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This is a really cool thread; I just discovered it a few days ago even though I've been a member since February. Anyway, like recyclersteve, I also found a real 20 dollar bill on the ground in June. More recently, I found the following: A 4 drawer dresser which I sold to the local pawn shop. A gas tank for a boat, which I sold on Craigslist. A large bushel basket in excellent condition. I also stumble onto garage sale leftovers although that is now done for the year.

I am surprised that nobody is posting to this thread. I realize that scrap metal and coins (change) are to be posted in other threads, but what about all the other stuff we/you find? In the last 5 days, I have found a pretty nice set of golf clubs, a 3 foot square wood table, and TWO Tonka trucks in fair to good condition. I will sell these items.

Forgot to mention that I found two adult bicycles, picked them up and sold them to the local pawn shop a few days later.

I found a Titleist golf bag.

Also forgot to mention that I’ve found probably 6-8 floor standing fans over the years. Sometimes the remote is missing or they don’t oscillate anymore, but at least they still work. Also, it gives me a chance to upgrade my fans. I replace the old space consuming box fans with sleeker ones that don’t have nearly as big a footprint. Of course the ones I get rid of go to Goodwill.

Nice, I also found a Titleist bag two years ago and sold it on craigslist. Found a nice bag full of clubs, accessories etc including 14 balls two months ago and gave it to my 11 year old granddaughter.

Found a Ford steering wheel from the 70's in good condition. Also picked up a bicycle in good condition on garbage day. The steering wheel will definitely sell. I hope to sell the bike as well, but if not then I will donate it to local thrift shop.

I continue to find all kinds of stuff. Recently I took donations of things I found to Goodwill on four consecutive days.

Some of the things I find frequently:

Tools
Wheelbarrows
Light bulbs
Chandeliers
Books
Vacuum cleaners (often the bag just needs to be emptied)

And much much more...

Recyclersteve wrote:I continue to find all kinds of stuff. Recently I took donations of things I found to Goodwill on four consecutive days.

Some of the things I find frequently:

Tools
Wheelbarrows
Light bulbs
Chandeliers
Books
Vacuum cleaners (often the bag just needs to be emptied)

And much much more...

I'm curious: why don't you have a yard sale and make some money? If that's not feasible then perhaps you can setup once or twice a year at a flea market. Then you can donate the unsold stuff.

Silver4face wrote:

Recyclersteve wrote:I continue to find all kinds of stuff. Recently I took donations of things I found to Goodwill on four consecutive days.

Some of the things I find frequently:

Tools
Wheelbarrows
Light bulbs
Chandeliers
Books
Vacuum cleaners (often the bag just needs to be emptied)

And much much more...

I'm curious: why don't you have a yard sale and make some money? If that's not feasible then perhaps you can setup once or twice a year at a flea market. Then you can donate the unsold stuff.

I’ve done both yard sales and flea markets in the past.

There is too much in my garage that might attract attention from total strangers and cleaning out the garage would be a huge job as we just have too much stuff.

The flea market is a long drive and we would likely have to take two cars to have room for stuff we could sell. So it would just be too much work for a profit of maybe $100-150 for the day! ($50-75 per person)

Recyclersteve wrote:I continue to find all kinds of stuff. Recently I took donations of things I found to Goodwill on four consecutive days.

Some of the things I find frequently:

Tools
Wheelbarrows
Light bulbs
Chandeliers
Books
Vacuum cleaners (often the bag just needs to be emptied)

And much much more...

BUMP! Are you still finding these items in significant quantities?

I found two boxes of books in early June. Sold a few of them and donated the rest.

Let’s revive this thread as it has some good stuff on the first 2 pages of responses! I’m adding a note on another similar subject thread to refer people here.

Here is an absolute GEM of a story…

A few days ago I drove by an assisted living facility and saw a pile of stuff out front- a pretty sizable pile perhaps 20 feet long. I figured someone was moving in and perhaps the guard had to go to the bathroom.

I passed by the same place again in the next hour or so. The pile was all still there and there was a sign that said “Free” sitting there. As there were three vehicles parked directly in front of the pile, it was easy to pass up the stuff. I took a quick look and saw there was some really nice stuff.

I quickly called my wife and told her we’d both be able to completely fill up our SUV’s. We agreed I should stop by right away (as I was much closer). I’d get what I could and report back to her on what was left.

Well well well… There was a SUPER NICE leather recliner and ottoman. That was the very first thing I horseshoed into my car! There was a very nice paper shredder that appeared like new. Several other pieces of artwork, baskets, a hamper, etc.

Shortly after I got the recliner/ottoman into my car, a truck pulled up and three people quickly descended on the stack to grab what they could. Also, a man appeared out front who told me this was his father’s stuff, and his dad has just passed away. He also said someone else was stopping by shortly to get whatever was left over.

