Hippie Christmas

I'm not sure if I've written about Hippie Christmas before, so I apologize in advance if I'm repeating myself. It's worth repeating! It is a holiday for recyclers, reusers, dumpster divers, and well, hippies. We met a few when we were out "celebrating"! Urban Dictionary defines Hippie Christmas as: The day following move-out day, in areas where most leases expire simultaneously, during which the curb is a treasure trove of discarded items.
I'm pretty loose with the term. If I find anything for free I consider it a Hippie Christmas present.

Boulder is a college town, so the findings are especially great here. Everything imaginable can be found- electronics, furniture, dishes, clothes, sports gear, school supplies... One of the aforementioned hippies bragged about finding packaged food, but I that's where I draw the line.
The first year I really got into it I couldn't believe all the things that the students were just throwing away. It made me angry, really angry, that it was going to such waste. But as I rifled through sets of dishes, skis, hampers full of clothes, and saw that there were about 5 other people at that one spot also picking up salvageable things, I realized that hardly any of it actually makes it to the landfill. Some people take Hippie Christmas very seriously and have strategic maps to hit all the sweet spots. I still get angry at the laziness- how hard is it to call a local charity to pick up your items?! But I also do enjoy finding free stuff in an alley.
This year we found a few treasures including 2 fans (one was set up in my sauna/studio window last night and felt like heaven), a garden shovel, a folding chair, a lamp (with an energy efficient bulb in it!), and a sombrero. My very favorite Hippie Christmas gift is this:

It was sitting by the side of the road with a 'FREE' sign- what a beautiful thing, those 'FREE' signs. If I lived in a more populated area I'd put free stuff outside all the time, just for fun. In Telluride they actually have a free box. One of my dreams is to create something like this in Boulder. Anyway, back to my pram! Thank you, sweet husband, for hitting the brakes then getting all turned around on Boulder's one-way streets so that we could navigate back to pick up this treasure! I'm thinking it'll make a great display for baby items when I sell them (and, ahem, after I make them). Do you have any ideas for what I could use it for?

Happy Hippie Christmas to you and yours! I hope it is an abundant season for everybody.

*I haven't forgotten about the giveaway I promised. Check in tomorrow to find out the details!