The City of Austin picks up bulky trash twice a year. This is our day for putting say, that old gun safe that’s been sitting in the garage, on the curb. We can’t put these things out on just any trash day like many cities. Which I think is for the best. My mother-in-law, however, thinks it’s insane.

So last night everyone put out their bulky trash. And today has been a non-stop feeding frenzy. People in my neighborhood are seriously into bulky trash. When we moved in we had some things we needed to get rid of (including an 6′ tall entertainment center that hadn’t done well in the move). We just put these things on our front yard with a “Free” sign, and they were gone within 24 hours. Most of them were gone within the hour.

We don’t currently have any bulky trash. We’ve managed to go a fairly long time without doing any home improvement projects and we mostly like the stuff in our house. But as I sit here I can watch the crud my neighbors across the street put out. In the past hour there have been a minivan and a truck, and both have taken something from the pile. The pile now appears to only contain a while chunk of lattice work and a cardboard box (which the city won’t pick up, but maybe they’re gambling that someone else will).

I’ll keep you updated.