How to Garbage Pick

If you cringe at the idea of furnishing your brand new apartment on your entry level salary or maybe your just a fan of old furniture "they-don't-make-chairs-the-way-the-used-to" philosophy, or maybe your just cheap then it's time to perfect the art of dumpster diving or for the queasy, simple city trash picking.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Strong friends (for heavy finds)
• An imagination
• A vision of what could be
• A discerning eye

1. Trash picking is an art as lucrative as trend spotting, but as simple as leaving your home. If you shop on Craigslist, visit antique stores, or drive around garage sales all weekend long than trash picking furniture is the game for you.

2. Trash picking is similar to shopping in a second-hand store. You have to be patient. Not every visit is going to afford some grand treasure. Don't expect to go for a walk on Friday morning and find a red chenille fainting couch sitting on the corner. Go out with low expectations and an open mind and your sure to find troves of hidden treasures.

3. If you live in a big city like New York, look to scour the less busy avenues and start hunting 3 days before the 1st of the month until about 3 days after. This is when most people move in and out of rented apartments and will leave behind things that can't go with them.

4. If you live in a suburban neighborhood, scour the neighborhoods on the weekends, when people are most likely to be doing house cleaning, especially during season changes. It is also wise to go trash picking on Sunday evenings after people have had garage sales and are throwing out what they couldn't sell.

5. Don't let a little wear and tear scare you. Most antique furniture is as old and the dickens. Good heavy wood can be refinished to look as good as new and there's almost nothing a new paint job can't fix. Trash picked furniture affords you the perfect opportunity to try that new antiquing technique you read about or that crackled finish you saw on HGTV.

6. Beware of leisure furniture that is covered in fabric or stuffed with material like couches and chairs. It is rarely acceptable to use someone's old mattress and if couches have been sitting outdoors too long they could have bed bugs or various other creatures. Wood roaches can get into wicker and wood products as well, so you should also make sure that your free prize is thoroughly inspected.

7. Once you find the perfect piece you'll need to transport it home. You should always leave the house anticipating a large find and have a friend with a truck waiting in reserves. Great finds won't last long, so don't leave it sitting on the corner while you run home. If you stumble upon something when you least expect it, call a friend from your cell phone or take a vital piece of the equipment with you. For example, you can remove one drawer from a large dresser, a cushion from a couch, or the runners on a bed set.

8. One you've found and transported your piece home you might want to leave it outside (on the porch, in the garage, or an entryway) while you wipe it down or vacuum it off. Most small mites in bedroom furniture can be removed with a high powered vacuum and wood furniture can be wiped down with furniture polish or a damp cloth.

Tips & Warnings

• Take care to clean what you find.
• Don't leave something on the street while you run home to get the car, it probably won't be there when you return
• Always carry your cell phone during outings

[r0ck3t3r]

on 11/13/2007 Its ok if you decide not to take the furniture you find. There is more for me :-D. Many pieces in my home are junk finds.
http://trashtotreasures.blogspot.com