One man's trash is another man's treasure.

My wife is a bargain hunter. She is a wheeler and a dealer. She knows that somewhere there is a better deal to be had and is determined to find it. She is a garage sale enthusiast. Every Friday night her spidey senses heighten as the the little signs and fluorescent arrows begin to appear on lampposts and street signs. She has taught me alot, because I used to think that garage sales and second hand stores were a little creepy. I am okay with garage sales, but second hand stores, still not so much.

The turning point on garage sales for me was when Rachel decided to host one. I vehemently opposed it, I didn't want to turn my front yard into a flea market, but then I remembered that my opinion only counts when it is line with hers and we had that garage sale. As the morning wore on I noticed that my yard and garage were being cleaned out...cleaned out at no cost to me! As a matter of fact, the cleaners were leaving money behind. People came to my house, gave me cash, and took my junk! Fascinating!

Garage sales are one thing, but there is another phenomenon that takes place on a monthly basis that I have not figured out. It's called bulk trash day. The third week of the month our town provides a bulk trash service. Simply place any large unwanted items at the curb and the waste management bubs come around in the old fashioned trash trucks and dispose if it. Well, they dispose of what ever is left after the rummagers have picked through it. Most of my bulk trash never makes it to a landfill.

Yesterday we set out an old broken lawnmower, a computer monitor, a broken printer, a corner desk, and broken computer chair, two trash bags of palm frawns, and a rickety old armiore. When I got the armoire to the curb one of my neighbors hollered from the park across the street, "That one's mine!". Awakward but sure enough, this morning when I left for work all that was left in my pile was the monitor, the corner desk, and the two bags of palm frawns. UH-mazing!