The Family that Dumpster Dives together... gets more free stuff
When you have family members that support your habit? (Thanks Pa-Pa and J-lo)
Tag Archive for dumpster diving
Dumpster Diving: Morning Edition
Our Waste company announced that on October 1st would start doing a single stream recycling program. Under the previous plan we could only recycle Newspaper, Plastics 1&2, Glass (all colors) and Metal/Aluminum Cans. This meant that everything else: Cardboard, Mixed paper, plastics 3 through 7 had to be taken to a local recycling place if we were to have them recycled. This was typically a weekend event with The Kids to get them accustomed to recycling everything they could.
The new Single Stream Recycling meant that we could recycle Plastics 1-7, Mixed Paper, Cardboard, Metals, Glass and Newspaper all from our curbside. The Waste company would be providing a large (brown) trash can for all recycles to be through into one recepticle (thus single stream) which could be wheeled to the curb every other Friday for pick up. That Brown Recepticle has yet to show up, so currently we have a number of small recycling stations throughout the house and a central recycling consolidation center (in the garage) where the recycables are prepped for their method of recycling.
Newspapers are taken to The Elder’s School because they receive Cash Money for the weight of newspapers they collect.
Aluminum Cans are collected for The Elder’s Bestest Friend in the entire world his Great Grandmother Collects the cans for her Lion’s Club so she can get Cash Money for turning them into recycling.
Everything else either gets kicked to curb on recycling days OR chauffered to the Recycling Center when it starts to over flow in the Recycling Consolidation Center.
This morning was one of those times when I needed to take a few cardboard boxes to the recycling facility and I filled them with Mixed paper and plastics just to make the trip worthwhile. Well, at the Recycling Facility, I did a little Dumpster Diving and made out like a bandit.
I scored with
60 MyCokeRewards Points
4 Pepsi Stuff Points
50¢ of Box Tops for Education for The Elder’s School
1 Tyson Foods Project A+ for The Elder’s School
Dumpster Diver Like Me
Today after my run, I went to one of the local recycle centers to leave some materials for the fine local recyclers… and the local dumpster diver. When I arrived there was this Dumpster Diver Dude, looking in the plastics bin with a Pringles can. He was definitely doing something in the bin and putting whatever he had in the can. He then went over to the Mixed Paper bin and I went from the Glass Bin to the Plastics Bin. I dropped my stuff in and then moved the car to the Cardboard Bin. All the time, I was noticing this Dumpster Diver Dude and what he was doing. This recycling center is on a sheltered side of a Kroger store, so it is kind of secluded… and in an “okay” section. I really didn’t want to get mugged or anything, that would totally get in the way of Terry Day.
So, when I had dumped the plastics I wanted to see what he was doing. The evidence was that there were some Coca-Cola products without lids. I went into Sherlock Holmes mode and deduced that he was taking the caps off the bottles. This hypothesis supported that he was in the Mixed Paper Bin searching for mode codes from Fridge Packs. Now, I only went for the paper product codes the few times I have gone Dumpster Diving (Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here) because getting lids on places where people potentially put their filthy mouths. Yuck! So I go for the more sanitary method.
I actually was kind of curious on how many Coke Reward Points he might have. I am approaching 5000 points thanks to all of you who are gracious enough to collect the points for me. This I thank you. It would be nice if Coke added some more stuff to the prize loot OR announce that they are stopping the game. I mean it has been 2 years now for Coke Reward Points.
Perpetual Plague
I am going to split open my face and scrap out my sinus cavity… there is something up there that won’t go away! Chalk up another “Zero” in the Run Column for today.
My running has been SOOO lean. How lean is it? It’s so lean that you couldn’t even have a piece a bacon for Eggs, Spam, Bacon, and Spam breakfast. It’s that lean. Actually, I know that I ran on the 7th and 8th of this month, but I have not logged the miles into my Buckeye Outdoors account. I just hope that I blogged about it so that I remember what the hell I ran.
This means, in essence, that the Whitestone 30k is now mothballed and for all practical purposes, the Marathon Relay that I wanted to do with some people in my Sunday School Class will be lined out. At least with the Marathon, I can still volunteer… I was asked by name to man one of the last intersections of the course. And when you ask The Planet3rry to volunteer for something… He loves to dismiss the Darkness and Chaos.
What this does mean is that the monies budgeted to these races can go for some more smaller races and thus I can work on some of my speedwork. So, a little detour… granted that I get rid of this residual cold. I should go run so that the cold air forces out all the mucus and dries it up.
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My Lovely and Talented Wife had found a WordPress plugin that let you had a glossary of terms… basically a marketing tool. I just got an email from the Photo Hunter Hostess, TN Chick with her visual plugin glossary. SO maybe I can put that up soon.
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Hats off to my Mom who has been a recent contributor to the Dumpster Diving phenomenon that has been sweeping the MyCokeRewards points land. She already knows that her son is weird and loves him anyway. Coke is starting to roll in some better prizes. I want to see the goods before I pull the trigger on the lower priced items.
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Upcoming Blog Subjects:
Photo Safari Results with (Currently UnNickNamed) Neice
Being a woman
Insurance Companies and the (Currently UnNickNamed) Wonder Drug
On and On to the Break of Dawn Bad Awful Customer Service
Another Contest in the making
and that’s a wrap… hit it!
