Hip Hip Hooray For Junk Day

I started the draft of this post over a month ago, but life got the best of me and other things took priority. Now it is summer and I can do some actual blogging.

Perhaps the most fun I've had in ages...


OK... Bloomington has city wide cleanup every weekend in April. (and the start of May) Each Saturday designated neighborhoods are allowed to put ANYTHING by the curb to be picked up. ANYTHING!



My fellow teachers, most having lived in Bloomtown for many years, laugh at "the parade." (constant stream of slow moving trucks and trailers collecting other people's junk.) I, on the other hand, have become one of the pickers.



Kiley and I really enjoyed this experience and almost died laughing.




Here is what we learned...



Rule #1 Start early (5 pm on Thursday and Friday.) This is when the older people start putting their stuff out.



Rule # 2 Plan to make a second load at about 7 pm (This is when the beer drinking cleaners start putting their stuff out sometimes I am sure these people are seriously impaired.)



Rule #3 NEVER look in a pile that someone else is looking in. Hang back until they're through. (Kiley and I learned the hard way. YIKES, LADY!)



Rule #4 Bring your own flashlight. People don't share.



Rule #5 Don't talk to the people who are bringing their stuff to the curb. (For some reason they don't like it. I tried with several people and found it to be fruitless... This is not a social event.)



Rule #6 Don't offer to help the lady who just nabbed the vintage dressing table. She is very rude and won't accept your help. She thinks you are going to take it from her, but you are just trying to help.

Rule # 7 You can't take something from one pile, drive around with it, decide you don't like/ want/ have room for it and put it in another pile. This is highly frowned upon.

Who knew there was so much to know about picking? Who knew there were so many rules? Be careful out there!!!

A small sampling of the treasures we found...

2 Brand new snowboards.
Garden bench
Adirondack Chair... NEW IN BOX!
Tiled bistro table with one chair
2 Old window frames
Old framed screen
Padded bench (already recovered)
School desk (dear Kiley was in heaven when we came across this!)

Pictures to come soon. I am without my camera and files tonight!