My quest to find one of Stardew Valley's rarest items left me as a social outcast, but that won't stop my early-morning rummages

GamesLife SimStardew ValleyMy quest to find one of Stardew Valley’s rarest items left me as a social outcast, but that won’t stop my early-morning rummagesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Character holding a bone next to a trash can

I pride myself on having a well-kept and cute Stardew Valley farm. With cobblestone paths, plants from the Flower Dance, and all the mods my PC can handle, maintaining Grove Farm takes a lot of effort. But after hearing about a way to ruin all of that, my heart was set on securing one of the new rare items in Stardew Valley: the Trash Catalogue.

The1.6 updatebrought us tons of new stuff to check out, likea new farm type and new mini-festivals, as well as a ridiculous list of updates and changes. I decided to start a new Meadowlands farm just so I could experience everything from the very beginning. Getting two new chickens straight away is great fun, and brilliant for the mayo drinkers among us, and I’ve had a lot of fun experiencing SquidFest for the first time and trying my hardest to earn the coveted Squid Hat. But one of the items introduced in 1.6, the Trash Catalogue, has to be one of the strangest things I’ve seen so far—other thanMr. Qi attacking cheaters at the Summit.

Every morning involves the same routine: I wake up, water the crops, fill up my cat’s water bowl, collect the eggs and let the chickens out, and then run to town so I can rummage around everyone’s bins like a desperate raccoon before anyone else wakes up. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been dumpster diving, but I’m currently at the end of Summer of year one, so it’s roughly been 56 days of searching the same eight bins. And even after 500 trash checks I still haven’t been able to find the much-coveted Trash Catalogue.

(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

A festival taking place in the town centre

Especially because this item doesn’t actually do too much. If I got the Trash Catalogue, all it would be useful for is to cover my house in rubbish, turning it into an aesthetically pleasing toxic waste dump. Having this item gives you access to all the trash you could ever want—I could cover my floor with broken televisions, plastic bags, six-pack rings, and more.

If you’ve spent a long time perfecting your farmhouse aesthetic, then this is probably one of the worst rooms

So far, the only useful way I’ve seen this item used is to try and match Shane’s awfully messy room. If you’re the romancing type, you can date and eventually marry a few of the single NPCs in Stardew Valley, your partner will likely move into your farm house, and that means they’ll have their own spouse room. Each villager has a pretty distinct style when it comes to home decor. Emily has the galaxy plastered on her walls and computers lying around on the floor, while Alex’s room looks like the inside of a gym. Everyone’s rooms are pretty well laid out and inhabitable, except for Shane’s. It’s covered in wrappers, spilled drinks, and muddy footprints—if you’ve spent a long time perfecting your farmhouse aesthetic, then this is probably one of the worst rooms you could have.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Shane will only clean his act up after his 14-heart event, so you need to put in the work if you want to see your space cleared of trash and your spouse happy. But in the meantime, you could use Trash Catalogue to spread the rubbish out so Shane’s room doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb—you never know, it could help his self-esteem.

But Shane isn’t really my type, plus he’s already seen me dumpster diving on multiple occasions, so I’m sure he’s not interested either. The main reason I want the Trash Catalogue is just because it’s hard to find. I’d love to say I’d have some fun messing around with it in my home, covering everything in the trash, but I know that ultimately, having rubbish swamp my perfectly kept home would just be distressing.

I’m just trying to find the Trash Catalogue for the same reason I chase after the Tea Set at every festival or the Living Hat when I’m cleaning up my farm: it’s a challenge, and I like fixating on small tasks rather than the bigger picture—I love my farm too much to mess it up with smelly garbage, but I’d still like to have the option.

More about life simThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsHow to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight ValleyLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

More about life simThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsHow to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight Valley

More about life sim

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsHow to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight Valley

The Sims 4 - a woman with red hair and a purple top exclaims with excitement

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

A players character and a winged horse in Mythopia in Disney Dreamlight Valley

How to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight Valley

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals