free stuff (I've been given)greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread |
with work winding down,, I took inventory of the frree stuff Ive gotten this year. Topsoil,, limestone,, clay, (garden is all sand), bricks,, wooden spools, (large ones), deisel fuel, and some odds and ends of lumber. Wondering what some of you get for free from work or whatever
-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), September 20, 2001
Does the topsoil from our wormbin trash disposal count? If so, I can count two garden plots. :>)
-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), September 20, 2001.
As I'm working at the construction trade for a while....you would not believe what gets thrown away...latest finds are 16 2 x 12's...32" long each....now my garage has some more shelves. Latest miss...a slightly damaged pull-down stair for the attic...couldn't get to the dumpster before it got emptied...DARN!
P.S. I just bought the latest issue of Countryside today.....great article on vermiculture Jay!
-- Jason (AJAMA5@netscape.net), September 20, 2001.
Well, since I quit my job 3 months ago, I have been trying to make ends met, and have, as a sort of a hobby, tried to get things free. Amoung a few: Free crates from the hardware store that for which I used to made chicken roost(excellent by the way),and a gate for the chicken yard. Am still thinking on what to do with the rest of them. Free pallets for which I used to put hay in the barn on. Free tin from a fellow who also threw in some scrap sawmill lumber, along with about 10 landscaping timbers. Free canning jars from a friend who had 'tons' in her barn she was never going to use. Free pressure canner from the neighbor who was scared to use it. (although I had to replace the seal and gauge) Free fruits for jelly, for which jelly was given in return. Free Bantum Chickens, 5 all together, from a friend who didn't want them anymore. (They all are laying! Not the Rooster of course!) Free worms from a neighbor, for our rabbit dropping, in exchange for a few worms for occasional fishing. Rabbits were free by the way.. from a teller at the bank who's children no longer wanted them. Hummmm... lets see..... there are so many more... the list is endless.
-- Bear (BarelyKnow@aol.com), September 20, 2001.
I got a nice, dry, tight 14'x8'x8' cargo box with a roll up door off the back of a one ton Ford truck for the effort of removing it. I now have a very nice, dry and secure storage building. ;o)
-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), September 20, 2001.
A couple of years ago, my husband worked for a company that used a new pultrusion technology for making the trailer portion of semi trucks. The panels were made of a fiberglass-like material with well over an inch of insulation. They got the R-factor wrong on some of the panels and scrapped them. We built a 4 X 8 chicken house and a 12 X 12 shed out of them!!From the same company, we hauled 30+ dump truck loads of free black dirt to cover our hard-pan clay.
My husband now works for a company that makes truck bodies for delivery trucks. Some of the panels were scrapped, and we used them to completely panel the inside of our 30 X 30 garage.
That's just the big stuff!
We also get plywood for shelves, pallets, solid oak 6"X6" firewood...well, you get the idea. Awesome fringe benefits!
-- Sharon/WI (pinnow@inwave.com), September 20, 2001.
I had my lumber for my barn cut last fall and now finishing up up a 32 by 28 barn for less than $2000. dollars. Yesterday where one of my sons work they tore down a poll barn and saved all the metal they gave it all to us. Last year where my other son worked at a window factory we got all of there patio doors a window rejects sounds like another building project to me. We have always given produce to others and we still do but what they give us in return is many things we could not afford to buy otherwise. The woods in are state parks give us plenty of wild things to eat and the lakes are a great way to stock up on fish. Are farm is 118 acers witch we rent out 80 ac. that still gives us plenty for raising are own food and hunting. There are kinds of free things to do we are surround by parks and that is a great place to take the grand kids to play. Life has many free things for us to do and to have just look for them. Indiana Country Friend Jack Bunyard
-- Jack bunyard (bunyard@cnz.com), September 21, 2001.
It constantly amazes me what folks throw out!!!! In the last year our biggest score was afree computer- My brother-in-law works for a Gov. Agency that was upgrading thier stuff-he's well supplied so he gave the goodies to us. It "only" runs windows '95 but hey! In the last five years we have gotten 2 computers, 1 modem, 2 printers and a scanner-all free because different people were upgrading.
-- Kelly (markelly@scrtc.com), September 21, 2001.
Sorry-I hit "submit" before I was through-maybe I need some lessons to go with the computers?Some other great things we have gotten free- a hutch, which cleaned and refinished looks great in my kitchen, two armchairs which were on the curb to be picked up on trash day, one is nice enough for our living room (which really isn't saying a whole lot) the other has an afhgan drapped over it and is reading chair in bedroom.
The local hospital/clinic has an annual health fair-not only can we get all sorts of checks and tests cheaply-blood work, blood sugar, red/white blood count, blood pressure, inslin check, thyroid check,all sorts of stuff at-over $150 dollars in tests for $12, we got all sorts of OTC samples , vitimins, thermometer, cups, pens, a free bike helmet!
Two or three times a year, my husband goes to conferences for work and allways comes back with all kinds of stuff-canvas bags (I use for groceries) paper pads, pens A lunch box! clipboards, sometimes even small toys-I save a lot of this stuff and use it for stocking stuffers.
A relative cleaning out his attic gave me three tupperwear tubs- inside was somelight weight denium and sturdy cotton fabric which I made into school clothes for my kids.
My husband came home with a nice computer table his office was throwing out-half an hour in his workshop, and he was able to replace the missing screw (one!) that caused the table to be "unuseable"
I've gotten free spoiled hay which makes fantastic mulch, free tomato plants, all the peaches I could pick (I gave back some peach jam in return) Free green beans and cabbage, free zucchini-(I'm not sure if this was a good thing).
My sisters'-in-law and I swap kids clothes back and forth
I bought a comforter at a yard sale, and the lady threw in an extra one becuase she wanted to get rid of them, the free one was much nicer, ( and was marked higher) than the one I paid for.
My husband worked construction for a number of years, and we got all kinds of stuff. Fortuanly, we had access to an old barn and we stored stuff away-all kinds of doors, windows, pipe, a garage door, just all kinds of stuff-which we used when we built our house.
We've been married eleven years and have never bought a new piece of furniture. My husband has made stuff (Cabinets, tables, bookcases) and we have recovered, refinished all sorts of cast-offs, giveaways, cheap yard sale stuff- and I think our stuff looks pretty good!
-- Kelly (markelly@scrtc.com), September 21, 2001.