I'm a garbage collector, and I find good stuff just about every day on the job. I'm ALWAYS finding books, some as good as new, in fact I'm reading Dean Koontz's latest book, "Velocity", a new hardback that I found last week. I gave an old biography of Marilyn Monroe to my wife the other day. But the books are extremely common finds.
This past week I've found no fewer than four boomboxes, all of which were in working condition. Sometimes they get chucked because the CD player no longer works, but I don't think I've found one yet that doesn't have an operating radio function. About two weeks ago I picked up a Dell laptop, with DVD and CD writer, but no power supply. Took it to the used computer store and tried one of their power supplies and it fired right up. Why was it chucked? Good question.
Last month I found a pair of Doc Martens boots which fit my wife, just like new. She likes them. I've gotten three or four DVD players; VCR's and TV's are in the trash so often I don't even bother with them; DVD's, CD's, VHS tapes and cassettes I find all the time. In September I found a complete set of King's videos for flight instruction; I needed a pair of hedge clippers this fall, and lo and behold, a like-new pair (still had the tag on it!) of Fiskars showed up, along with a brand-new dandelion fork; bicycles are common finds, mostly kids bikes, usually not much wrong with them; clothes all the time, though I rarely take any; bags, backpacks, duffels, suitcases; games, puzzles and lots of toys and stuffed animals; furniture items such as couches, chairs, lamps, desks, file cabinets; dishes: this last years I've found some really great handmade pottery such as bowls and cups; pens and pencils by the hundreds.
I guess I could go on in this vein for an hour, but I think you get the idea. We trash collectors find great stuff all the time. We like to say that if you need something, just think about it and sooner or later it will turn up in the trash. Some say it's in the trash because it is trash, but I disagree. Our culture provides more than we can possibly use, it is just good stuff that is no longer wanted. In my definition, that does not make it trash.
The bummer about all this is that our department actually has an official policy that 'scrounging' is not allowed. That's right. We are in danger of losing our jobs if we are caught taking this good stuff home. That's why it is demonized by the terminology. Mostly it is to discourage the practice of going through people's trash, which could potentially reveal private information such as credit card numbers, prescriptions, and other sensitive info. Anyone can understand that. What I'm talking about is just taking the stuff that makes itself easily found in the trash piles. It's not as if we are spilling cans of messy gunk onto the street and reading people's medical bills and old letters. In the real world, the policy is mostly 'don't ask and don't tell', everybody knows it, and we all have our stories of good stuff we've found.
Overall, I think my favorite find of all time is Carmen. Carmen is a ship's masthead, actually a theatrical prop made to look like an original old masthead from a sailing vessel, a beautiful young serving wench with breasts bulging out of her shirt, hair blowing back in the breeze. She hangs in a great spot in our living room, and has been a wonderful addition to the decor.
I guess the point of all this is, if you like finding good stuff, scout out people's trash piles on garbage day. Call the refuse companies to find out when trash day is in the areas in which you are interested (just tell them you've recently moved in to a particular street, don't let them know what you are up to...). As Apu might say "The rich neighborhoods are the best places, not always". The less affluent areas have a lot more coming and going in them, and therefore a more temporary outlook. The best piles are the huge piles left behind when someone has moved in or out of a house, or better yet, when old folks have passed away, and their children have to clean out the decades of accumulated junk from the house. You'll have to get up early, and it obviously helps to have a truck, but cruise the neighborhoods on trash day and you may get lucky! Please don't make a mess, and if you rip a bag open, by all means, bring extras so you can re-bag it. Do not piss off the gods of freeloading or you may bring ruin upon us all.