Theoretical DIY: Junk Finds

Do you know what is even better than thrifting? Finding stuff for free on the side of the road! I have mentioned this before, but around here, people leave their trash on the side of the road and the garbage men come pick it up. I’m not just talking about bags full of garbage or garbage cans. I’m talking about stuff, anything you no longer want. When we put in new cabinets in the kitchen we put our whole entire previous kitchen cabinet set out and they picked it up. We were baffled by this at first because in Oregon no one does this but now I have come to enjoy it. I now prefer to recycle large items first if possible but I do put things out that are beyond repair. If you keep your eyes out you never know what you might spot and I have found some good stuff from time to time. I once found an old door and a few months later I decided I wasn’t going to use it so I listed it on Craigslist and someone bought it! I thought I was pretty cool for thinking of that one :) I realized this week that I have a little collection going of stuff I have found so here are a few pictures…

Just two weeks ago I found this ottoman. I know in pictures it’s hard to tell scale but this is a pretty big guy. It’s square and it’s nasty. No really, it’s gross. I spotted it when I was with my Mom and so we turned around and picked it up. All the way home we were commenting on how bad it smells and so it has stayed in the garage since coming to my house. It pretty much smells like wet dog. But, I have plans for it. I want to take off the existing fabric and recover it in outdoor fabric and use it on my patio. I’m kind of thinking that stripes could be pretty cool. What do you think?

Just last week I found this beauty. Or rather, it WILL be a beauty when I’m though with it! Remember when I painted my other chandelier? Spray paint can do amazing things and once I remove those ugly shades and add some paint this little guy will light up :)

You can find everything on the side of the road if you look hard enough… including the kitchen laundry sink. I actually found this one quite a while ago and I was super excited. It will eventually end up in the laundry room. It’s a tough sink and beneath the grime it’s in really great condition. This was definitely one of my favorite finds!

And lastly, Jason found this table saw a couple of years ago. It no longer works and he was always hoping to use the stand with the table saw we currently own but they won’t really fit together well. Recently I began to think that the stand itself is pretty industrial cool. If I take the table saw off and spraint the stand a matte black I think it could make a pretty cool base for a side table or for use as a sink base. What do you think? Does it have potential?

Pretty good finds, right? If you live in an area that offers trash pick up like ours, be on the lookout. You never know what you might spot. Some things might need a bit of work but I think it can be worth it. And for me that is part of the fun :) Now I just need to get started on some of these items I have picked up so I can put them to good use!

A question for you all. Do you like the thrift store finds posts? I don’t want to bore you all with my thrifting finds but if you like them I will keep them coming! In fact, I have a few more finds from recent weeks that I have yet to post :)