A MUST SEE VIDEO!!!

http://littleecofootprints.typepad.com/little_eco_footprints/2010/02/dumpster_diving.html

I confess, I have been a dumpster diver for years, so has my husband, not that much for food though. There is one store near us, that we have found food that was thrown out, nothing wrong with it...that is more my husband's thing--fruits/vegies we give to our parrots, sometimes eat, my husband is not as hesitant,

I am, I always worry about food poisoning, etc. [I'm weird like that]

Anyway, how I got started, was by accident actually--when living in inner city, near a diverse economic neighborhood, I would walk the alleys back and forth, to the store, college, etc., because of how the city is set up, anyway, I would see trash bags near the dumpster or on top, full of clothes, dishes, and other good items. At that time I was extremely low income so finding clothes, esp for my girls who then were very small, was a blessing.

But it became more than just finding things we needed, I couldn't Believe WHAT PEOPLE WOULD THROW OUT. I have designer suits, pants [including a Donna Karen wool jacket,Nothing wrong with it], dresses, I have found a diamond watch, tons of costume vintage jewelry, cassette tapes, books [three boxes of new books-non-fiction] and purses, you name it. I found So much, I couldn't keep it all, and then came the distribution. Downside, a LOT of laundry,

but lets just say, one single mother who had Just had a baby--and was in homeless shelter, was given an Entire baby layette that someone, had thrown away, that a friend of mine found--told us--and we told the shelter, and a mother who had Just given birth to a girl, who had Nothing, had Everything, provided. That, was God, amazing. There were PRice tags still on many of the baby girl clothes, a barely used baby swing, carrier, etc. That was 6 years ago, I never forgot that one. And what started out as an innocent walk finding some really pretty dresses and toys/clothes for my girls,

became a lifestyle of finding, Recycling, Reconstruction and Re-Use. I will say, that in the South, where I grew up, I don't recall seeing So much waste. But whether its 'region' or 'urban' [due to migration/jobs] or what have you, it Does boggle the mind a bit at just HOW much we Consume and HOW much we waste.

AND then we go and buy more!

BUT, as products go, the ONE Thing we have to remember...is that, IF we were to all one day, stop buying/stop consuming, there would be thousands of jobs gone. Its NOT just about recycling, we Have to also, provide alternative jobs, for those industries that wouldn't produce as much, we forget 'that' part of the equation, I do NOT have any answers or solutions there, but I have thought about that.

As for food, even I was shocked to see this video, I had NO IDEA, I have only once, found that level of food in any dumpster and that one was at an apartment complex, someone had moved out, they threw out a weeks worth of steaks, turkey, and still frozen. Needless to say, I cooked that Turkey that year, it was a year we were struggling after the birth of our son.

Often times things I find need just a slight fix, like the Bulova {sic?} Diamond watch, found in a thrown away purse, the links were broken. Trip to the jewelry store it was good as new. A huge Casio piano [electric] that was missing a cord, easily replaced and one key slightly damaged, my kids didn't care though, we still have it today. In fact, the majority of the things in our home, are Recycled, from furniture to decor, about half or more of them, found IN the trash. I can't count how many baby things like high chairs and strollers we have found and given out. Sure, you find a lot of broken unusable things, but you also find things, that there is nothing a little clean up and some new fabric, bolts and creativity won't fix.

We don't dumpster as much as we used to, one, lack of storage space and time to wash all the laundry, it Was getting a tad burdening at one time, one year we had found So many clothes we couldn't keep up with the giving them out. AND, you have to watch that you don't start 'hoarding' yourself, especially when you recycle, put some of your creativity into and before you know it, you have clutterville, even With the give aways.

And not everyone is willing to take Used things, especially not out of trash---early lesson learned, but like in the video, they are right.

We have taken So much for granted here in the West that we really don't Have a clue really, just how Gluttonous we truly are, and I'm not just talking food either. Some things I learned about Myself, through all this,

is Why do we consume or feel we need to and Why do we feel we have to have 100s of garments and Why do we feel the need to have New? For me, it opened up my eyes, to a lot of Self Esteem issues, I had, when I really let God show me, in His Word and through learning about other countries, just how much our need to consume for a host of reasons, pulls and destroys the earth, affecting the planet, animals and yes, human beings.

But even I was shocked to see the Level of Food we throw out as a nation, and then there are people Starving in our world. Hey, I'm guilty, there, I admit, something God has been working in me a lot here lately is how much food I waste in buying wrong things or not the right things and not planning more wisely, throwing food out that has rotted, etc., I am Terrible about fridge storage, Terrible.

Some of this, is related to that 'weird' thing I mentioned earlier, I have a form of OCD, like, I am NOT anal about cleaning on a lot of things, in fact the opposite on some things, but like totally Obsessed over other things, like food, won't drink Any thing that anyone else drinks out of, don't matter if its a sip, just unnerves me to like obsessive and food, IF I think it has any age or anything I won't eat it-- wash my hands all the time but not like till they bleed, though I have chaffed them a bit, but I can handle other opposite extremes, WHY, I have NO idea, parrot seed and poop around the cages and on floor doesn't bother me, At all, kind of a slob that way [another thing God has been dealing with me on]-- but food wise and some other things, I'm just weird about. Has to do with some childhood events, long story but it's a form of OCD, just not the typical kind you see like with the everything having to be labeled and in certain space--though with dishes I'm like that? Who knows, lol...


And it Has been one of those things eating at me, you know when God is working in you to change something--to be a Better steward, to NOT take things for granted,

being Grateful isn't just about saying Thank You God but knowing Everything we get/have, has been pulled from somewhere or from someone else, its not like this intangible item, it has somewhere, connected with life, be it the labor of someone or the ground in which it grows.

I won't sit here and say I Always think of these things, oh I don't or that I don't slip back into old ways, oh I do and I still struggle and cave in to temptation a lot, I'm not no saint by Any means,

but I am seeing, more and more and without getting into Legalism and Bondage [the other extreme and can be Just as harmful--and the Bible warns us of that], lets just say,

we Do waste a lot and we Do need, to stop and think, the next time we shop, consume, or

throw out.

To the side bar, under the Women who are working for change, there are a couple of Good blogs, with a LOT of good advice for sustainable living to not wasting food to even housing your own chickens. While I don't do All those things, I do some of them and am adding to them. Like, trying not to buy items for house decor and instead, recycling and making my own--

the glass jars which are coming along nicely, though finding ways to use them, takes some thought. But I'm learning, Time it takes to Do these things, now That's another matter and well, yea, it Does take time, some space, its not something that should be Forced on people or people made to feel guilty, etc.,

for many people, simply working, caring for family, and keeping a Roof over their head, is enough burden, particularly for single mothers, etc. And I have been there and so, yea, the Green lifestyle is good,

but we need to remember, there are other issues to consider such as economics, time, region, support.

But being Aware, especially of our Consumption, IS a start....

so, I will be working on my fridge this weekend and working on meals/shopping, and well, maybe I won't be so hesitant, to eat that baloney my husband finds now and then, from the local grocery.

[ok probably Won't do that...but I can recycle in other ways] note: we did, for a long while, pull Tortillas from one place, they would throw out tons, if they had a tear--they got so well known the freegans would hang at that place a lot.

Peace, Love, Solidarity,

Jane