This time of the year in the NE United States, when temps are generally hovering in the teens, 'saling' tends to dry-up! An occasional Estate Sale or trip to a Thrift Store are about the only ways to get a Good.STUFF.Fix.!!
Yet,
I have noticed lately (as has J), that I rarely come home without an extra box or bag (or 2) of 'STUFF'!
Upon pondering this, I realized that I have gained quite the posse of suppliers to 'feed my habits'!!!
PACKING/SHIPPING SUPPLIES
~Our local Marshalls (namebrand discount homegood/clothing stores ) calls when they have a boxful ready to pick up
~Our hometown RX always has a bag of packing misc. ready for me when I pick up our monthly prescriptions.
~My Mom's hairdresser sends her homes with boxes full of 'peanuts' every 6wks (for us!!)
WE KNOW A LOT OF WINOS!!
When you love to craft & create with CORKS, like I do, this is a GOOD THING (It would be SERIOUS TROUBLE if I had to empty all these bottle by myself!!)
~Sweet next door neighbor waitresses evenings at a high-end Restaurant, and has convinced the bartender to save corks for her!!
~A dear friend works at a local winery doing tastings...
~Our Favorite Happy Hour Bar has a bag waiting for me weekly!
(*One night at Happy Hr., I was surveying the contents of the 'weekly bag'. One of the 'Hierarchy' of the Company J works for was out with us - he looked at me, shook his head and laughed "Oh Susan, I wish something that simple could put a Smile like that on MY face!")
BIRDS of A FEATHER...
~The Best Man from our wedding has become an avid Hunter/Fisherman in his retirement. He is more than happy to supply me with FEATHERS to feed yet another of my recent 'crafting inflictions'!
JUNK MAIL
~My 'trendy' friends are more than happy to keep me supplied with catalogs!! This probably seems REALLY BIZARRE to most, but when you don't do much retail shopping, you tend to get NO CATALOGS!! I LOVE thumbing through high-end clothing & home goods catalogs to catch up on the latest trends, and get Creative inspiration - like my recent soldering attempt!!
As WONDERFUL as all of this stuff is...
it was fun to get a 'Different Fix' this past Friday, and come home with the Subaru FILLED!!
To sum it all up...
I had my First. Real. DUMPSTER DIVE!!
BOSE Outlet STORE CLOSING!
I missed all of the BIG store display pieces over-flowing from the top and sides of the Dumpster, that first caught my eye when I pulled into the mall from the side entrance... but I had 'real' stuff to do that I didn't want to look/smell like I had been 'rummaging around a dumpster' for.
When I came back through 45min. later, it looked like the dumpster was empty, but upon closer inspection - NOT!
More tangles of wires, cables, remotes, speakers, headphones and other non-sense than you can imagine - but luckily there were TWO Large Plastic totes (with Covers!!) in the dumpster, just waiting for me to fill. It means NOTHING to me, but it put a SMILE on J's face! I can Honestly say this is the first time I have ever garbage picked that he has actually APPROVED!
(and Today, 1/29 is his birthday - so I'm glad I brought him home some Fun Stuff!!)
After I had loaded every.last.electronic.bit into the car, I went back for ALL of the unopened boxes of office supplies!(?)...case of scotch tape ...boxful of white board markers in red ...boxful of white board markers in black ...another in green ...another in brown... carton (6 boxes of 5,000) of staples ...roll of Bubble wrap ...white board erasers ...tape dispenser ...3hole punch ...boxful of Sharpies in black ...in red ...boxful of highlighters ...pens ...white out ... folders ...wood yardstick ...magnetic displays ... even a Disco Ball light NIB!! OH MY!!
Yes, we have had TWO DAYS of fun sorting through all of the STUFF!
I can remember my Dad on occasion making comments about People regarding their smiles... "She wouldn't be nearly as Grumpy, if she smiled" ... "She wouldn't be half bad, if she would smile" or "I like her, she has a good smile"
Despite a lack of SALING, I have had an abundance of SMILES in my life lately!
...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!
I love You!! ((BIG Smile!))
2 comments:
I found a nice roll of brand new bubble wrap on a trash can not too long ago and I was SUPER EXCITED. I can't imagine coming across all the goodies you found! Even if you can't or won;t use them all, at least they were saved and can be put into the hands of people that can and will use them. Such a shame to throw all that perfectly good stuff in the dumpster!
*My Mom brings me beading and crafty catalogs.
*My step Dad saves small boxes and packing peanuts for me.
*My Dad saves all the coupon inserts and his non-winning scratch off lottery tickets. (You can earn points scanning the non-winning tickets - I recently "bought" a $100 electronic rain gauge with my points.)
*Lara finds me treasures at yard sales and in her garage.
*My friend Paula always has a pile of goodies waiting for me.
*I always have piles of magazines in my car for everyone.
Whenever I see about anyone, we exchange piles of stuff in the parking lot. It's fun!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY J. I love you because Sue loves you! :)
Smile on my face reaging your post :)
All great stuff. And what a treasure dumpster dive! I would love to find a box full of packing tape. The only thing I regularly have to buy for shipping. All the rest is from the trash. When I can't find any real goodies there's always a box, bubbles or other wrapping to take home.
Sometimes I'm lucky and find rolls of regular sticky tape in bags or boxes with small stuff. The other day my neigbour brought me an obsolete analog camcorder in a carrying case that he picked. The thing doesn't function but may be saleable for parts. But what did I find on the bottom of the case? Roll of tape! May sound like a total worthless thing but to me it's treasure. I use up miles of it sticking labels on parcels. This one will last me for weeks or more, lol.
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