It's Not Easy Being Green....

(Thank you, Dianne for featuring this post in the DIY Decorating Addict January 2014 issue!)
It's not easy being green when I walk through the neighborhood with Mr. P. and I'm like this:

And he's like a horse with blinders, continuing to walk, as if he sees nothing but the path ahead.

I swear, especially on the day before trash day (which is Tuesday in my neighborhood), there is some really good stuff going to the landfill - unless someone rescues it.  Mr.P. used to get downright embarrassed when I would even look at the curbside treasures, but I will say he's come around quite a bit in the last five years. He's even recently made a comment or two as we loop the neighborhood and asks if a certain something is still in the pile.  But he is never with me when I rescue anything.  We go home, and I go back out to get things.

Following are some photos I've taken just this year of curbside treasures.  I have gotten a few treasures from trash, but many more have gotten away.  I am happy to report, though, that probably 50% or more get picked up by someone else, and not ever get to the landfill.  That's the next best thing to snagging the items myself.

It's like any garage sale or flea market - you just have to want to go through the stuff....

Look at these puzzles!  Great wintertime activity!  I only took two.  And the lampshade frames!

This looks to be a perfect, small-yard sized lawnmower!

Poor Sparky - he probably just needed a new spark plug!

This one got away!  I went back for it and it was gone - BEAUTIFUL!

I snagged this one - Home Goods price tag still on back - $59.99

It's even fairly clean on the inside - AND, it matches a towel stand in my bath!

Snagged these maple cabinet doors too - sold them at a yard sale (though not for the price stickered).

Wouldn't these windows make a great greenhouse?  And those old water skis are project-worthy too!

This pile is pretty much picked over by passers-by, but still a few good pieces left!

There are other items I've taken photos of and messaged to friends and family, all the while in disbelief of what some people consider trash.  They've included two very large boxes FULL of classic rock albums, mostly from the '70s, that got soaked in the rain before they could be rescued; plant stands and flower pots, and countless architectural wood remnants.  There were also a few other items I did rescue, including a 42" beveled-glass tabletop, and numerous chippy cedar fence posts.

Yes, it's hard being green in my neighborhood.  I want to rescue it all.  How about you?  What's in your neighborhood?
EDIT UPDATE 10-21-13:
After one reader shared this website with me in her comment, I would like to spread the word and share with you, too:  www.freecycle.org.  I'd never heard of it!  From their website, here's how they describe it:

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 5,118 groups with 6,521,848 members around the world. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers (them's good people). Membership is free.