Trashy Tuesday The Junk Circle of Life
I have a tale of junk, too much junk. I can’t leave a Dumpster alone if I think there might be something in or around it that is salvageable. Dumpster diving for me is like winning the lottery.
However, too much of a good thing is just TOO MUCH. There comes a time when I must “share” my junk with others. When you have so much stuff that you can’t think and you don’t want to enter the space where you create, then it is time to release some of the junk back into the Junk Circle of Life. I have been down this road many times. You can see my Video about it HERE.
You may have seen my side yard in the past.
Or, perhaps my garage when it was at one of its “worst” moments.
Time to share my junk with others.
Fortunately, I live in a pretty densely populated area of the United States, that happens to have many creative junker types like myself.
I posted several ads on Craig’s list around the Bay Area and began putting the junk out in “stages”.
Stage One.
It was like magic how my piles began dwindling and I loved meeting the people who were taking my junk. Hearing their ideas about what they would build with my junk made me feel like I was doing my good deed for the month.
Stage Two.
What was even more amazing were two of the women I met who had come for my “junk”. One is a Bay Area artist, Christina Pate, and small world, we had already crossed paths some time ago at Paris Flea Market. Christina builds beautiful pieces of art from reclaimed and salvaged junk.
She is currently building a lot of planters from all sorts of odds and ends. The top picture is an old wood candy dish, Christina added the legs!
Christina is starting to do weddings. Beautiful settings, with Vintage Furniture, Salvaged items, and reclaimed goodness. If I had not put the ad on Craig’s List, I wouldn’t have gotten to know Christina. If you would like to see more of her work, or find out where she will be next, you can email her at PATEKITTY@HOTMAIL.COM
By Saturday, I didn’t have much junk left.
Stage Three.
What I did have however was this GIANT WORKBENCH.
It has served me well over the years. I was especially thrilled with it when I first set up my Garage Made Over and Organized With Junk.
It was time to put the Junk Workbench back into the Junk Circle of Life. Here was the problem. I had FOUR people all contact me that they were interested in the work bench, then not one of them showed up when they had said they would. By Saturday, I was discouraged and was going to dismantle it and give it back to that great Dumpster in the Sky.
Out of the blue on Saturday, two adorable women showed up at my house, from over an hour away, wondering if the work bench was still available. Amazing how things work out! Not only was I thrilled it was going to a new home, but the gal it was going to, Kelsi Harris, is just getting started in her own junk business!
She is setting up shop as I type. Dumpster Diving, junking, thrift stores, and Craig’s list free. She is my type. But she probably doesn’t go around town like this. (I may have looked this way from time to time).
My junk has gone onto other amazing junkers/artists and I get to have a (mostly) clean and free garage again. I have made a HUGE amount of room in my garage for something new and exciting to come. Stay tuned, 2015 is looking like something really exciting is coming my way. I just had to make room for it, and participate in the Junk Circle of Life.
PS If you are wondering how I am doing not Dumpster Diving, the answer is FINE! I feel so good about where my junk went, I know when it is time to start Diving again, I will have a place to share my treasures.
Happy Trashy Tuesday, The Junk Circle of Life 
Out with the old and incoming of the new. You now have a nice clean; ( ‘mostly as U put it) garage for you to start all over again. Oh, if only I lived closer. It would had been like a Great Fun Christmas shopping for me.
Wait right after Christmas, the items that people will be throwing away. It’s amazing the ornaments, artificial trees, etc. that my son-in-law has found for me.
:} you look the way I do when I clean out my garden shed :}
Enjoy your day and have a wonderful evening.
Can’t wait to see your next treasures that you find in and around the dumpsters.
Colleen, I love after Christmas Dumpster Diving. I was telling my husband how I was curbing my habits and he reminded me how good the post Christmas Junk finding is! Not just Christmas stuff, but everything! Hope you are having a beautiful holiday season 🙂
oh you dirty girl ha ha but look at the smile on your face must have been a good day…i so enjoy your blog, i am a little to old now to go diving any more so i live through you hope you don’t mind xx
LOL, thanks so much!
Good for you! I had to do it too! I don’t have quite as much as you, but needed to make room in the garage for the snow blower and got rid of all the free pieces I had. They were there for far too long to feel bad about setting them back into the wild.
I filled my garage with “junk” finds since August and also had to empty it before the first snowfall here in New England. I can’t wait to start up again in March!!!!
How I feel you…I to have a problem.. I pick up items with thoughts of granduor on what I’m going to make, create & paint. Alas, some if it is still on my patio that was once a very nice outdoor room. Complete with outdoor kitchen and a TV. I just got a rude awakening, we live in a condo and all our units are going to be painted. I need to get this stuff out of here. At least for the time being. I revisited what I had. It was like finding treasures all over again..with the exception of a few things. I think a little critter made a home in one of my cabinets. I found mounds of droppings. Out it went…So I borrowed a neighbors garage, stored items in a old van we have. And covering up other pieces that can stay out. But for at least the last 3 months I have curbed (haha) my picking. As soon as the painting is done. I will get started and paint these items and list them for sale. I Promise!!
Barbara Ann
etsy.com/shop/barbaraannscreations
A lady I met at Haven told me that all that gOOd junk waiting its turn at reinvention is just a garage full of gOOd ideas. Ooooh. I’ve had to do some clean up too after that realization!
Maaaan, you put out some gOOd junk! I might have slipped if I lived close! ; D
Catherine
It’s always such a great feeling to clear out the excess isn’t it? It sneaks up on you little by little until one day you turn around, or should I say literally trip over something, and say, where did all this stuff come from?
No matter what “IT” is, we must keep the cycle going. Junk or money or time. When you keep the cycle going, your turn comes up again and again.