well, my husband suggested we go to goodwill (we usually don't, b/c we consider their prices high!) and, there was a cushion cover, I didn't even have to make it! even better, it's completely washable. :)
YAY!!!!!
I had a dry cleaning delivery job once which allowed me to peruse curbs on trash day..often in affluent neighborhoods. On the curb and in plain sight,(I never stopped and went through their trash) I have found fishing poles, pots, pans furniture and my personal favorite..a nice mid 70's Dual turntable... I plugged the thing in and with a little adjustment.. I was playing my records..
Living in a 270+ unit building in Brooklyn, it is amazing what folks get rid of. Suz and I needed a file cabinet since we are both starting new businesses and BOOM. 2 file cabinets in the building trash area. I recently found a plastic shelf too, perfect for extra storage in the bathroom. Will blog about them soon in the soon to be revitalized squarefootcrunch.blogspot.com.
Post a Comment