Breaking in the new year

Last night I had a couple friends who had been traveling over for dinner. It was great to see them again and they had some wonderful dive stores from their travels. After dinner we decided to take a little trip to the dumps to see what we could find. We were pretty excited with our findings from the first stop so we decided to make a night out of it and check out a few other places too. In the spirit of a new year we decided to try a few new spots, and its a good thing we did; we found a couple great new spots! We went to grocery stores, pharmacies, the pet store and a couple retail stores. Petsmart has the only dumpsters I've ever encountered where the dumpsters are chained up and locked. If you want to get in them you have to climb up on top and get all the way in. I was appalled by how much food was in there. There were several large bags of dog and cat food, but each one appeared to have been ripped all the way open and poured out into the dumpster. This is most unfortunate because the county animal shelter has euthanization rate of nearly 50% and there are many other rescue centers and organizations that could make good use of the wasted pet food.
So far, this year seems to be starting off much better than the last.. At the end of the night we ended up with:

6 russet potatoes
6 red potatoes
4 sweet potatoes
2 organic cucumbers
6 assorted peppers
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
10 organic green bell peppers
6 jars Spanish olives
1 bag green apples
1 bag red apples
6 zucchini
4 red onions
4 yellow onions
3 white onions
3 boxes brussel sprouts
4 3pk. baby carrot w/ ranch dip
4 bunches green onions
1 bunch celery
8 tomatoes
3 bags rolls
9 pears
2 bags apple bites
2 heads romaine lettuce
3 yellow squash
2 bags raddishes
5 bags broccoli and carrots
6 cartons assorted mushrooms
head iceberg lettuce
organic pineapple
avocado
5 tangelos
2 grapefruit
3 oranges
8 ears corn
3 beets
6 12oz bottles milk
2 1/2gal. chocolate milk
whole Virgina ham
22 48oz bottles Sunny D
2 Naked drinks
2 cans orange shasta
2 dozen red roses

Round one

Round two.. Thats just the food..

2 mason jars with lids
pepper mill
tart pan
spring form baking pan
scrabble apple
stationery
garbage bag full of cards; thank you, birthday, christmas, hanukkah, new year, etc.
wine bottle outfit
scented candle
shinguard
ziplock bags
plastic food basket
3 phone chargers
2 phone cases
pocket guide to prescription drugs
Declaration of Independence and Constitution book
keychain laser pointer/LED flashight
2 packs energizer hearing aid batteries
~20 pairs reading glasses
3 scoop set
wooden spatula
steel dog food bowl
small fleece blanket
cat toy
remote control air plane
2 new toilet seats
throw pillow
fingernail clippers
gallon water jug
4 storage bins
computer parts

 

I sent my friends home with several bags full of stuff. Good thing, since they are broke from traveling and haven't found any work yet.. They said that in their travels on the west coast, dumpster diving was difficult because everyone has their turf and everything good gets gone real quick. I feel pretty fortunate to be able to pick from this tree that no one else seems to care about. I can pick all I need, whenever I need. Im excited to see how this year takes shape.