Hey all. I have been viewing these forums for quite a while and decided I should share my experiences scrapping and recycling as all of you have shared. I am fairly new to the scrapping scene. Almost 1.5 years ago I started gathering other peoples junk and turning it into cash. My scrapping adventure began when my wife and I moved into a newer bigger house outside of our city. The house just happened to come with a 40'x30' shop. We stepped up our mortgage about $100k for this place so things were going to be a little tighter. The place is great and we love it. We are not house poor but we could be pretty close is Murphy moved in. I wanted to utilize my shop to make some extra cash but I didn't have any ideas. We live in a residential area so I couldn't run a full blown business out of the shop so I had to come up with a "hobby" that makes a little money. I somehow caught on to the scrapping scene and said "I can do that". I felt like people could poke fun at me and look at me funny for hauling around junk but I didn't care. I see it no different than ranchers hauling cattle or hogs to market, it's all money. So, the first big project that really hooked me was scrapping an entire house. The house belonged to my great uncle. He and his wife had moved out 2 years prior due to flooding and eventually they sold the acreage to a developer. I asked if I could go in and recycle the items inside and they said go right ahead. I took everything I could tear out of that place, even the kitchen sink(haha). I got most of the copper wire and copper pipe. I got all the appliances inside and out. Fortunately, I had borrowed a trailer from another uncle and the acreage just happened to be within 1 mile of our new place. I made about 3 trips. I did really well with just the steel, copper pipe, and appliances from the place. I actually still have all of the copper wire that I will eventually will strip and take in when copper prices increase a bit again. From there I have posted ads on CL for free pickup of recyclables. For a time, a received a couple calls a week. This was enough to keep me busy and at some times I would refrain from posting ads as I had too much to handle. 1 and a half years later, I am sitting really good. I haven't posted an ad for a while because I need to break down a bunch of brass, aluminum, and copper to take in. I also sell whatever can be repaired or sold for more than scrap. I have learned a lot from all the members on this forum. I appreciate all the insite, tips, tricks, and stories you guys post on this forum. I hope I can contribute to the forum and to other Joe Shmoes like me who want to make a little cash money on the side for a little bit of hard work. Here is a photo of my shop when it was full of stuff and another showing how I pick up washers and dryers on the back of my Yukon. Thanks guys. Keep up it!
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