how skip hire can furnish a house

Ever think that skip hire was just muck and old tat? Take a look at the guy above, he’s managed to furnish his entire house with furniture and fixtures he’s found in skips. Pretty impressive, eh? The practice, known as Skip Diving is being employed more and more by eco and money conscious individuals.

Furniture your life on a shoestring, with a list of dos and don’ts for Skip Diving:

Dress for the mess – A pair of thick gloves is a must. Avoid evening wear and tennis whites

Move fast – Don’t leave a skip until next day – if it’s not gone, anything useful inside it will be

Stay off private property – If you have to jump a fence to get at it, you’re on dangerous territory. CCTV is everywhere these days

If you can’t use it, pass it on – check out places like Freecycle

Scout the best spots – Building-site skips contain rubble, mostly, but some will have usable timber. House clearances are usually the best source of skipped treasure

Read up – The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving , by John Hoffman, an American who’s made a career out of skip-diving

Good luck!