CHEAP THRILLS

The whimsy, weirdness, and heartbreak of secondhand shopping

- BY Caity Weaver

We have limited time on this Earth to get a good look at one another's belongings. We need to move on this—fast—because the years we spend alive could well be our only opportunity for snooping. And it’s so interesting to see what everyone has!

Drink coasters shaped like pieces of well-known fruit, a woven cage for transporting a chicken, a new-in-box gelato maker—these are the stones from which the cathedral of man’s experience is raised.

To be a secondhand shopper is to see the riches of the world and be satisfied that they are enough. Don't turn any sand into spanking-new champagne coupes on my account. It is also to indulge the wanton impulse of every person to spy on other people. Archaeologists have been cataloging dump sites since at least the early 19th century, when Danish scientists began pawing through heaps of mollusk shells that had been discarded by their Stone Age ancestors. Indeed, studying what people throw away (eventually, people throw away almost everything) is one of the most efficient ways to learn about them.

One needn't be an archaeologist to snoop through others’ trash. In the United States, the layman can do this any day of the week, especially Saturday, if the weather is nice. This spring, I decided to see what I could learn about my fellow Americans’ lives—and how much I could improve my own life through their discards—for $100.

1. Garage Sales