I'm back from my vacation and checking in.
Here is a post that I wrote just before I left, but it is relevant anytime.
When I first started couponing I subscribed to receive two Sunday editions of the Washington Post every week. I quickly realized, however, that I was missing out on many deals because I just didn't have enough coupons. A lot of deals seem to require four "like" coupons for some reason.
At first, I would buy extra papers if there was a super deal, but that was costly. I was opposed to buying coupons off eBay or from clipping services. After all, what was the point of spending money to save money? Where were these vendors getting all those extra inserts, anyway? I wasn't convinced that their sources were legitimate.
A light bulb went off in my head when I realized that I could find coupon inserts at my local recycling center for free. Soon, I began finding many other valuable things at my recycling center, including:
- Books
- Box Tops for Education (BTFE)
- Campbell's Labels for Education (CLFE)
- Purina Weight Circles
- UPC's for various refund deals
- Lean Cuisine codes
- Stouffer's codes
- Catalina coupons
- Coke codes
- Kashi codes
- Cars2 codes
- Brand new envelopes and mailing labels
All of these things are valuable for trading in the coupon world except for the books, which I donate. Here you see my take from my last dumpster dive - I don't actually dive in - I just stand at the window and cull through the contents.
I also found something today that I have never run across before. A brand new 5-pack of 30 gallon lawn and refuse bags from the Home Depot like these.
I think that is what I love about dumpster diving - you just never know what treasure you will run across. And one of the benefits of living in Loudoun County, I guess, is that some of the residents are so wealthy they throw away perfectly good things without a thought, and then I don't have to pay for them! 
