This 2009 video shows what was happening in our suburban Kansas City neighborhood last night as people scoured the streets for creative treasures amid what Prairie Village residents consider trash. Our annual "Big Item Pickup" event is both a great way to get rid of large things people no longer need and an opportunity to redistribute those items to people who do see creative possibilities in them.

Having been one of the scavengers in the past (I actually found matching dining room chairs at two different houses and walked them home), my wife put a stop to my active participation in the creative possibilities-identifying side of Big Item Pickup many years ago. Now, I'm left to live vicariously through the creative scavenging successes of those with the biggest trailers and the most spacious pickup trucks!