FINDING JUNK and FREE MATERIALS FOR YOUR TINY HOME PROJECT:
This article originally appeared many moon/fortnights ago on the older version of relaxshacks.com
Ki, and some of her advice, will ALSO appear in the upcoming new (and hugely expended) edition of my book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks..."
Wanna kill a few hours time? Check out these of Ki’s (hey, that rhymes!): http://www.junkrevolution.com and http://www.junkcamp.blogspot.com
Ki Nassauer seems to be one busy gal when it comes to her love of flea markets, and finding treasures among trash- which she’s damn good at! I had the chance to chat with her recently (for inclusion in my next tiny house/home design book), and here’s what she had to say in terms of a trade I’m so fondly immersed in….
Oh yeah, she’s also the editor of “Flea Market Style” magazine- a new issue of which, is due on shelves soon- EVERYWHERE.
Here’s an excerpt from an upcoming interview/book segment we did…
As part of the drive/reasoning behind the tiny housing scene is rooted in thrift, and the elimination and circumventing of expensive housing routes of today here’s what Ki Nassauer had to say about curbside materials salvaging, and treasure scouting:
A road-ready kit for scavenging is easy to assemble. Junk maven Ki Nassauer, whose love of repurposing vintage has turned junking into a higher art form, never steers her truck to the back roads without these essentials:
Work gloves
Bungee cords and ratchet straps for securing finds
Tarps for wrapping them
A red flag for oversized items
Rubber totes for holding “smalls” so they don’t roll
Rain gear (she stores hers under the front seat)
Tool box
Band-aids and hand sanitizer, “because the better the junking, the deeper you are into the grunge!”
In addition to city curbs before trash day, old barns and salvage yards, Nassauer suggests culling flea markets and re-use centers for bargain hunting. Another great source: Nassauer’s own annual “Junk Bonanza, which displays the wares of more than 100 juried junk vendors each September in Shakopee, Minn.
KI’s LIST OF THE BEST HUNTING GROUNDS
City curbs before trash day
Old barns
Regular and architectural salvage yards
Flea markets
Re-use centers for vintage hardware, doors, windows and other parts
Flea markets
Farm auctions
(Deek’s additions: College areas near move out day!!! And local yard sales…)
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL TIPS, PLEASE LET US KNOW- WE’D LOVE TO HEAR ‘EM!
-Derek “Deek” Diedricksen