Here is the good part. My wife, daughter, boyfriend and I all sat in this recliner and remarked how UNBELIEVABLY comfortable it was! I looked at the brand name. It was Stressless. It so happens that the brand is sold by an upscale retailer named Copenhagen. Since they have a store in my area, I decided to stop by and price the 2 pieces. I was shocked (but not really- because the quality was incredible) upon finding that these two pieces sold together are about $3,200-$3,500. Frankly, if someone offered me $1,500 cash for the pair, I wouldn’t take it. Twice I slept soundly in the chair with no tossing and turning- I toss and turn even in my own bed!

So this was probably the single best thing I’ve found, but there have been plenty of other items totaling many thousands of dollars. For anyone who thinks I’m just ridiculously lucky, let me point out that I had a $186k coin theft from a storage locker in 2019 that I’m nowhere near making up for.

I found something today that isn’t particularly expensive, but it is something we all use that I honestly thought I’d NEVER FIND!

What is it? Toilet paper! This was in a business dumpster. The person who threw it away put all 30 rolls into a hefty sized trash bag. All but one of the rolls was totally unused and individually wrapped in paper. Oh yeah, they are 2-ply- the good stuff.

Why would they throw it away? I’m guessing the business had a lease that was ending and was forced to move out. I’m guessing they didn’t have room in their vehicle(s) to take everything and had to leave a few cheaper things behind.

I have seen people throw away ALL KINDS OF STUFF, but don’t remember ever seeing T.P. when I was scrapping.

More for me!

P.S. I had T.P. on my list of things to buy the past few days, but totally forgot about it. For those who believe in karma, this might have been an example. I was literally cracking up while driving home!

Now that this thread has been revived, I will mention that I found not one, not two, but THREE guitars at the curb earlier this summer. Three different types/brands etc at three different places. Two of them were electric guitars and all three were playable despite minor issues. I sold all three of them at flea markets.

Forgot to post this earlier as a 4th guitar was found by me about two months ago. It was a "First Act" electric guitar which I sold on Craigslist around a week ago.

Around the same time, I also found 8 college football pennants that were made out of drywall! They are actually heavy and almost a half inch thick. Will sell those next year. In September, I found an Oakland Raiders football helmet in decent condition. Promptly sold it at a flea market.

I will try to remember to post in here!

Found an unused painter’s canvas in the original plastic wrap. My daughter was thrilled when I gave it to her!

Found a set of drums yesterday- one drum has a tear, but still works reasonably well. One drumstick is missing, but that’s easy to replace. Otherwise in nearly new condition. I’ve always wanted to play drums, so now I can give it a whirl before I sell or give these away.

Cool! I'm off this week but haven't spotted anything yet.

Man finds $2M of gold bars.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... penny.html

I don’t like wooden pallets as they contain nails, split frequently, can attract termites, etc.

But I DO LIKE plastic pallets and some people just throw them out. I found 4 more of them on January 1st and now have about 16-17 of them. I like using them in the garage to get stuff off the ground. This keeps things cleaner and adds a degree of protection in case our water heater sprouted a leak.

Silver4face wrote:

Recyclersteve wrote:I continue to find all kinds of stuff. Recently I took donations of things I found to Goodwill on four consecutive days.

Some of the things I find frequently:

Tools
Wheelbarrows
Light bulbs
Chandeliers
Books
Vacuum cleaners (often the bag just needs to be emptied)

And much much more...

BUMP! Are you still finding these items in significant quantities?

I found two boxes of books in early June. Sold a few of them and donated the rest.

Sorry for the late response.

Still find tools, light bulbs, books and vacuum cleaners frequently. I’ll also add plastic pallets to the list of things frequently found. Haven’t seen chandeliers and wheelbarrows (except broken ones) recently.

Recyclersteve wrote:I don’t like wooden pallets as they contain nails, split frequently, can attract termites, etc.

But I DO LIKE plastic pallets and some people just throw them out. I found 4 more of them on January 1st and now have about 16-17 of them. I like using them in the garage to get stuff off the ground. This keeps things cleaner and adds a degree of protection in case our water heater sprouted a leak.

I use plastic pallets on my property as well. I especially like them for storing firewood!

Just found a real gem!

I found a box of 20 brand new unopened (in original plastic and boxes) Cardinal Health brand N-95 face masks. But wait, there’s more…

There were 6 of the boxes of 20 inside a bigger box of 120 masks. Oh yeah, I found 22 boxes of 120 each, so a whopping 2,640 masks. I checked on eBay and saw someone selling the exact same make and model. The value for all of them? How about $400+!

I’m gonna keep 120 for myself and sell the other 2,520. What a find!

Just found a Galanz brand mini-fridge. It is 1.7 cubic feet. We cleaned it up and sanitized it and it works like a champ! By the way, the former owner left a bag of peas in the fridge, so it appears that it was used for storing food instead of something really disgusting.

Our old fridge is giving out and only working intermittently and we’re on a super tight budget right now, so finding this was a blessing, even though it is much smaller than the old one.