but the amount of effort salvaging say a computer which has probably got a fairly old processor and a hard drive capacity in two figures is not worth what you can pay for it. it's pointless having a computer full of 40GB hard drives when you can get a 250GB or a 500GB even for a lot less than a ton.
Scavenging...
- Thread starter Arch
- Start date
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- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
I have recently had a fair amount of renovation work done on this house and have been very pleased with the amount of stuff that was re-used for one purpose or another. Some people may already have read my similar posts but I think it is worth repeating. For instance
An old copper boiler went to someone experimenting with building a waste heated water system. What seemed like acres of bubblewrap (too dusty for packing fragile items, because I had to rescue it from the skip), went to someone for insulating their greenhouse. Cardboard boxes, some for people moving house, selling books, building a play house. A double glazed PVC window went to someone building a shed for their model railway and a very large wheelbarrow, (my garden is upstairs- don't ask).
Three hundred garden pots, from this house and a friends went to someone with three or four greenhouses. I could go on and on, but that would be too boring.
My point is that most things can be used again, but it takes time, and time is something nearly everyone seems to be short of. You could try www.freecycle.org to give things away or obtain things you would like. I have been very kindly given some very useful items, eg a chair, a very big French Dictionary, a thermal cafetiere, and a bread-maker. Not sure if I will be keeping the bread maker, but I know I could "freecycle" it if I wanted to. Freecycle has been mentionned on this forum before, but I think it is well worth doing so again.
An old copper boiler went to someone experimenting with building a waste heated water system. What seemed like acres of bubblewrap (too dusty for packing fragile items, because I had to rescue it from the skip), went to someone for insulating their greenhouse. Cardboard boxes, some for people moving house, selling books, building a play house. A double glazed PVC window went to someone building a shed for their model railway and a very large wheelbarrow, (my garden is upstairs- don't ask).
Three hundred garden pots, from this house and a friends went to someone with three or four greenhouses. I could go on and on, but that would be too boring.
My point is that most things can be used again, but it takes time, and time is something nearly everyone seems to be short of. You could try www.freecycle.org to give things away or obtain things you would like. I have been very kindly given some very useful items, eg a chair, a very big French Dictionary, a thermal cafetiere, and a bread-maker. Not sure if I will be keeping the bread maker, but I know I could "freecycle" it if I wanted to. Freecycle has been mentionned on this forum before, but I think it is well worth doing so again.
- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
bonj said:
Yes, I agree that there are some people on it that take the mickey. But I just ignore them. People who are posting again and again for items, soon get noticed. There is a facility to do a "search" on someone's "name" and find out if they have offered things or only asked for outlandish things.
If I have something to offer on there, I do not respond to the first person who replies. I also ask them to give their location, the nearer the better.
Perhaps I am in Groups that work very well, I know that some groups work better than others. Around here, the three nearest Groups work very well.
If anyone would like to know more about it, or tries the web-site without success, you are welcome to PM me. Most of the people on here locally, are very friendly and either pleased to "re-home" something or receive something. You might say "use the Charity Shops", but some things are just not accepted by them. We have the "Harrods" of Charity Shops in this market town, and I try to give them the things that would be harder to "Freecycle". It works around here, but would agree that it varies considerably.
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
It's more the beakey, furriness of it that makes my delicate lady hands feel all mimsey.freakhatz said:
I *really* hate birds feet and legs.
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
We've just come across Freecycle. Seems like a very good idea, but the 'please furnish my house from scratch' requests do raise an eyebrow. I'll be well chuffed if we can shift our old bath and basin though.
OP
OP
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Yeah, I'm on Freecycle, although I haven't looked at the bulletins for a while, because I don't need anything. I did get my spin dryer from there, whihc has been a godsend, and I was able to fulfill someone's request for a bucket of pondwater (to 'seed' their new pond with bugs). My pond is an old bath, BTW, salvaged from a house renovation next door to my old place. In winter, when the vegetation dies down, you can see the taps...
I think people who are trying it on soon get ignored, or warned off. Mind you, furnishing a house, that sounds alright - after all, you get maybe one thing from one person, it's not like you expect one person to give it all to you. If someone's prepared to give it to you, fine. I like to think people will remember, and 'give back' someday...
Some friends of mine got a sofa, and turned up to collect it with another friend, who has the most enormous bike trailer. Apparently the woman giving was quite sniffy, until she realised that yes, they could get it on the trailer, and yes, they could take it away as arranged, whereupon she became very impressed indeed....
I think people who are trying it on soon get ignored, or warned off. Mind you, furnishing a house, that sounds alright - after all, you get maybe one thing from one person, it's not like you expect one person to give it all to you. If someone's prepared to give it to you, fine. I like to think people will remember, and 'give back' someday...
Some friends of mine got a sofa, and turned up to collect it with another friend, who has the most enormous bike trailer. Apparently the woman giving was quite sniffy, until she realised that yes, they could get it on the trailer, and yes, they could take it away as arranged, whereupon she became very impressed indeed....
spandex
I love Dr D
years ago when I was redoing a friends gardan he over ordered the wood chip so I went on freecycle to offer it (2 tons of wood chip help your self to what you need) and no one got back to me?.
OP
OP
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
spandex said:
Don't tell me, you've still got it?
It's like that thing, if you leave something in the street with a note saying "Help yourself", no one does. Change the note to "Please don't touch any of this", it goes overnight...
John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
There was a huge number of bikes last time I went to the tip - most looked to be shockwave and apollo full sussers, from what I could see. I did toy with the idea of rooting for a nice steel framed 12 speed, but didn't fancy my chances
Re: The last point, we did make use of a similar offer (we took some removal boxes labelled "Free Boxes" to do our house move, after checking with the owner that it was ok to).
Re: The last point, we did make use of a similar offer (we took some removal boxes labelled "Free Boxes" to do our house move, after checking with the owner that it was ok to).
tdr1nka
Taking the biscuit
- Location
- SE London, Bandit Country
We @ Tdr1nka Towers found Freecycle last spring and did out the garden with a lovely greenhouse, pub table bench + umbrella and paving for paths!
It started to get a little addictive so we're on a break for the moment although Mrs. Tdr1nka did use it to help furnish a heavily pregnant and skint friend with all the regulation 'baby' stuff!
T x
It started to get a little addictive so we're on a break for the moment although Mrs. Tdr1nka did use it to help furnish a heavily pregnant and skint friend with all the regulation 'baby' stuff!
T x
tdr1nka
Taking the biscuit
- Location
- SE London, Bandit Country
P.S. We be skip rats too!
T x
T x
Cycling Naturalist
Guru
- Location
- Llangollen
Arch said:). My pond is an old bath, BTW, salvaged from a house renovation next door to my old place. In winter, when the vegetation dies down, you can see the taps...
....
If you kept a bit of heating in the bathroom, then the vegetation wouldn't die back.
domtyler
Über Member
Arch said:
This is definitely not the case in East London, I have left tonnes of stuff outside my house and it has gone within the hour, the only thing that took longer was a framed picture of Bruce Lee that still went within the day. I put a Friedland cordless doorbell unit out on our wall at the weekend with a post it note saying "Working Order" and it was gone in about twenty minutes.