Trash or Treasure?

It's that time of year again... Council kerbside pickup time!

If one man's trash is another man's treasure, then this time of year is sheer paradise for scavengers, myself included.

Every year Steve says "We are NOT going to bring home any more junk this year!" Every year we still do. We can't help ourselves (I believe I'm genetically predisposed to it). It's part curiosity, part klepto, with a little bit of family "hoarder" genes thrown in.

As I type this I can hear other scavengers driving slowly, cruising past the piles of junk in utes or cars with trailers, ready to bring home the spoils. Sure, a lot of people do this to find items to sell at markets or on eBay, but I only bring home things I can use... or at least had good intentions to use at the time. The beauty of this is that, if for some reason, when you get your collected item home, it isn't quite right or what you wanted, you can always throw it back out on your own junk pile, so that you aren't stuck with it.

Over the past few years I've found several planter stands, glazed terracotta garden pots, some chairs, a couple of tiny decorator side tables, Cheyenne's trampoline (best score yet - it only needed a new mat, which we bought for $60 from a trampoline supply place), and various other treasures.


This year we don't really have time for a proper trawl around the neighbourhood, as we're busy packing for our 10 day trip to Rainbow Beach, but I've still managed to collect a few decent finds. A couple of hanging plant rings (the sort you attach to a wall and slip a round pot plant into), and this lovely round wicker table, which will do nicely on my front verandah. A bit dusty (nothing a good wipe over couldn't fix) and it has a couple of tiny nicks in it, but otherwise, it's perfect.

We also found a backboard for a basketball hoop (one of Steve's brothers had been looking for one for his kids), and a ladder for an above-ground swimming pool. Steve thought it would be just right for placing over our side fence when Cheyenne goes next door to play with Jayden. Turns out he was right! It's the perfect height, and means I will no longer have to lift Cheyenne over the fence to Jayden's or vice versa.

Not bad for a morning's work!