We live in a culture of waste: landfills are overflowing and consumer purchases are at record levels. With each new purchase, the old "junk" gets tossed out. But is it really junk? "How To Live Off Other People's Junk" shows us that there is still plenty of potential in the so-called junk items that are purged from households everyday. From books to kitchenware to clothing to electronics, there is great potential in what other people deem to be junk. Learn how to take action and create an environmentally friendly small business that will be able to provide all the household items you could possibly need and a steady source of income from the excess, all while working at a part-time level, leaving more time for yourself and your family. "How To Live Off Other People's Junk" walks through the process of finding junk, processing junk, and how to turn that junk into dollars, with almost no small business start-up cost. You will learn how and where items are selling for top dollar, how to stay organized, and how to turn someone else's junk into your bread and butter!

While preparing for a cross-country move, my husband and I determined that we had way too many items. Items had accumulated around the house for a variety of reasons: the kiddo grew out of his clothes, career changes required wardrobe changes, duplicate kitchen items, gifts that weren’t used, freebie items, furniture that we no longer needed, etc. We also found ourselves in a unique predicament: we were moving in the dead of winter. There was no way to have a yard sale, charity shops only did pickups twice a year, and we were running out of time before the move. We hated that many of the items were perfectly useable and we were certain someone could use them. We tried hauling boxes to the charity shops ourselves, which got tedious, especially the closer the move date. We gave away anything to any of our friends, family, and co-workers that we could. Many of the remaining items hit the nearest dumpster because we had no other option. We hated how tossing those items made us feel. Not because we were attached to them, but it was such a wasteful option. Now had we the opportunity to take the time to go through those items, sell what we could, reuse what we could, and then give away the rest, we would have. It was only after moving into our new home that it occurred to us that there had to be many other people like us that have to ditch items before they move, redecorate, downsize, etc. Being thrift shoppers and bargain hunters ourselves, we had met loads of people like us that either didn’t have the chance to make the most of their items, didn’t know how, or just didn’t care to. The opportunity for us was born: we could take the time, effort, and care that others wouldn’t and use it to our advantage to support our family.

Elizabeth Ziegelbein spent 5 years working in Finance for a vocational college, teaching students about Financial Literacy and how to better manage their finances. After striving to live simply and have more time for family, she decided to harness "junk" as a means of providing a second income for her family after leaving her career. After a childhood spent wondering why her grandfather was always looking for good "junk" in dumpsters and garbage piles, she now understands the potential and wisdom in such actions. In addition to always scavenging for good "junk", she runs a personal finance blog at www.BreakFreeFromBroke.com and lives in Nevada with her husband, son, and canine mascot.