Airbnb Part 2

Last Thursday when I tried to recall what food I had found in the past year or so, that was also likely left behind by Airbnb tourists, not much came up.

So how could I forget about the 4,5 kilos of rice that was neatly placed last Fall by a tree in a street that I passed after groceries (tiny detour, just for fun)? Ok some was out, but still close to 4,5 kilos. And by now far from finished.

Well, rice was exactly what I was looking for this morning to combine with my green peas, that came perfectly fresh out of the freezer. Yummie! Served with a dried sauce that I stocked up on last week at discount, I had lunch for about €0,40 cents, and enough left for tomorrow.

But yesterday morning, on my way to the recycling shop I saw a shoe box on the curb that was half closed, with something orange shining through the opening. Looking like and turned out to be oranges indeed. I do not eat them, I don't even like the juice, but stopped anyway. Lucky I had my phone on me for the photo, as you need an app in the shop.

Good idea! I took the tea (I love Eart Grey) the yoghurt and noodle soup. I don't eat yoghurt as such but Greek yoghurt is good for cooking. And as expected, on inspection at home the box was still sealed. Can keep for long. Had the noodle soup with added garlic and finely cut little bit of paprika as an afternoon snack before leaving for work. Not fantastic but nice enough for the needed energy.

I left the box wide open so someone else would find the oranges and milky fruit drink.

Airbnb

Airbnb tourists sometimes leave perfectly fresh food, neatly packed on the curbs, as they cannot take it home and mostl likely have to leave the apartment as found, so with an empty fridge. Personally I would't mind finding my fridge full after coming home, but rules are rules I guess. I don't remember all but one is a pack of cut salami, with an ok date, unopened and though it was there in the sun it can't have been for long, because someone else would have taken it. For sure safe to eat and I enjoyed what I cannot well afford.

Last Tuesday's lot was pretty amazing and I wonder who left this and why. Or why a tourist would buy this much when you spend most part of your vacation outdoors.

I came home from a local job but took a different route because of road works, so avoiding a detour. It led me past the recycling shop where outside is a collection box for deposit cans and bottles. So I crossed the street to have a look. It gave me one can but then, on the free library shelves also there I first noticed two eggplants. Not very shiny on the outside but looking good enough. Then there was the plastic bag... On top two bags of frozen vegetables. They still felt pretty cold. Not 100 % frozen anymore, but I felt confident to refreeze them if consumed in the next two weeks ore so. Only looked at the rest at home:

Two half loafs of cut bread, dated just one day earlier. Potatoes. Two large pieces of ginger. Two spring onions. Three baby cucumbers, already eaten by now. Some garlic cloves. And the tubes of mayonnaise and ketchup. Opened but just for one squeeze or so. Refridgerated you can keep those for almost ever.

Put bread in freezer but started on it yesterday. The other one is still in. I made soup with the eggplants on Wednesday already so not on picture, first try it was lovely! And mighty wholesome. Cooked the potatoes today to work in my salad to take to work tommorrow. But there's enough left for Saturday. Spring onions went in as well. Ginger is not in my cookbook but will try in the next eggplant soup. Experiment! I hate ginger bread but unknowingly I must have had it in Indian dishes, never say no to what you don't know.

I consider giveaway spots a grey area between trash and thrift, but as the bookshelves are really meant for books anything else left on them for me is trash.

A New Iron And Microwave Oven For Me

The past so many years I owned two irons, one bought by my parents over 40 years ago, one left behind by a friend who moved back to the US in 2003. She came back to Amsterdam in 2013, but then found a furnished expat apartment provided with such basics and didn't need it back. Both devices worked fine but were at some point stained from using them to hot on synthetic fabric. Not really a problem for me because I haven't worn blouses in over 20 years, and since then I only used an iron to fix fabric paint, which has to be done under a cloth anyway. But still, stained is stained. So one day I looked in a shop for the cleansing stuff. Turned out the little flacon was more expensive than what I could get a good second hand iron for. So I said no to the unnecessary costs.

A few months a go I spotted this Tefal neatly placed next to the trash containers on my way home from groceries. Looks clean and new, tested, works fine. Both old ones went to the recycling shop next day.

In the back you see my 'new' microwave oven. This one was placed in front of my door longer ago, just without the glass plate. Broken I suppose. No problem. Took it out of my old one, that was a gift. It still worked, but the timer didn't do automatic shut down. Not handy. Gladly donated the old bulky thing to the curb. It was before I could get money for it. My replacement Sharp is lighter and takes less space where the inside is the same size. The plate fits and it works fine!

Make-Up Part 2

Looking to clear out some mess today I found this little basket on a chair that I never sit in and collects 'stuff'. Like the make-up I wrote about a while ago it was on the bottom of a bag of clothing, but it was already last winter. It was in front of my door left behind by someone who had moved away. I saw the truck earlier on that day. All the clothing was nice and brought to the recycling center soon after. 

There were a lot of old, possibly expired tubes of creme (among them expensive Biodermal sunscreens) in the basket that I threw away.

What's left in the picture is what was interesting. Essence is a fairly inexpensive brand but the pots of nail varnish are all full and fresh so they will go to the thrift shop next week. I'll put no more than €0,50 on them but they will sure sell. I haven't varnished my finger nails in over twenty years, and for my toe nails that is about three years ago. Doubting about the red colour for that. I like it. Other than that it's handy to have a bottle in the house. I recently used one to mark the knobs of my simple cheap electrical cooking device, as the numbers started to fade away. And even before that I would have to put on reading glasses to see them. Not anymore! But I still have that and it will last long enough.

