I knew a man that was disabled from the Fire Dept. and he made extra cash by fixing up stuff he got people set out by the curb.

Around here, stuff does not sit long. If it even looks remotely usable, people will snag it. I had a guy stop in front of my house. I figured he'd spotted the pound or two of copper tubing from the plumbing job. He didn't just want that, he wanted all the galvanized and the cast iron stuff, too. I helped him load it up because I wasn't exactly sure if the city would get it.

My old harvest gold toilet, white globe living room lighting, avocado green stove exhaust hood, old front door, old screen door, box full of old switch plate covers, and a ton of old nails and screws in buckets all got picked up in less than two hours and I lived on a dead end street! I hadn't had time to put the door hardware out yet so I put it into a box with a sign on it. They came back and got that, too.

Nowadays, I have Purple Heart pick up stuff(they got our old washer and dryer that still worked fine). Or, I take stuff to Habit for Humanity. I've bought four houses in ten years so they've gotten a lot of old light fixtures, hardware, cabinets, doors, paint, and assorted leftover building supplies.

My wife and I supplied several rooms with furniture we found on the street. I once got 10 1 x 12 boards that were painted and in mint condition. Each one was over 6 feet long. Made perfect shelves in my storage barn.

If you can use it, grab it. I'm sure the people that put it there figured somebody would come get it.