Gleaning

It's always amazing how much stuff there is out there that nobody wants or has fallen off a truck.

A few weeks ago we picked up a discarded 4 draw steel cabinet which didn't take much to patch up and now is like new. It came in handy in the Cave to tidy up some things that were looking for a good storage place. In particular our seed collection was in a long wooden box on top of one of the fridges. It was always a bit awkward to use because of its size and location. After inserting some partitions in the top draw of the filing cabinet the seed packets went in there in alphabetic order. There was also an opportunity to cull any seriously out of date or unwanted packets. How much easier it is now to grab a packet of seeds and head out to the garden.

Seed Draw

Recycled Filing Cabinet

Some of our finds have included two small chicken tractors which are now used to relocate broody hens or a isolate a breeding pair. This week we picked up a very good quality heavy duty tie-down. My current push bike was dumped on the side of the road and has served well for a number of years. The BBQ (our first) is someone’s reject which just needed a good clean and a gas bottle.

Useful Tie down



A little rough but serviceable.



Not Pretty but free and useful



A couple of hours work and it was spotless

Our collection of wheel barrows has grown, we now have four and one in pieces in reserve. Always a handy item when one has a barrow devoted to firewood and another in the garden with weeds there is never a problem grabbing one for another urgent job.

Fully refurbished

Spares

 

In the workshop there is an endless supply of steel bits and pieces put aside for that unique job. A lot of the steel components come via the local tip shop. Especially heavy duty, galvanised large size steel pipe which we now have enough of to rebuild the 200 metre front boundary fence using these as the steel strainers and stays.

Future Strainers

Useful Bolts

 

All the automatic door closers in the house have been replaced with high quality commercial grade closers at no cost.

The list of acquisitions seems endless. Sometimes when you come across an item you think aha that will fix x other times it's “that could be useful down the track”. The worse case is that it can all be recycled if you suddenly get that “am I becoming a hoarder feeling”.




Another free steel cabinet for storing rat attracting paperwork

Collection of steel componentry at the ready

 

Jean-Francois Millet's painting “The Gleaners” is probably not the best parallel as it depicts grinding rural poverty whereas saving someone's discard for another use (rebirth) renders a value and appreciation on the effort to manufacture that item originally. It also elevates from the waste that can be so polluting.

Believe it or not this exercise machine was a "free if you remove it" offer. It gets a good work out now. And in the background is a free to good home wooden cabinet storing bits and pieces in a vermin proof environment.