 Re: Dumpster Diving Tool Kit
Most of my furniture as a child was salvaged from curbsides by my mother- it helps that she knew how to mostly rebuild and refinish anything that needed it. If any of you are into yardsales and tend to spend your weekends driving through residential areas, be on the lookout for large curbside items. If it's abandoned property (which it is when it's on the curb next to trash cans) scoop it up. It helps to have kids for that, too.
I've never thought of dumpster diving for coupons, mostly because I'm a bachelor living in a single room, and I eat in a dining hall- there's only so much I ever buy, and I never considered trading coupons before, so I've never had cause to go find more. I have dove for nifty architectural details when buildings are being demolished, or bits of old furniture (I'd hence recommend a small, standard toolkit for all diving expeditions, as a matter of course and just in case), and also bread.
A lot of bakeries throw out their bread at the end of the day- sometimes they hand it out from the back door (there's one in Richmond that'll fill up paper sacks for you if you provide them), or sometimes they just stack it in a dumpster. Look for bread that's on top or in the middle, touching only other bread, that isn't damp, and that smells only of itself. If you're scared of contamination- and if you figure out when they throw it out every day, you should be able to pluck it up before it sits there for even a minute- you can cook it in delicious dishes like bread pudding, french toast, or traditional breadsauce for chicken, which will kill the germs and make it extra-safe. | 
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