I had taken out the tubes of Q10 gels before for my own use. They looked clean and new. Now I don't have a cellulite problem. It's rather the opposite with too loose skin on my my legs because I'm so thin I'm getting under weight. But I don't care. Nobody sees that under my jeans. The thing is Q10 is a helpful food supplement. Two, my idea is a cream is a cream. If it is good to put on your legs would it harm my face? Of course not. I found out one little drop of it feels comforting and cooling especially around my eyes after showering. It probably won't do anything about wrinkles or sagging eyelids. Don't care either. But what goes on my skin will somehow enter my bloodstream even if it's on a very low level. Effects not noticeable yet but I will see. And I do like that bit of cream on my face anyway, and this will last for long saving me on buying.

Basket is in good enough condition to go to thrift shop as well. And the powder boxes I left there last week were all gone yesterday!

Glitter Clothing And Spikey Shoes

Another bag of textiles and shoes ready to go to recycle center. On the bottom there are some pretty worn out shoes, that before I would not bring them, but I've seen other people there bringing stuff like that, that was accepted and I'm thinking now well it could be useful to whatever war or crisis zone. Or get recycled to make new products.

The other 60 to 70 % of the bag is very nice, clean, wearable fashionable clothing and shoes that I could try to sell on line but it's a hassle, though in the past I did so successfully. Just lacking of energy for it now. Picked up yesterday in front of the door. It will all go to other goodwill thrift shops than the one I work for, but kind of Salvation Army or allied to. At least as far as I understood the center does not work with commercial thrift shops.

The grey fabric with glitters you see is a kind of long blouse in an asymmetrical jacket model. Very pretty but of an unknown likely cheap Chinese or so brand. 

I doubted about the spiky boots. Unbranded but likely desirable, however they are fake leather and just one little spike had fallen out already and I know it could just be a no go for most on line shoppers. See just to the right of the bag handle. So I decided not worth the trouble and I'll gladly get 10 cents € per the kilo reward for the lot tomorrow.

The Expat Part 3

I wrote twice already about the young man from abroad that left the country suddenly to go home or elsewhere and donated great stuff to the curbside that he couldn't take with him. Interesting books, a tool I let my neighbour take and the watches that I gave to the thrift shop.

Not really to make order, but a few days ago I remembered there were still two plastic boxes from that lot that were shoved under a chair somewhere and I was curious to see what was still in them.

To my surprise: two brand new pliers and a cable stripper. Probably not needed at the time, because I have a fairly well filled toolbox, but I will add them tomorrow anyway. I'll see if they can replace old stuff or otherwise be a good addition to what I have. You can never have enough pliers if they're all just that different from each other!

I've got a load of allen keys, but some are kind of rusty. I'm going to sort that out, keep the best and all neccessary sizes for myself and send the rest to the shop. Solder wire is going there as well. Rubber ballon, I think used to blow off dust from fine electronics, no need. But a brand new paint brush is always good to have at hand. Screwdriver is a keep. I can't have enough. Same for the mini screwdrivers. Isolation tape also you just never know.

The other box was near empty already. There was more electronical stuff in it like bags full of transistors that I donated to the shop a long time ago. The leftovers are to be trashed I'm afraid. The box is nice and handy with the separable top 'drawers', but I don't have use for it. 

On top it's an original Tupperware. I just wiped off the worst dust for the photo... Imagine how long it had been there. I'll wash it for real tomorrow and take it, with the other one, to the shop on Wednesday.

Wartmann WM-1507 SV Sous Vide Stick

Until last Tuesday I had never heard of sous vide cooking. Probably most readers here don't have a clue either. Well it simply means putting food in a sealed or even vacuum sealed plastic bag, then cooking or precooking it in water of a certain but constant (under boiling) temperature. Apparently the technique has existed for decades and has been used by professional cooks, only more recently devices were developed to make it accessible for private homes. What this looks like to me is just a highly improved immersion heater with a temperature controller that on top makes the water swirl around. What the last adds to the cooking is beyond me, as the food is in plastic anyway. Plastic floating balls prevent too much evaporating of the water.

And I just can't believe it! Here we are in 2025 and we want to move towards a plastic free world, but now we have to cook in plastic bags to preserve vitamines or to keep meet more succulent! Well, one, there are other ways to cook veggies preserving all nutrition. How about braising? And if you don't know how to properly fry meat perhaps you should take a class...

Anyway long story short. I went cycling around a bit, on my way to something anyway, but keeping my eyes open for textiles, plastic and electrical stuff for recycling. Afternoon before trash night. Well, so many people these days days don't wait for it. Had to make a detour because my usual route was blocked by a moving truck. Found the box neatly placed by the underground dumpster with the bag of isolation balls next to it. I still had no clue what it all was but loaded it up and came to the conclusion above after internet research.

After a quick but thorough test I was convinced the shiny brand new looking thing was not a Monday morning product so I photographed it on Wednesday morning, listed it in the evening at €50, but bids open from 40. Within two hours first reaction, possible buyer asked for guarantee which I didn't have of course. Hour later he payed the 50, using the direct buy option of the site. Shipped yesterday morning, arrived this afternoon. By now he must have tried out the thing. Though no confirmation about that yet I had no complaints, so I take it it works all right for him. I'm just weary of products, even though shiny new, with so much computer chip electronics in them.

So I made a great sale on something I don't approve of. It's hard to change the world and in the mean time I can use the money. At least it found a destination, and where I don't even want to use use plastic bowls in my microwave because of the possible issueing of Pfas in my food anyone else is free too choose how and with what they cook.