Triplets
Open Letter to All Astronomers
To Whom It May Concern:
Effective as of 7:20am EST on Friday January 11th, 2008, the planet Venus is hereby stripped of its planetary status. The previously called planet now falls into the “star” classification. In addition the name “Venus” has been dropped and the name “Star” has been adopted as not to confuse it with the other planets out there.
This change is effective immediately, by my authority.
Sincerely,
The Younger
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Dumpster Diving Part IX (I think)
Is it really dumpster diving if you go back for something that you accidentally threw away recycled… say some MyCokeRewardPoints?
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Runners: Garmin Forerunner 305 $186
If you have been wanting a GPS system for yourself… Amazon has the Garmin Forerunner 305 for $186 shipped! Which is $15 less than the next place I could find and wasn’t sure if that place was a reputable website and not sure about shipping either.
Dumpster Diving pt 6
I had a chance to visit one of my favorite Knoxville places, the recycling facility, yesterday. I was dropping off my mixed paper supply and I was dropping off some extra plastic bottles that had built up over the holiday week.
It was a lean day at the Recycling Facility for MyCokeReward Points. Although this excursion I wasn’t really jumping into the containers and looking for them, I did find 2 codes hanging out. So I didn’t go empty handed.
On a MyCokeReward note, I was thinking that they were going to close up shop on the game because they didn’t restock their inventory at the start of the basketball season like they did last year. The new prizes that they did add to the list of rewards were pretty much crap. I was actually thinking about cashing my points like Weiner Hallie and buy MORE Diet Coke. Of course, that would leave me with 30+ coupons of soda… not bad. But I would rather get something really nice and then use the other points to offer give aways! I mean the next Guess My Time, Win Crap contest will be in January and then about once a month through May, that’s alot of free swag that I can have shipped to people.
Then, I get this email today saying:
So just when I was going to bail on them, they tell me they love me and I’m hooked all over again. I sure hope that whatever they decide to add to their prize locker is less sucky then what is there now.
A big thanks to all the people who send me codes!!!
Dumpster Diving V
My Lovely and Talented Wife had a customer at house on Saturday Morning, so I took the kids out for a few errands. One of the places was the Recycling Facility where I drop off my cardboard and mixed paper. It was pretty busy when I arrived, I had to combat park the minivan among the others so that I could unload.
I was talking to my brother at the time and telling him that I was on a roll with Coke Reward Points when I recycled. Last 3 times that I was here, I have scored a few codes from people’s trash. I had made the comment that it didn’t look good today, they had recently dumped the mixed paper container at it looked practically empty.
Practically empty except the mound of broken down soda boxes, all within arm’s reach.
I racked up good on Saturday!
My previous Highest number of codes had been 4, on Saturday it was 9!!!
So, what does this mean? This means that this week’s “Guess My Finishing Time” is going to be a GOOD prize!
Dumpster Diving pt 4
Yesterday I was supposed to go to a Rights Workshop for Tennessee and Special Needs Children, but the place that was supposed to hold the event was locked and the lights were off. I had changed my plans, or actually didn’t make any plans for Thursday since it the workshop was listed for 3 hours.
One aspect of people with Aspergers is that they function best with strict schedule and a set routine. I’m high enough functioning that I can recover from a change of plans, without having a meltdown. You try to tell The Elder a change is happening immediately that is against ‘The schedule’ and expect a meltdown. However, give him a 1 minute transition warning and it’s usually much smoother.
So after 30 minutes in the parking lot, I decided that no one was coming and so now what do I do? On Terry Thursdays, I make a schedule broken down in 15 increments. And it’s not that I actually follow the schedule exactly, it’s that it’s there in front of me and there is security in that. If it needs to be changed, I have the ultimate authority to change it at my whim… and that’s perfectly fine. But now, someone else has totally eradicated what I was supposed to do for Thursday. I was in a state of paralysis, “what do I do next?”
I knew that I had to drive back to Knoxville, I was currently in Oak Ridge (about 20 minutes away). So while I drove back, I was able to come up with a loose plan of going to the Recycle Facility (I had the trunk full of cardboard and mixed paper) and the to maybe Wal-mart and perhaps to Panera Bread to regroup.
By the time that I made it to the Recycle Facility, I was okay again. It’s like I was back on track and could think again about stuff that I needed to do while I was out.
I almost thought that my streak of finding My Coke Reward points was going to be broken. There were no empty soda boxes in the Mixed Paper bin. And as much as Marianna thinks that I get inside the container to scavenge for points, I don’t. Oh wait, I was waist deep in the container briefly because I was tossing the mixed paper and I lost my grip on the plastic bag and it slid inside. I could hear the recycling gods start to exhibit their anger that I, a mere mortal, had mixed paper and plastic. Blasphemer!
Just when I thought I would be writing this blog entry with words such as “didn’t find any points” or “there was nothing of value this time”, that’s when I saw something gleaming from the larger Cardboard Container. It was a Mello Yello box, flatten down with all the care of an OCD soda drinker/ cardboard recycler. I smelled smoke. Pilfering through the other box carcasses, I found another Mello Yello and then, I struck gold, a Coke box. But it didn’t have the tab that the points. Grrrr, Fools Gold.
“Thoughts become Things” (Think and Grown Rich, Hill) Withjust a little more shuffling, I found it! The streak was still alive! HA! A Refrigerator Pack worth 10 points (as long as they hadn’t already redeemed them). Then I found another. and another and another. FOUR codes! *fist pump* YEAH!
