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Artofjunking

Junking is the retrieval of ordinarily discarded things and materials.

To see someone picking thru your garbage can be disgusting, embarassing and sometimes calls up the image of "Junkman" ..."Sheenyman" ..."Garbage Picker" ..."Transient" ..."Bum" ...etc. But stop and think, large businesses, organizations and the like are doing exactly the same thing on a large scale... and you don't seem to be offended! It's called recycling! It's a basic fundamental of human nature and of nature itself! From big business to family traditions of handing down things to another generation, it's a way of life. Resale shops, secondhand stores, state-run organizations, all receive things that are retrieved from "the state of the junk".

Junking is a way of redefining the usage of things... not to mention... a way of cleaning up our polluted Earth.

There are many types of Junking. The most common are: Street Junking and Scrapping... both of which can be done For Fun or For Profit.

Levels of Junking include:

• Big business and corporate recycling
• Street Junking
• Private or public non-profit organizations
• Resale shops
• Secondhand stores
• Charities
• Family traditional
• Individual entrepreneurs
• Hobbiests
• Scrappers

Junking can be looked at in many ways. Here we will look at it from two perspectives: For Fun... For Profit.

In either case the Methods are the same or similar:

• "What" to pick-up? "What" not to pick-up?
  • Pick-up things that you yourself want to have. Pick-up what is useful. Know what things other people are in need of or what they want! Don't pick-up excessive amounts of the same types of things. Don't pick-up things that are possibly stolen, infested, or most importantly too hard or unfeasible to repair!
• How much to pick-up?
  • How many things can you have? How much storage do you have? What is reasonable and that you don't want to create an ugly mess around your area?
• When to go?
  • Timing is everything! Remember like anything else, others are looking just as you are and if you want to be the "Finder and Keeper" you better time your hunt! You can go the same time each time, or better, go early and go late... late-late... like at 2, 3, 4 in the morning... like when people go out fishing...
• Where to go?
  • Where you go is up to you, but the larger the area you hunt in, the more you will find. Consider developing a "Junkers Conscience". Then you will always be alert to finding things anywhere! Develop "Routes"... regularity always makes it easier to concentrate on the "Pickin". Check with cities on when they pick-up garbage and where.