Money Tight? Be a Scavenger!

My cell phone rings. "Hey, Ma, there's a Situation T on North Street. You might want to check it out."

"OK, thanks." It's a mile out of my way, but I can't pass up an opportunity to check out a Situation T.

The "T" stands for "trash." As in someone has put free stuff on the side of the road. Often it is truly trash, and all that is lost is some time and a little dignity. But the old adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" certainly applies when it comes to Situation T.

I am still fairly new to the practice of scavenging items off the side of the road, and perhaps the delight will wear off some day. But I sense a philosophical shift since I have become a scavenger. When you acquire something for free, you don't have the same attachment to it that you would if you had to spend hard-earned dollars. And by the same token, you develop a sense of release when it comes to letting things go. Instead of reluctantly tossing them in the trash, you can put them on the side of the road where they are transformed into someone else's Situation T. It becomes an underground economy of give-and-take.

There is the joy of the surprise-you never know what you might find. I was looking for a used love seat to accommodate our "couch-hounds" when I passed a perfectly good one sitting on the curb on my way to the post office. After a good cleaning, it turned out to be a perfect fit. And someday I will put it at the end of the driveway for someone else to find.

Another day I passed a funky-looking bright blue dresser that was missing a drawer-perfect for the barn; a place to keep horse supplies, and I already had a rectangular basket from a previous Situation T that fit perfectly in the empty drawer space.

Of course, hidden dangers lurk in the practice of scavenging. Self control is called for at all times. We all know people whose homes and yards are filled with broken and useless junk-and that could easily happen to you. Will you REALLY have the caned seats fixed on those "perfectly good chairs?" Will you really replace the rusted bolts on that treadmill? It pays to look this gift horse in the mouth and reject it if it is broken, unless you know that you will do the work to make it right.

There is your physical safety to consider. Be aware of the people in the neighborhood, and don't take unnecessary risks. Large electric appliances are probably not safe to take home-who needs a high-voltage wakeup call?

If you have children, you will never have to buy toys. Keep your eyes open and soon your yard will be filled with Little Tykes kitchens, playhouses, benches, vehicles, etc. I have seen scores of those on the side of the road, and if my grandchildren did not already have an assortment of Situation T toys in their yard, I would be screeching to a stop at the end of someone's driveway myself.

Sometimes you may find an item of real value. That has happened to me. Cruising around wealthy suburban neighborhoods the day before trash pick-up is the best way to find cast-offs that might be pearls in disguise.

Recently I notched up to a higher level of scavenging when I discovered craigslist and www.freecycle.org. Prior to this, Situation T was an occasion of serendipity, usually occurring as a nice surprise on the way to somewhere else. Now it is possible to sit on the couch with a laptop and find exactly what I need. I can also give things away without leaving them on the curb, which requires careful attention to the weather and looks kind of junky, too.

If you have never tasted the freedom of scavenging, these economic hard times may be just the spur you need to get going. And once you start, you may realize, as I did, that "things" really don't matter very much. They can be enjoyed for a while, then given away for someone else to enjoy...and you remember that what really matters in life are people.