ONE MAN’S TRASH…

As opposed to what my instagram feed may prove, I don’t really have a habit of rifling through trash.

[RANT BEGIN] I personally feel that people are so (SO SO) wasteful and it breaks my heart. I see bags of clothes and home goods in the trash and I can’t imagine who would do that – instead of donating this stuff to a shelter or salvation army. There are lots of these places or even drop-off bins around the city. If I had a car, I would probably drive around picking up stuff from the side of the road and dropping it off at the women’s shelter every week. When some people move, they put stuff in a box on the side of the road with a sign saying free, and that’s definitely a step up from throwing out perfectly good, barely used stuff. I live in a neighbourhood filled with university students so I see a lot of people throwing stuff out when school is over and they are moving back to their city/country. Sometimes it’s beneficial to me, though I much prefer finding interesting items produced before I was born, and students love Ikea way too much. [RANT END]

On Sunday morning, I met up with Matt for a morning coffee at Kitsune. This coffee shop is kitschy, hipstery and they have great coffee. To top it all off, it’s about the halfway mark between Matt’s and my place. So on my way back home – in the rain – I noticed a little well worn golden box sitting in an open grocery bag of clothes and things on top of a trash can. Of course I had to take a peek. What I found (amongst a bag of clothing from the big and tall store) was a box full of vintage jewelry. Three boxes to be exact. I kinda felt like this, minus the whole murdering stuff. Umbrella forgotten, heart racing, I tried to look indifferent and aloof, rummaging through a bag of trash in the rain – making sure no treasure was missed.

Once home, I took inventory of my findings. 16 pairs of earrings, a dozen pairs of clip-ons, a 12k gold bracelet, a sterling silver cross pendant from 1954 (the date, may 29, 54 was carved on the back), about a dozen broaches, and some spare buttons and beads. It briefly made me laugh, when I saw the oversized earrings. Just that Saturday, we had gone to an estate sale and I saw a pair of faux pearl earrings and a similar pair of clip-ons. Since 15$ seemed a steep price, I walked away without them. Then the next day I found 28 pairs in the trash. HA, in your face estate sale lady. Funny how these things happen. I do feel like maybe I need to sacrifice something to the trash gods, as a thank you for this gift. Any virgin volunteers out there willing to die for a good cause??