We saw this abandoned dresser on our walk home from BART last Friday. It's not much to look at; however, as we compile a wish list of things we need around the house (as part of our cure), we've really got our mind set on salvaged materials.
So this dresser, which might have looked like a pile of trash to us two weeks ago, looked like a pile of gold three days ago. OK -- that's a stretch. At the very least it looked like potential shelving.
How many different things do you see in this worn out dresser?
Tread carefully here. Dressers always look like a great sidewalk score, but finding a use for them without major reconstructive surgery can be very, very difficult. For instance, you are NOT going to find drawers for them, which means that unless you're an expert cabinet maker, you're not going to be able to use this as an actual dresser.
However, if what you need is scrap wood, you're good.
I also think that, if you have the construction chops, this dresser could make a very cool deep bookshelf, desk, or storage trunk.
view the opoponax's profile
Well, yes, right behind my building - I found this lovely shelving unit (sorry for the mess, I'm undergoing a major junk-shuffling these days... :)): http://www.flickr.com/photos/giorgia-2/1397060479/
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someone stole some skateboards from outside my place the other week...my sons had only popped in for 2 minutes to get some lemonade.
i jest, but how do you know what is ok to take and what is actually a misplaced toy?
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Rich, usually if it's a dresser missing all it's drawers, you can safely assume it's ok to take.
Joking aside, there's a bit of a code, if you learn to be sensitive to it. For instance, the first step is to start noticing when "oversized garbage day" is. If your piece of choice is standing out on the curb with a bunch of other obvious trash, it's probably not someone's mislaid toy. Another tip is to be mindful of where the item is and how it's placed -- something sitting on a stoop or leaning on a doorframe is unlikely to be up for grabs. Also, you have to consider what the item is. I'd never take toys or anything obviously belonging to a child for that reason -- kids don't know that you have to be careful where and how you leave things and could easily lean that bike up against the trashcan on the curb. Side chairs can be dicey, as some people like to have them in the yard for hanging out purposes.
I also like to do a bit of scoping around to see if I see the owner, or even a local bystander, and just ask. A neighbor will know whether that old bookshelf is usually there, or what.
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I actually *asked* the former owner. The shelving unit was on the sidewalk and I saw contractors going in and out of a flat in the opposite building. So I just approached them and asked if they knew the flat's owner was throwing that away, they called him, and he said yes, so I took it home. The story was the guy who now owns that flat bought it with some furniture already in it, but he didn't like that, so brought the pieces he didn't like on the sidewalk on purpose for other people to take. :)
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