Diana Goes Dumpster Diving part 1, Inspector Gadget Lunchbox

I guess now is as good a time as any to launch a new series: Diana Goes Dumpster Diving. I’m not literally belly flopping into a pit of rubble, just thrifting. I would say it was almost exactly the same, minus the banana peels, fish heads, and dirty boots.

Growing up, my sister and I would frequent our local thrift store with mamaw. Back then our store of choice was St. Vincent the Paul, out of convenience and high quality merchandise. That particular location down in White Center, Wa had a basement where they kept all their books. I think I have always loved to read, even then at four or five years old. Every time we went to St. Vinnie’s, I would quickly dash down the rickety teal staircase and look through every single book, piling more and more into my little five-year old arms as I went along. Only after I finished looking through all the children’s books would I then head upstairs and check out all the other merch. Needless to say, I’ve been a thrift store girl since the age of five.


And now as I continue to go thrift store hopping somewhat frequently, I have a hankering to share some of my bitchin’ finds.

Now, I found this beauty at a Value Village not too long ago. I almost died of excitement then and there; I love Inspector Gadget! I recall watching the animated series daily, following the antics of Inspector Gadget, Penny, and Brain and they persistently tried to ward off the evil of Dr. Claw. Why anyone would want to give this lunch box away in the first place is beyond me. I guess it’s true what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. As I typed that, I just caught a flash of the Even Steven’s episode where the Steven’s family holds a garage sale and Beans buys a chicken plate from Louis for seventy-five cents only to find out that it is worth much much more. Nostalgia has swept over me; let me bathe in this moment.