Good scrap Day! (For a small town scrapping newbie)

[scraphawk]

After coming home from my brothers baby shower I drove past and picked up a large rusty cast iron outdoor wood stove at the curb, easily 100lbs., then another block down found some wiring, a tv, computer monitor with vga cable, and a chair with metal frame, and a metal lamp all by an apartment complex dumpster. While picking that stuff up a guy across the street hollared me down and gave me a working gas dryer he wanted gone. Not a bad scrap day for a new scrapper, in a town of 2,000 people, and only 2 blocks from my house to boot! I know it's not huge money by any means, but I love finding things to scrap, and you never know what you'll find.



If I weren't scrapping I'd probably be watching tv on my free time, so even though it isn't much money it still adds up and is more than I'd make watching Netflix. Plus it's something me and my 4 year old enjoy doing together and he learns about recycling at the same time.

[Patriot76]

Congratulations and I love your perspective. Entrepreneur, active, and sharing time with your four year old. Good luck with your scrapping.

[scraphawk]

Thanks! As an added bonus I just picked up a chainsaw too. My wife spotted it while she was running.

Good luck to you as well Patriot!

[JJinLV]

Congrats! Sounds like a fine, fun day, one that'll even put a little extra money in your pocket!

[hobo finds]

now you can have extra cash to go towards Netflix!

[miked]

I truly love hearing about success. Hard work and little education and keeping your eyes open. Have a good week. 73, Mike.

[scraphawk]

Thanks for the replies everyone! We are heading out to work early today to see what else we can find.

[Wildleecoyote]

That's great! It's so nice you're spending time with your child as well. Cheers!

[mike1]

After coming home from my brothers baby shower I drove past and picked up a large rusty cast iron outdoor wood stove at the curb, easily 100lbs., then another block down found some wiring, a tv, computer monitor with vga cable, and a chair with metal frame, and a metal lamp all by an apartment complex dumpster. While picking that stuff up a guy across the street hollared me down and gave me a working gas dryer he wanted gone. Not a bad scrap day for a new scrapper, in a town of 2,000 people, and only 2 blocks from my house to boot! I know it's not huge money by any means, but I love finding things to scrap, and you never know what you'll find.

If I weren't scrapping I'd probably be watching tv on my free time, so even though it isn't much money it still adds up and is more than I'd make watching Netflix. Plus it's something me and my 4 year old enjoy doing together and he learns about recycling at the same time.

yeah thats about what i have where i live to a little less or more people not sure.

you sometimes you get lucky and they actually call you instead of just putting it out and making you look for it or someone else takes it and you lose it=( i hand out papers and put them on peoples door knobs i specify what i like to get as far as metal goes and anything else just call to see if i want it cause i dont take everything.

i am mainly a a/c or copper kinda person things that i can squeeze the most money out of while not taking up to much space as far as scrap loads go gotta be smart=)

i mostly stick to townspeople as my scrap sources so thats about a 2 mile radius dont wanna go to far.

nice metals though so far i have gotten these from townspeople:4 window a/c's,1 lead battery,1 flat screen tv,got a faucet at a garage sale for 1.00.

this other stuff here:2 window a/c's,sump pump,crt tv's when i used to do them not anymore,coax cable with copper core not steel hard to find=)

i got when we actually lived in town since now we live in the country on the outskirts of town.

some things i find that are hard to come by is copper cable and lead car batteries and copper pipes. you might do what i do and target houses with window a/c's sticking out of them you never know people might have them die and give them to you because the trash people dont take them so its a plus for you when they die and they just call you to take them away cause most people dont scrap things or they have a job and they just dont care=)

i have put about 40 papers on peoples doors with window a/c's so lets see if they all die thats hm not sure some of them had 3 or 4 window a/c's in them has to be bad on the power bill lol.

[scraphawk]

I went and picked up a file cabinet that was free on Craigslist in a nearby town yesterday (which I plan to sell for more than scrap value) and got to talking to the guy who posted it. He owns several rental properties and people leave stuff all the time when moving out. So he saved my number to call me when he needs stuff gone. My 1st business contact! I know a couple other people in my town with rental properties so I will probably talk to them about doing the same and hauling off their scrap too. I did see several other scrappers out in my little town the other day, but luckily I got to the scrap before they did. There's quite a bit of competition so I'm trying to out-network them to win the local loads. I think that is probably the best way to go about competing and limiting my fuel costs.

[mike1]

nice good for you=) keep on hauling

[Lexwallm]

Cool you're getting some stuff rolling besides curb shopping. Reminds me of when I really started curb shopping, then from there i've put craigslist ads and get contacts, started selling stuff, then i got a trailer, etc etc. It's really fun and encouraging when you get stuff, especially when you just find it. Also my dad was taking me with him to the scrapyard when I was 4, and here I am making a living from that same yard, mostly.


It's not huge money, but you found this stuff by the side of the road, or got it free, don't forget that besides your gas and labor it's almost completely free money and it's a good thing, it's exciting. And the more you do this you will find how big of a phrase "you never know what you'll find" is. You will find almost anything you can think of, everyday, any place, stuff you have no idea what it is, and specific stuff you need or people you know need. It's pretty crazy, you'll gain a lot of stories.

[Jcmichaels]

Thsts a nice haul. Good job

[recyclersteve]

I just picked up a chainsaw too. My wife spotted it while she was running.

Sounds like a line that could have been used in the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre.