A dumpster diving mum calls herself the 'Spiderman' of trash because she travels through the bins have nabbed her high-end designer clothes, iPads, and Xboxes.
Angel Williams takes her "job" so seriously, she spends around $50 (£40) a month on protective clothing so she can jump into rubbish skips and retrieve precious items. The thrifty mum has the bounty to prove her skills - with finds including Burberry scarves, Armani trousers, and coffee machines worth thousands of pounds. Mum-of-three and YouTuber Angel reckon her expeditions have already boosted her family's income by at least $10,000 (£7,687) so far this year. Far from guarding their precious source, Angel, 39, and husband Antwan, 41, are encouraging more people to dumpster dive- saying recycling trash into treasure helps the environment.
Angel Williams takes her "job" so seriously, she spends around $50 (£40) a month on protective clothing so she can jump into rubbish skips and retrieve precious items. The thrifty mum has the bounty to prove her skills - with finds including Burberry scarves, Armani trousers, and coffee machines worth thousands of pounds. Mum-of-three and YouTuber Angel reckon her expeditions have already boosted her family's income by at least $10,000 (£7,687) so far this year. Far from guarding their precious source, Angel, 39, and husband Antwan, 41, are encouraging more people to dumpster dive- saying recycling trash into treasure helps the environment.
The couple lives with their children, Taylor, 18, Josiah, 17, and Hailey, eight, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Angel is not selfish about her finds - the mum shares her treasures with her family, and also takes goodies to the local homeless shelter, where she volunteers and sells some items on eBay.The mum, who has been dumpster diving for around seven years and says she has a "spidey sense" for finding the best trash, added: “I used to do it every day, but the family was feeling neglected, so I’ve cut back to three times a week.“The more I do it, the more I think about people who are in need.
"We’ll sell the electronic goods, the iPads and the cell phones, to provide for our family, but we give shoes, bags and toiletries to those in need."Angel started scouring skips as she was looking for a business she could run from home to supplement her husband's wages, and dumpster diving offered the perfect solution - especially after she found a Blackberry phone on her first outing, which she sold for $400 (£307.50) on eBay.As well as bringing in income, her trash finding trips have saved the family a fortune on clothes, electronic goods and toys, all of which she has found. And while last year she estimates that selling her booty netted $10,000 (£7,687), this year, she has already smashed her 2018 total.
Meanwhile, Antwan, who works in IT now, but was working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when Angel first started dumpster diving, likes to think that they are both environmentalists - saving garbage that would otherwise end up in landfill sites. But while, unlike his kids who think it's "disgusting," he sees dumpster diving as a brilliant idea, he does not actually get his hands dirty - happily leaving that to Angel. Still, they all benefit from their mum's enterprise and have a dedicated eBay room in their house to store her finds in, also working together on a series of YouTube videos, sharing her tips."It's become a family business, really, with us all helping out in some way," said Angel.“The kids take lots of the pictures we need and they are all involved in our YouTube show,."Antwan says his favourite find is a Nespresso machine, which his wife brought home knowing he wanted one. It was missing a dial, and he was able to fix it. He says she is now something of a celebrity at the local church where they met and were married nine years ago.“I teach for the Church,” he said. “But all anyone who has seen our YouTube show wants to know about is Angel and the Dumpster Diving.
“Eventually, I got sick of talking about that for 10 minutes before I could start my teaching sessions so now, I just get Angel to come along to talk to them herself.”One thing Angel is very careful about is protecting herself against any health risks associated with dumpster diving. She always wears a protective face mask, gloves and a coat, which she washes after each excursion.“I probably spend about $50 a month on protective clothing. You’re exposing yourself to germs so it’s important to keep yourself safe,” she said.
"Also, the dumpsters are often in less safe parts of town and it can take up to half an hour to sort through a full dumpster, so I don't wear headphones while I work, as I need to stay alert to my surroundings."One of the most gratifying parts of garbage gathering for Angel is seeing her children's faces light up when she gives them something they really like.“Taylor is picky and very girly so it’s not easy to find stuff for her, but she has jewellery and purses and branded stuff that she likes, and we haven’t had to buy," she said.“Josiah loves it - he gets watches and high-end executive shirts and I even found an Xbox for him the other day.
“And all the cuddly toys in Hailey’s bedroom have come out of the dumpster. I get them home, wash them and she loves them.”As well as luxury goods for the kids, Angel once came home with a discarded gift-card for a Vitamix smoothie maker - although, according to Antwan, she gives away more than she sells. She said: "My mission is very simple. I want the world to see dumpster diving in a totally different light."So many people think the art of dumpster diving is fashioned for someone grungy, homeless, poor, and so on. I'm here to tell you that it's not."I've turned it into a trendy, yet a popular way of living modern-day thrifting.I'm determined to continue making this innovative and eco-friendly way of living the norm."
