Upcycling - How You Can Find Treasures On The Street

I know I have a reputation for being a bit of a snob but I like a bargain as much as the next girl. Snob or not I am not too posh to have a dig through a skip. 

Monday morning in the ideal time to go bargain hunting. No I'm not talking about trawling through the Poundlands or Primarks of the world. I'm talking people rubbish left outside for the dustman. 
I know a few people are probably imagining me rummaging through peoples bins. Well forget it! That I draw the line at. 

One of my biggest pet peeves in life is waste of any kind. Wasted food is my biggest pet peeve. When either me or my neighbours go on holiday we go through eachother's fridge and cupboards and anything we want we take. Why? If your going on holiday and you've got fresh food it's going to have gone off by the time you come back.  
In the same way I hate to see other things being wasted. So every once in a while before the dustman come around usually whilst walking my dog we walk around and see if there are any treasures on offer. More often then not people will throw away perfectly good objects which are then destined for landfill. Some people leave objects outside with a note saying "help yourself" which is brilliant. If you don't want it anymore you can guarantee someone will. I do this with things and they've always gone. 
Another treasure trove is skips. I love skips! You never know what your going to find hidden in a skip. A friend of mine recently found a whole load of paintings abandoned in a skip so it just goes to show you. 
If something has been chucked out and it is in perfectly good condition then why not help yourself, if you can find a use for it go ahead. It is often polite to knock on the door and just double check with the owners if it is ok for you to take something they've thrown out. In my experience they'll usually be happy someone can find a use for it. Over the years I've rescued quite a few things from skips or left out with the rubbish including 

• A perfectly good garden table and chairs that just needed a good clean
• ceramic plant pots
• plastic plant pots in various sizes
• a plant pot dish for an indoor plant
• a brand new watering can, complete with tags 
• an unloved Hydrangea plant which is still going strong 
• a strawberry plant 
• a bamboo bookcase 
• Shelving 
• plants
• Christmas Baubals 
• brand new tupperware in packaging 
  

 There has probably been more over the years but these are the recent ones. So next time you pass a skip or see something tossed out. Have a look and see if it's something you could use.