Dumpster Diving is the practice of going through retail and commercial dumpsters in search for new, unused products. You can find bulk food products that haven't even been opened, but one the experation date comes to the present, companies can no longer sale the goods, even if they are still edible. You may find art, furniture, technology equipment, etc.

When you decide to take part in dumpster diving, you can find yourself finding great gifts for friends, family, and co- workers. You may even luck out when redecorating your house, and find unused paints and supplies.

Watching TV, one day, I stopped to listen to a many describe the various decor around his apartment. Most of his sculptures, tables, chairs, and other decor, came from retail dumpsters, and not one of the items looked like trash to me. So, if you worry that you're being cheap around the home by dumpster diving, don't worry, most of your friends won't notice.

Before you continue reading, you need to make sure that you know and understand the laws and regulations about dumpster diving in your area, because most dumpsters are on private property, you may run into trespassing laws; there's no since getting in trouble for free products.

How?

Easy. You may want to scope out a few different dumpsters in order to figure out which ones may serve as the best source of loot. Once you're there, it's not that hard to figure out what you're supposed to do...

Where?

You want to look for dumpster that are free- standing and non- compacting dumpsters.

Look for non- locked dumpsters; you don't want to get in a bind where you broke into a dumpster. Remember breaking and entering is illegal.

Look for dumpsters behind offices, retail stores, and residential areas. Believe it or not, you can find some pretty nice things behind apartments and condos.

Find stores that you may be interested in- craft stores, book stores, house- ware stores, electronic stores, toy stores, even grocery stores.

When?

You want to wait until the store is closed. Try early night time hours or early morning hours.

No matter what time you choose to go, you're going to look a little suspicious going through the trash.

If you really want to save a little money by searching through dumpsters, you have to be persistent. If you don't find anything the first time, try again, and once you find a nice provider, stick with it. You may not find anythign in a particular dumpster if you only go once a week, so you may consider every day or every other day. Remember that bigger retail chains, such as Wal- Mart, may have multiple pickups a week.

You'll save a few bucks on gifts and whatnot once you're able to unlock your true dumpster diving eyes.

You may even make a few bucks by selling what you find on Ebay, Craig's List, or other various places. The money that you make dumpster diving will depend on your persistence and seriousness for the "sport;" the more you work at it, the more you'll start to find, which means the more you have to sale.

Remember to be frugal with your money and to spend the money you earn wisely.