The Curb Alert

Scanning through our local craigslist under the free/barter sections, I came across a listing for a "Curb Alert". Of course, I could not resist. I clicked on it to find a list of items that had been placed on the curb for the taking. Someone was moving out and had run out of time/energy/ resources, but not creativity. They had sense enough to post their unwanted belongings on craigslist and invited folks to grab them up before the trash man got them the following day. I loved it! High stakes, quick thinking, action needed, out for trash, nothing to lose, just pull up to the curb and look through the pile and take what you want. Oh what fun! Over the years, I have grabbed many "curbside call" items--ranging from piles of clothes, to discarded furniture, to cardstands to children's toys. My poor husband knows what it means when I say "pull over" with my head turned eyeing a pile of junk that has been placed out for trash. In college one of my friends had pulled a 2 foot high marble angel statue out of the trash in the alley in downtown Chicago--that was probably the best find I had ever seen. Topping all of my finds --hands down. Last week, I got a phone call from a girlfriend who had spied what should have been a "curb alert" and she had stopped to look. She wanted to know if I would be interested in looking through a box of vintage plates. I said "sure" and she grabbed them--assuring her partner that they were for me and not something she planned to keep. She brought them into the office and what a treasure trove! Almost a dozen vintage melmac plates, half a dozen Mikasa coffee cups, 10 pea green melmac tea cups, and a few jelly jars---all sitting in a box on the side of the road waiting to be taken to the dump. ( Nothing that a little bleach can't make shiny and new) Did you know that Melmac was developed in the 1940's and common in almost every household from the 1950's-1970's. It is extremely durable and was very affordable. Wow! What a score that was........ I have no doubt that many of you reading this have stopped the car while you are turtlenecking to see if the pile is worth getting out and sorting through. Personally, I just enjoy that this experience has become legitimized enough to have its own name "curb alert"--GENIUS! I would have to rate this somewhere between a "dumpster dive" and a "junk swap" at the dump...... definitely hits the spot as the winter thaws and garage sale season draws even more near. We embrace this scavenger hunt as a thrilling piece of the modern day hunter gatherer experience. As always, I would love to hear your experiences with the "curb alert"-- what have you pulled off the side of the road? Have you ever written and ad for this or followed an ad you found? Just another way to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Happy Hunting Folks!