I met my wife in a dumpster in Buffalo — we earn $20K a year and our baby sleeps on a cot we found in the trash
They found love in a hopeless place.
A pair of scavengers from Buffalo — whose romance was kindled at the bottom of a dumpster — say they haven’t let the arrival of a baby curtail their rubbish-rousting exploits.
Scrap-happy Dave Sheffield, 35, met wife Erin, 39 back during his college days — the trash-minded twosome bonded while Dave was picking through a pile of debris on the hunt for something of value, SWNS reported.
After 15 years together — and a 2021 wedding — the crap-combing couple have now welcomed their first child, who sleeps in a bed found in the bins.
The debris-loving duo found out they were pregnant in 2023 — giving their peculiar passion a new kind of focus.
They were able to unearth a cot, a baby swing, unopened bottles and much more.
Now that daughter Evelyn has been born, the Sheffields say they can’t wait to welcome her into the family side business.
“Evelyn is doing great, she is growing so fast. We’re really happy,” said Erin, who works a more traditional day job as a charity coordinator.
“We found a portable crib which she sleeps in now,” the waste-watching mama explained.
“Brand new it would have been worth $150. We found it in a long dumpster in the back of a big department store where they were tossing out all their baby stuff,” she said.
“They had car seats but we already had that. Luckily my husband ran into another mom who was there dumpster diving who took the seat,” Erin recounted.
The refuse-niks met in 2009 when James was attending SUNY University at Buffalo and Erin was working in a local bike shop.
“We met in a dumpster. I saw him, popped my head over and asked what he was doing,” Erin said. “He jumped out, we cleaned up and spent the day dumpster diving.”
Over time, their friendship grew into something more — like so many piles of tossed-out treasure.
“We exchanged numbers and kept hanging out and have been diving as a couple since,” she siad.
The couple’s junk journey began slowly — largely taking advantage of the huge amount of stuff left behind by students at the end of each semester, with finds ranging from textbooks to unused laundry detergent and office supplies.
With more free time during the pandemic, Erin and Dave really plunged head first into their mission, selling furniture, scrap metal and more using eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
Now, Dave estimates, they are able to pull in $20,000 per year offloading their unusual finds.
Some things, however, they prefer to keep — a handful of their prizes have been repurposed as anniversary presents.
“I found roses in a dumpster for our anniversary — they were perfect they weren’t even old,” Dave admitted. “I have got her coffee mugs, candle holders, candles and flower pots.”
Evelyn’s arrival has curtailed Erin’s scrapping sojourns for the time being — apparently, the newest member of the family is lacking somewhat in junk joy — but that hasn’t stopped Dave from his extraordinary exploits.
“I am still taking a little break but my husband goes out dumpster diving,” Erin said. “We are hoping as she gets a little bit older she will enjoy it more.”
