People Share What They Found Thrown Away And The Phrase ‘One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure’ Has Never Been So Real (30 New Pics)

In today’s consumerist society, stooping feels like a breath of fresh air. With people becoming more aware of our insatiable consumerism having a tragic environmental impact and opting for sustainable lifestyle choices, stooping becomes an excellent, simple and approachable way to join the conscious crowd.

Bored Panda reached out to the creators of the StoopingNYC project to find out what they have been up to as well as how the stooping community is doing lately. “The growth of the community is incredible and we mean that in very aspect,” the founders told us.

“So many more submissions. So many more amazing items. So many more #stoopingsuccesses. And so many more great stoopers!” Today, StoopingNYC on Instagram is home to a dedicated community of 371K followers, but their audience seems to be still growing.

Part of the success of StoopingNYC seems to have to do with the fact that so many people find stooping a very fun and cool activity. The founders explained that the concept of a treasure hunt is universal, but stooping in NYC is unique to NYC.

“It’s been a part of the city culture for way before we started doing this. People are always moving and no two homes are the same size and shape. And then there is the fact that NYC has incredible, creative and diverse people… it makes it the perfect stooping city!”

If you’re a beginner stooper, the creators behind this quirky NYC community say you should not just start by following @stoopingnyc but also be sure to “Turn on your notifications! And get ready to run!” Because real treasures get stooped up fast.

No wonder stooping is very popular among a mostly young crowd which not only likes saving money, but also enjoys the thrill of the hunt. Quite like secondhand and thrift hunting, it also gives an opportunity for ‘stoopers’ to get their hands on something they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

“We’ve tried to 'game-ify' the activity, making it feel like a scavenger hunt. And I think because of this, we have seen it become popular and trendy with an entirely younger audience (75% of our followers are 18-35 years old)," the couple behind the StoopingNYC project told us in an interview a while back.

The challenge the founders deal with on a daily basis is rather unusual: they don’t just sit there and think of what stooping treasure to post next and where to find it. Instead, they have to deal with a whopping amount of submissions that land in their inbox. “On a typical weekday, we get hundreds if not one thousand submissions. On the weekend (especially at the end of the month), we get thousands of DM submissions," they said.

While scrolling through this article, you will notice that items of stooped treasure have somewhat similar aesthetics. This is because the founders are very well aware of what their followers will like. And it’s anything “high value, super colorful, unique and weird.” So they end up “prioritizing everything from beautiful velvet couches, neon-colored swivel chairs, copper claw-foot tubs, Beanie Baby collections, a pastel pink SMEG fridge and... as of this week...a collection of '90s erotica on VHS."

According to the creators, they both really love the creative outlet this project gives them. “As a couple, we love the fact that we have this together (we end each day with a 'stoop review'), and more than anything, we love the community we have built.”

Previously, the founders of the StoopingNYC project concluded that they “definitely feel an obligation to that community to keep up with everything coming in, knowing that we have the privilege of giving people so much joy through what we post.