Oh Deer...

It's been awhile since my last post...again. What else is new right? This garbage stuff keeps me super busy, but I'm super grateful for it :)

I was out doing some trash picking with my sister in law and we were discussing things that get thrown out. All around us we saw baby stuff...baby bouncers, baby toys, high chairs, playpens, and most of all baby seats. One thing I always heard when I first got pregnant was that it's so expensive raising a baby, that there is so much stuff you need to buy. I personally think that you only need, and only need to spend, as much as you want. It can be super expensive if you want everything new, but it can also be very reasonable if you aren't proud to take hand me downs or use second hand items.

There are also so many young mothers living below the poverty line, so it's frustrating to see so many good baby things going to waste. I think selling second hand baby stuff is hit or miss. You have those who have no problem having used stuff, and you also have those that think "Ew! Used stuff! Nothing but the best/newest/cleanest for my precious child!" So, are the people that are throwing this stuff out just super wasteful, or do they have a hard time finding and giving it away to someone who can use it and doesn't mind taking it?

Another thing we thought about was how many babies are born each day... Each of those newborns go home in a (probably) new infant carrier. After 6 months, and sometimes sooner, those carriers are out grown, and the child goes to a stage 2 car seat, then a stage 3, and then a booster seat. If these items aren't re-used in the recommended 5 years from the manufacturing date, they should be thrown out. How many freaking car seats are in landfills by now? Millions. Millions and millions of car seats are sitting there taking millions of years to break down. It's mind boggling really. Someone needs to figure out a way to recycle these some how.

Speaking of baby things, I usually don't take them unless it's something I know will sell well, or if I really haven't picked up anything else on my run. Baby things can be big and bulky taking up precious cargo room in my van, so here are a few I did take with me...

A pink baby Bumbo seat. These go for about $10

A Vicks Humidifier

And a cute handmade rocking horse. I couldn't bear to see someones hard work go into the garbage truck, so I brought this to the second hand store for someone else to enjoy.

Other interesting finds were...

 a bunch of guitar stuff

This beautiful old lamp with a gold crackle finish. Looking it over at home I knew it was old, I'd estimate 1950's or so.

A little notebook computer with speakers

An amazing vintage car creeper with metal wheels

Money! Real money, and Canadian Tire money

This nicely carved wooden elephant coat hook set

This sweet wooden ladder chair had a broken hinge on it, but it it was easily fixable. I sold it "as is" and I believe someone bought it to put their plants on.

A bunch of complete games and a still in plastic model truck kit.

This cool homemade hockey goalie cutout. It was big (thankfully flat, so not too bulky), but I knew I had to take him for my hockey freak son :)

A pair of wood spools. I easily sold these as they are very popular on Pinterest to make tables out of.

An awesome reclining mid-century lounge chair. I sold this to a very happy lady for $200.

Also a mid century foot stool with storage

and 2 vintage metal patio tables.

I grabbed a box of goodies at one stop, and when I looked through it later at home, inside was a Nespresso coffee maker. These things go for about $250-$300! I bought a package of coffee for it and tried it out, but I didn't find anything special about it. I honestly enjoy my instant coffee better.

Beautiful oil paintings

A set of pool balls and snooker balls

A popcorn machine

A bunch of religious jewellery. Mixed in was a little gold bracelet with diamond chips on the heart. I thought it was real gold, but it is marked 925 for silver.

A cool vintage scale

and an antique farm bucket

Medical safety bed rails

Clocks still in their packages. 

Another clock still in the package (these all came from the same house pile) This one had a small break in the mirror by the number 10, but it wasn't really noticeable and someone ended up loving it and buying it off of me anyways.

A little key shelf still in the package. I put this up by my front door :)

A santa decoration and a weird bulldog dressed as Elvis wall hanging

Tonnes of DVDs

A cute LED motorized Christmas deer. He spent the holidays in my front yard.

 

These geese were also with the deer, but unfortunately, no matter what I tried, I couldn't get them to light up. I listed them "as is" for $20 and there was a line up for them.

Some art pieces. The one on the left is a needlepoint.

Some safari themed decorative stick on mirrors

Unfortunately it was raining when I grabbed this soggy box, but inside was a working leaf blower with all the accessories except the collection bag

And those were the last finds I brought home in my wonderful van...on my way home from a run at about 10pm, a stupid deer hopped out of the woods right in front of me. I was lucky that I was not driving that fast and that there was nobody behind me, but I still managed to clip him. All I remember was seeing him get hit and thinking "OMG please don't go through my windshield and kill me!" I pulled over where it was safe, and called my husband saying (well yelling really) "I just hit a f@%$#ing deer!" I turned my car around and went back to check if it was lying in the road, but it was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately it probably hopped off into the woods and later died. 

There was still snow on the ground at the time

 Deer hairs stuck all over the place

I called my insurance the next day and they sent an evaluator to check it out and it was a write off. My mechanic was there and he said the damage exceeded the value, and there might even be damage that they couldn't see so it wasn't worth the risk of fixing it up. :(

So I'm now riding around in this (that's my oldest getting a good view of the airplanes when I took my kids to an area near the airport to watch them take off and land). I still liked my old van better, but it is a comfy ride. Hopefully we will have many great garbage adventures together :)

Keep your eyes out for treasure (and deer!) and happy picking!