I was digging behind a craft store in Portland last Saturday and found a tote bag with a cross-stitch that was maybe 60 percent done. It had a flower pattern and the name "Mabel" stitched into the corner. I took it because the fabric was nice but now I feel weird about it. On one hand this was clearly someone's project they put hours into and maybe it fell out of a moving truck or something. On the other hand it was sitting on top of broken frames and wet cardboard so it was definitely trash. My husband says I should finish it and give it away but I think that's disrespectful to whoever started it. Has anyone else grabbed something like this from a dumpster and struggled with whether it's yours to mess with?
Found a stainless steel touchless trash can behind an apartment building last week. Looked rough with dried gunk all over the lid. Took a scrub with regular Dawn dish soap and a magic eraser, maybe 20 minutes total. Now it looks almost new and I saved about $150. Anyone else find good kitchen stuff that just needed a basic cleaning?
Honestly my best dumpster dive tip is keeping a bottle of Goo Gone in the car. I pulled this solid oak nightstand from a curb in Austin last month and it was plastered with those sticky price tags and tape residue from some yard sale. Rubbing alcohol barely touched it but a few dabs of Goo Gone with a microfiber cloth had it off in under 5 minutes without damaging the finish. Anyone else got a go-to for cleaning up sticky gunk on wood?