What seems to be the reason people in the middle class all seem to ubiquitously have particle board, metal, wire, plastic, and otherwise cheap material shelving is that it is so affordable. Wal-Mart, Target, Ikea, and others make it all too easy to find shelves that fit any situation in one’s home and to fit just about any space.

For this reason, also, it all too often finds itself in the garbage. People move much more often than they once did. And now, it’s so cheap to throw away that $20 shelving unit and buy new, why am I cramming it into the already crammed UHAUL truck?

Why, indeed.

Here’s another item I saved from the forgotten shelves for my own daily use: shoes! Actually, I have two pairs of shoes I bought at thrift stores, both of which looked like they could have just as easily been sitting in the box at Macy’s. Both brands, actually, are carried by Macy’s and other department stores.

One pair I bought are brown leather Steve Madden casual glocks. When I bought them about a year and a half ago, they were on the shelf among many other used shoes, all priced the same at $3. I picked them up only because they stood out as looking exceptionally, “new.” Indeed, the shoes looked to not have ever have even been worn out of the store. In perfect condition, they have worn nicely and I still wear them (as in, today!).

More recently, I came across a pair of Kenneth Cole clogs. I paid $5 for these, but they literally still had the stickers from the store on them and looked as if no one had ever had them on their feet. The insides are brand new, and clearly they’ve never hit the pavement (until yesterday’s trial run, by yours truly).

One day at work I was heading down the elevator when the doors opened up on another tenant’s floor. I could not help but notice a leather desk chair in perfect condition (at least to the naked eye). It had two neon orange tags on it to signify that it was in the freight area for disposal and not just for storage.

Seeing the item as free game for the taking — any piece of furniture headed for the dumpster essentially is up for grabs — I wheeled it onto the elevator and put it into storage until I could arrange for it to be taken home (I don’t own a vehicle).

A few weeks passed before I both had a vehicle in town (borrowed from my girlfriend’s parents) and had a pass to remove the piece from the building. This rule is in place because although the item was being thrown away, the orange tags are very easy to acquire and so many items could be taken out illegitimately in that manner. So, I had to get a pass in order for security to allow the item to leave the building. The pass serves as a validation of legitimacy.

The “Saved” Series will include items saved from being discarded in some manner, items doomed to be put into a landfill or closeted away from use. Instead of the potential user of these products buying new, we will show how these products, still with much utility left, are being used to improve one’s envirohuman impact.

By using a product that was left for “waste,” again, either by cleaning or fixing, one can usually help to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills (and other waste streams) as well as help to reduce the demand for new manufactured products.