Something From Nothing Log

[Ego]

Decided to send this as a PM rather than public....

[Ego]

Last week one of my tenants got fired from her job at a motorcycle shop so she sold her bike and threw out her Icon motorcycle jacket. Gotta love 'em. Listed on craigslist....

Sold the jacket for $25 to a gregarious British guy who owns a famous bar here in town. He is a Triumph fanatic and his daughter will use the jacket to ride with him. He is also a recent cancer survivor who is now questioning the idea of working till you drop. We had a lot to talk about.

Balance $894.46 + $25 = $919.43

[Ego]

This morning I found a rock climbing rig (Black Diamond harness, Evolv shoes and a Metolius chalk bag) for $30.

Sold the harness and chalk bag for $45 to a Navy Chaplain who is looking to begin climbing as a hobby he can do with his son. He tried on the shoes and may come back for them.

$919.43 +$45 = $964.43

[Ego]

I had some time to talk with Cory today so I let our conversation take form before I hit him with the question. "Okay so you started from..." He quickly interrupted and said, "Homeless with nothing and I got one car and then another and now I have a motorhome and a truck." As he said it I made an upward trajectory with my hand, flying like superman, and asked, "Okay, so where do you go from here...," as I continued up with my hand.

"Uh uh," he interrupted. "No, no, no. I don't do it like that. I do it like, like, every little thing I do makes it get better. That's the way it works." He closed one eye and held up his thumb and index fingers close together then looked at the space between them and said, "Every little thing I do makes it better. Nothing makes it worse. I don't do anything to make it worse. Not even the tiniest thing."

"What's 'it'," I asked. "The 'it' you are making better? What is it?"

He looked at me as if it was obvious but then waved his hands around his chest first, then more wildly around himself to take in the buildings, the street, the people walking by, then he looked up to the sky and said, "It!"

[Ego]

This morning I found a rock climbing rig (Black Diamond harness, Evolv shoes and a Metolius chalk bag) for $30. I'm probably not going to be able to mark it up much. Chances are, I will only double or triple my money on the gear, but this is the kind of stuff I like to sell, so I went for it.

Sold the shoes for $40 to a kid who will use them for a weekend bouldering trip to Joshua Tree.

This morning I bought a whole pile of used climbing gear, two harnesses, two pairs of shoes, two carabiners and a chalk bag, all for $45.



$964.43 + $40 - $45= $959.43

[Ego]

Found a TRX Tactical Force Kit last night at the swap meet for $10. Some of the webbing is discolored but otherwise works as it should. I still have my poor-mans version which I like very much so this one goes to craigslist.



$959.43 - $10 = $949.43

[Ego]

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/i-was-me.html

Found seed stock for my laundry room magazine library experiment in the recycle bin today.



Also found two backpack style beach chairs in the trash.

[George the original one]

Oooo, the chairs!

[enigmaT120]

No dumpsters to dive into where I live. I won't quite say darn it, but something like that.

[Ego]

Found a pair of Redington fly fishing waders (retail $300) today at the swap meet for $10. To craigslist.


$949.43 - $10 = $939.43

[7Wannabe5]

In addition to a slew of peonies, I found an extremely dirty $1 bill while clearing brush/vines and picking up litter. I wish I could upload a picture. I'm not sure if anybody will still accept it as legal tender unless I give it a wash. One good thing about being an urban gardener in a realm of verdant growth such as Michigan, is that all my neighbors have leaves, grass clippings, food scraps and wood they want to have hauled away. So, I have free materials to build endless hugel-kulture and lasagne/sheet-mulching beds if I am patient enough to sit through compost-cycles. I am a bit too ants-in-my-pants for doing that (since it might require my plan to expand to more like another 10 years rather than 6) , so I will buy one truckload of processed organic compost this spring.

[Ego]

Junk: Digging Through America's Love Affair With Stuff
http://www.npr.org/2016/04/02/472784727 ... enerations

Our stuff from a generational perspective. In book form. Which is hilarious.

[Ego]

Today I found another pile of magazines. If I encourage the tenants to leave them in the laundry, the room will quickly become overwhelmed. I decided to drop the magazines at one of the Little Free Libraries in the neighborhood instead.

Irony.... someone had thrown the latest issue of National Geographic in the trash, not the recycle bin. The cover story is titled, Too Good To Waste, about food waste.

[jacob]

I'm guessing there are no takers in the laundry room? Only givers?

The little free library (or similar) is where I got the original idea. I think I should be brave enough to challenge possibly non-existent zoning ordinances and establish one on the front lawn. Our street is a main thru-way for the pool in the community park on the corner of our block during summer time. Lots of people.

[Ego]

I'm guessing there are no takers in the laundry room? Only givers?

I didn't start because there really isn't enough room. Each of the three laundries are just big enough for two machines and a trash can. I thought about getting a wall mounted magazine rack at the swap meet, but even that would get in the way.

[Florian]

May I jump in the log?

The lecture hall across from my office was renovated a few months ago and the workers kicked out the old benches. Me and a colleague grabbed three of them, stored them in the office and I sold two of them for 50 € each, while he kept one for the hallway.
And today I found a 5 € bill on the road on my way home, thanks to riding a bike to work. Car drivers would've never seen it.
2 x 50 + 5 = 105 €

Thanks for your posts, Ego, they're truly inspiring. The next flea market around here will be on Saturday and I'll be there.

[Ego]

Florian, absolutely!!! Thanks!

A few weeks ago I found a pair of damaged hiking boots at the swap meet with Mr. Twofingers. One of the hooked eyelets had pulled out so I ordered a set of six replacement hooks from ebay for $6.95 and installed one today. I had to slice the liner and remove the old broken eyelet before riveting the new one in place (well actually I smashing it with a hammer and a crowbar as a backing plate). So far so good. The boots are my size so I am going to wear them a few times to make sure the repair holds before selling them. The boots sell for $199 new. Vasque would have repaired them for $25 plus shipping both ways.

[enigmaT120]

I always lust after high end hiking boots like that, but it seems like my most comfortable ones are just the military jungle boot (cloth uppers) type that I can get cheap at Goodwill, and I put in a good pair of insoles. I can go back packing on scree without them filling up with gravel. They don't even try to be waterproof but most waterproof boots are low enough that tops are under water anyway.

[Ego]

Today I found four down sleeping bags (REI, North Face) for $5 each and a bunch of other stuff. The batcave is filling.

[enigmaT120]

That is a heck of a flea market.