During that week you can find just about anything you might be looking for. I have personally picked up copiers, laser printers, old computers, and even classic kitchen radios from the forties and fifties. An old TV set will yield a good set of speakers even if the rest of the set is dead. With a little skill a VCR that no longer plays tapes, will sometimes work as a cable TV tuner. It won't give you the pay channels free, but it will give your old TV more channels and remote control capabilities.
Old computers have a wealth of things, starting with the case, which can be reused as a project box.
Also a computer is full of switches, LED's and a lot of the little screws needed for your home-brew projects. Try taking a part an older laser printer, if the laser part is still working, it makes a red beam that can be seen across a room. With a few mirrors from the same printer the beam can be extended from room to room. You can use the computer power supply to run the laser. I have read stories about using a laser to send code over long distances.