• shalafi@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    My wife and I are huge consumers, of used and free shit. One of her friends invited us to pick at a house she had just taken ownership of. No eviction, some lady had an emergency, had to move back to the Philippines, gave her the house to settle a debt.

    Total shack, mostly empty, whole hood was lower-lower class. We still made out with a pickup truck full. I figure we got at least $400 worth of goods for the house and more when we sell what we don’t want. Took all day and night last Saturday to sort, clean and repair it all. After the owner lets some other friends take promised goods, we’re free to take another pass. Fingers crossed I can score the $300 worth of power cables and the new color printer!

    For example; I snatched two sets of solar lights, one set’s the nicest I’ve ever had, glass globes! Both pair are the good kind with replaceable (no tools) batteries. Sanded, polished and sealed the oxidized panels, replaced the batteries, cost me $1.50 each. Figure the cost new at $50.

    We pick up shit on the side of the road, just in our tiny hood, all day long. Keep the stuff we want or upgrade what we got, flip the rest at the flea market and FB Marketplace. Wife recently found a Harley Davidson bag. Sold it on Marketplace for $50. I swapped my wedding ring with a more comfortable sterling band we found in a trashed back back. Washed the pack, gave it to the kids. I replace the batteries in trashed watches, get $10-$20 at market.

    • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      I wish we had infrastructure to do that at a mass level and reduce the waste. And I don’t just mean goodwill and donation shops, but a whole system to accept discarded things or consignments, clean and repair everything, eliminates any infestations and infections (or destroy it if impossible), filter out the junk (or send it to another station to be disassembled into parts if anything is salvageable, or into scrap materials if not).

      Also ban disposable plastic that can’t be usefully recycled, as well as ones that are intended for longer terms but degrade (some get sticky, some “sweat” who knows what liquid), and make all parts (plastic or otherwise) open source and public IP if the producer no longer wishes to produce them.

    • Mac@mander.xyz
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      23 hours ago

      I like your guys’ mindset. Come to my house and relieve me of somr of my shit. lmao