Happy Trashy Tuesday! Welcome to my Dumpster Diving, Curbside Shopping, Garbage Digging World. Sometimes I love picking up junk so much it is crushing. Have you ever had a crush on something or someone that was so intense, it was well….crushing?
Literally. Crushing. It’s no secret I should have a bumper sticker on my car that says “I break for junk”, and last week, this is just what I did. I got a hot tip from a friend in my Junk Network, (read more about developing your junk network HERE). Free Armoire in her neighborhood! Now let me tell you, when there is a piece of junk I want, I suddenly develop super human strength. Call it good biceps, call it adrenaline, stupidity or just stubbornness and sheer will. I have never met a piece of furniture I can’t figure out how to haul out of a dumpster, pick up off the street by myself, and even get it home.
This dresser? No problem. FREE, FREE, FREE. Removed the drawers, walked it slowly towards the back of my van, then up it went. What I mean by walk it slowly, don’t drag!! Legs break off this way. Walk it by lifting it up a little on one side, then the other. Next do a big heave-ho squat. 
Lift with your quads ladies, not your back! All you need is to get the first two legs into your car, then the rest is cake. (or at least you should be able to eat a large amount of cake after a feat like this, trust me, they are calorie burners).
Couches? You bet! I found these in an abandoned field by my gym. Same strategy.
And those couches went on to live another life on my patio like this: 
How about this Rolling Tool Station I made from an old Shipping Pallet? Big, awkward, but not impossible
Until this Armoire, I walked around thinking I was ALL THAT when it came to picking up whatever Junk I happened upon and tossing it in my car. Upon encountering the said Armoire, I realized it was VERY TALL. I would have to judge correctly how far back from my car it needed to be to tip it backward and let it perfectly land on the back edge of my van. This is where the trouble started. One of the legs was broken, and it didn’t walk to easily. I finally got it where I wanted it and then the worst happened.
I went to tip backwards, and instead it started tipping forwards. All the slidey inner parts of it suddenly decided to slide in the opposite direction, throwing off the tippy action, effectively jamming my finger badly, and then letting it go and falling into an awkward position with the side walk.
photo courtesy of thriftystories.com
The last time I got into such a bad predicament was when I went to pick up a free changing table and my finger got stuck in the folding mechanism of my van seat and we almost had to call 911 for the jaws of life to get me out. True story. 
Back to the bad armoire….I was so mad at this point that what resulted was essentially a fight between me and the armoire. All it was going to relinquish to me was a broken cabinet door that I ended up tearing off the hinges to punish it and I stole its elegant looking bun legs to roundly teach it a lesson. I left it lying face down on the side walk in defeat.
I didn’t even get a picture to prove I somewhat defeated this hunk of junk.
Instead, I have pictures of what I DID get this week!
A dining chair that I think will become my office chair at our Oui Redoux Warehouse/Studio.
Two small vanity stools (From my newest friend in my Junk Network). Make friends with people who deal in garbage, it pays….
And this desk with a jacked top and no drawers.
That’s it for me and my junk crush. Hope you have a totally Trashy Tuesday and an even trashier week.
Love your trashy finds 🙂 You always get the best stuff!