montreal – Page 89 – Things I find in the garbage

Name that thing

June 1, 2013June 1, 2013 garbagefinds10 Comments

I was looking through some of my old finds, specifically a briefcase where I store random jewelry, knick-knacks and miscellanea and came across this thing I found more than a year ago. It came along with a bunch of other stuff, including some old Olympic paraphernalia I sold for decent money online.

It’s quite beautiful and features some really nice enamel but I have no idea what it is. The rope clips on to the bottom piece as a necklace might but it’s way too small to fit around someone’s neck. The bottom part is around 4.5 inches long if that tells you anything.

I’m always interested to learn so let me know if you have an idea, even a guess as to what it might be!

I also came across these vintage earrings. I’ve seen them before but this time I noticed their sterling silver marks. This gives them a bit more value for selling on Etsy.

These earrings were just one of the many things I found inside that pillowcase of jewellery a couple of months ago. Much of it is still around, waiting for someone to find it at my next yard sale, and maybe someone will find a treasure that I missed. If so, so it goes.

It’s super hot here but there’s supposed to be a thunderstorm coming this way. Should be fun!

A well deserved break

June 1, 2013June 1, 2013 garbagefinds6 Comments

These bags were on the curb by a charity-run thrift store on St Hubert.

Inside one of the bags were a bunch of clothes, many of which looked perfectly fine, unused even. It’s a shame to see these good clothes being thrown out, especially considering they were probably made by wage-slaves in Asia.

It’s easy to blame the charity but in all likelihood they are overstocked with clothes and just don’t know what to do with them.

Chances are that these clothes were gifts that someone didn’t really appreciate. Everyone has a “look” and it’s hard for someone else to predict what someone might want to wear (or what size they are, for that matter).

I think we’d consume (and waste) a lot less if when giving gifts we admitted to ourselves that we have no idea whether or not someone will like what we give them. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but I think for clothing it’s often best to give a gift certificate, or at least offer the receipt so that the item can be returned or exchanged if the gift giver guesses wrong.

Anyways, just a thought on how we the consumer can help offset this surplus of clothing! If we buy less maybe we can give those workers in Bangladesh a 15 minute break or something.

Yesterday was another dry day in what’s surprisingly been a dry week. I believe it’s probably just a small sample size variation and that I’ll find a tonne of good trash next week. Regardless, I need to start making some finds if I’m going to make sustenance wages again this month and not fall too close to dead-brokedness. I still have to have a yard sale as I have a bunch of random stuff that I can sell which should make me a decent chunk of cash. It’s just a pain in the ass because I don’t really have a front stoop to easily set up on and I have to carry all my stuff around 100 metres to get to a nice spot.

Regardless, I came across this wooden box in the alley next to Brebeuf. It was next to some garages and the contents were all wet. I think it was probably leaked on during the recent barrage of rain.

Still, these wooden masks were in fine shape. There was also a very rusty metal mask which I also took, it’d still be a cool outdoor decoration. Not for me, personally I find these things kind of unsettling, but there’s definitely people out there who appreciate this kind of stuff.

Hopefully next week provides a bit more treasure!

So close and yet so far

May 31, 2013May 31, 2013 garbagefinds4 Comments

Lots of people are moving this week but the trash hasn’t been particularly noteworthy or exciting. Still, I went out this morning and biked towards Olympic Stadium. On the way back I went through Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to get to Centre-Sud, where I came across this pile of stuff in front of a house for sale.

The things here looked as if they had been in a basement for a while. There were old preserves, mason jars that some passers-by ended up taking, and some old records. I thought about taking some preserves but decided against it. The records looked to be mostly classic rock – I saw a few by Boston and some Pink Floyd, but unfortunately they smelled sort of musty and as far as I know records don’t fair well against that sort of thing.

I did take a few things though. There were two unopened glass bottles of old Schweppes Tonic Water which I’d guess would be from the 60s. They’re from the time when they printed the labels directly on the bottle (whenever that was, but it was a while back). Other than a bit of rust on the caps they look great! They haven’t even really evaporated. There was also an old bottle of Fuller’s degreaser.

I still have a couple of bottles of “Vintage Sprite” so these will join the collection. I’ll probably put them in my next yard sale barring their having a lot of collector’s value.

In with the records was this folder made for the Ferrari car company. A little musty but in good shape overall. Inside the pocket was a picture of a car and an unopened envelope addressed to a doctor.

The letter inside was a receipt for a Ferrari purchased in 1979. It cost the good doctor 95000$, which in today’s money equals 296,603.05. Ah, the decadent joys of being in the upper class. By possessing this receipt I’m the closest I’ll ever be to owning a Ferrari. Still, if anyone deserves a sports car it’d be a doctor. Besides, if I spent a lot of money on a car I’d rather have some classic boat from the late 60s.

Anyways, I’m going to head out in a couple of hours to explore the Plateau. Hopefully I’ll come across something good on this day of moving.