Have you ever taken a throw away you found in a land fill or alley and turned it into?

something totally different but useful? My mother who is a Choctaw Native American told me that her father built their first home from cast off wood he found or got from tearing down old abandoned shacks. He nailed wooden apple crates on the wall to use as cupboards. My grandmother made rag rugs for the floor by braiding strips of rags together. She made feather filled mattresses and quilts from old clothes for the beds. She cooked on a wood stove. My Mom rarely talks about her childhood and when she does I enjoy listening.