In a matter of a couple of months, I have completely taken away my families reliance on the grocery stores, even the dollar stores that we have all grown so fond of. If you were to ask my children whe was the last time we want grocery shopping, they would have conflicting answers of a few months apart. How have I done this you ask? It's a little thing I have grown to respect as my job, it's called "Dumpster Diving" and it is the greatest thing to happen to my family since....I don't know when. This is serious business that has saved me so much money that we were able to afford to take our four children to the state fair 4 times this year, while being able to provide them any other things that they needed. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but for those of you who have been in those tough financial spots and couldn't get things for our children that would break the other halves heart. What began as a hobby, as quickly turned into MY economy, and has saved my family easily hundreds of dollars in a matter of only two months.
Anyone with a vehicle and some spare time can DD.i have had many people ask me if I am afraid of getting caught. By who? Most stores don't mind if you DD, most of the time it gives them more space, and saves them the money they would pay the trash company to come and dump their trash cans. The key is to NEVER leave a mess. My rule of thumb is to leave it cleaner then when I got there. I'm not telling you to make it spotless, what I am saying is that if you see that the employees may have missed the can when dumping boxes, etc.,PICK THEM UP and throw them away. The name of the game is to get as much as you can from these places, and you can't do that of they think you are trashing their place to find it. I have also been asked about the police. My answer is ALWAYS the same, dumpster diving IS LEGAL on the federal level. If your city or town has a local ordinance is another question entirely, I know that most cities do not have an ordinance, but there a some that do. The most you can get is a ticket, that I personally would fight using pictures of the dumpster, the condition that I left it in, etc. if you do take your ticket to court to dispute it, I've learned that most times it will be dismissed, without having to actually do anything other than show up. I am NOT encouraging you to break any laws, but in the instance of a local ordinance vs. a federal law, the Feds always win.
Since I've started to find groceries, I haven't had to go to the grocery store! When I post pictures of the groceries that I find, I get people who ask of I'm worried about the food being rotten, expired, etc. and I have to chuckle to myself. If they only knew how wasteful these stores are, most times, neither myself, nor my children are able to find anything wrong with the items being thrown away. Most times the items are discarded strictly to make room for the new items being brought in. In food service their is a term known as FIFO, which means "first in, first out." What this breaks down to is exactly what I just explained, they merely have to make room for other items being brought in. Don't get me wrong, some of the items are either at their sell by date, or will reach it within a few days, but honestly that is what freezers, husbands and children are here for. The only rule to it have for this is, if the food that is supposed to be kept cold it too warm when I get to it, it has to be left behind. I do carry an insulated grocery bag in my car for this purpose.it does not make sense to take an item, and it either goes bad before you can get it put away or soon there after. That is defeating the purpose of what we are doing. If you are able to follow this simple rule, you will find yourself like me, feeling lost INSIDE the grocery store.
To be continued.....
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