Dumpster Diving: A Manifesto

Photo Courtesy of: www.chicagoreader.com

Dumpster Diving is a delicate art. I have been doing this basically my entire life so I am not just your casual diver. I should preface this by saying I don't always literally dive into dumpsters. Alot of what I get is simply stuff left on the side of the road or next to the dumpster (not literally inside) but under the right circumstances I have actually dug in a dumpster before...


When my husband and I met he was a big football player who was used to getting spoiled with all kinds of stuff. I on the other hand didn't even have a car or a license because I couldn't afford a car. This is actually the biggest reason I started riding a bike (as an adult!). He had everything pretty much handed to him and I was pretty much in the opposite situation.

I introduced my husband to dumpster diving and he was hesitant at first. After that it was goodwill and other thrift stores of the like. I'm not going to even lie, he thought I was gross and weird. I know this because he told me (lol). He couldn't imagine using things that belonged to other people, especially personal items like clothes and furniture. But, then Orlando got sick and couldn't play football anymore. Things did a complete 360 in an instant. He was suddenly broke and lost. At this point Orlando changed his mind about the whole dumpster diving thing really quickly. 

Since we have always lived in a college town dumpster diving has been extra successful, especially during the peak moving season, summer. However, we also fund stuff from simply driving around town the night before trash day.

Another misconception is that people who dumpster dive do it because they are poor. I am not necessarily poor, but I am not wealthy either. But, I do save a great deal of money from dumpster diving. I can easily fix up the pieces I find on the side of the road and make them look just as good as anything I can get in the store. Does it take work? Sometimes, yes. But, it does have the potential to save you alot of money and also make money.

In addition to fixing up items to keep for myself, I find items and sometimes fix them up and sell, and sometimes even sell them as is. In fact, during the summer months when people are moving the most, we routinely sell items that we find to make a great deal of profit for ourselves. 

Next time you hear someone turn their nose up to people who "dumpster dive" remember that person doing the diving could be a happily married home-owner who is also working on their PhD (: