People Share What They Found Thrown Away And The Phrase ‘One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure’ Has Never Been So Real (40 New Pics)
It's called stooping, and it's how people get secondhand furniture from New York City curbs for free. Basically, it goes like this: someone who no longer needs their old mid-century coffee table puts it on the sidewalk in front of their home and anyone who might find it useful can simply pick it up.
Stooping is a longtime tradition but in the summer of 2019, it got a modern twist when a couple from Brooklyn created an Instagram account to help castaways find their new owners. Without overthinking, they called it Stooping NYC and started sharing everything the streets had to offer.
Loyal Bored Panda readers should remember this online project since we've already written about it here, here, and here. However, it just hit a huge milestone: 250K followers. So we thought it's a nice occasion to pay them another visit.
More info: Instagram
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West Elm Industrial Coffee Table With Storage
"Stooping has been around in NYC long before [our Instagram account], and we think that the concept is so relevant to the city because of what it means to life in the city itself," the couple behind the account, who want to remain anonymous, told Bored Panda.
"People move so frequently, no apartment is ever really the same, the transient nature of New York... all of that means that people are always looking for new furniture, or hoping to get rid of what they have. The act of stooping has seemingly become the New York version of 'paying it forward.'"
As the couple highlighted in one of our earlier conversations, hosting stooping on social media not only means that the locals have a much better chance to find what they need, but it also allows to 'export' a part of the city to outsiders, allowing them to have a digital walk through the neighborhoods.
"It gives access to a piece of New York City culture to people who follow from far and wide," they explained back then.
"It also has enabled us to 'gameify' stooping, with stoopers sharing stories of things they spot, stoop, take home, and ultimately give new life to. It would really be challenging to tell stories around the pieces like we do on any other platform."
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The couple behind the account also said that one NYC area in particular is stooping a lot more than the others.
"Brooklyn is by far the most active stooping borough, but there are a ton of stoops that we get daily from all pockets of the five boroughs, Jersey and even Long Island!"
Stoopers are excited about a lot of things, running the spectrum from essential apartment features like bookshelves and kitchen islands to valuable treasures, such as beanie baby collections and pianos, and beyond. Plus, they also make sure that no plant ends its days on concrete!
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If you also want to try your luck hunting these gems, the couple said you should, "1) Follow @stoopingnyc on IG; 2) Turn on your notifications; and 3) Get ready to run when you see something you like! Things go quickly."
Covid has had an impact on the stooping culture too. At the start of the pandemic when there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding health and safety protocols, the couple refrained from posting. But once they started up again in the summer, they were flooded with a wave of submissions caused by New Yorkers leaving the city.
"In a moment in time when good news can seem few and far between, we continue to feel so lucky to have such a positive and wonderful community of stoopers that are focused on sharing with each other!" they added.
Let The Saturday Bangers Begin
I Don’t Want To Be Rude, But Why Hasn’t Someone Written Us A Stoop Anthem?!
Already Packed And Ready To Be Stooped
Super Cool Designed Trunk!
Beetle
Banger Alert!!
Table For 4!
What A Beauty!
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Note: this post originally had 133 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Sadly I have never lived anywhere that offers this kind of glory on the streets for free.
Samesies
Riddle: What has two thumbs and is green? Me! I got 2 thumbs and I'm green with envy!!
Once a year, my town has a major clean-up week where we put unwanted things out on the walk for town collection. Pickup trucks cruise up and down looking for "the good stuff." That's all the stooping available to us. It's like a giant flea market.
Me too - only badly damaged trash. Even used things are overpriced and if there is sth neat it costs a lot :( Poland. I guess we are a poor country...
People usually put them out in the evening, rather late
Freecycle.org is in most major cities. Same concept but you can request or pick up (all free.) I do find a lot fo stuff here in NYC on the curb, Craig's List and Freecycle. I also look around on 31st (so many people move) and at universities at the end of the school year.
One thing you have to look out for in NYC and other big cities is bedbugs. The cities are infested with them and street furniture is one easy to spread them. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. And once one apartment gets them, every other place in the building will too.
Yup. There's a reason brass and iron bedsteads were all the rage in the 19th century - bedbugs didn't lay their eggs in the crevices as they did with wooden beds. Anything soft and upholstered is also a risk.
which is why you dont take them into your place right away and spray them down first
My fear of bedbugs would definitely make me reconsider taking anything with fabric. Didn't know wood was a risk too... too bad.
One of the advantages of living in a very cold climate is that you can just leave it outside at -35 C for a week and that kills pretty much everything.
Huh, wouldn't have thought of this.
I agree - I would never take a matress, sofa, etc.! I've had friends go through the bedbug nightmare... sometimes it's just not worth getting something for free,
Note to self, opening a used furniture store in NYC is a possibility
Sadly I have never lived anywhere that offers this kind of glory on the streets for free.
Samesies
Riddle: What has two thumbs and is green? Me! I got 2 thumbs and I'm green with envy!!
Once a year, my town has a major clean-up week where we put unwanted things out on the walk for town collection. Pickup trucks cruise up and down looking for "the good stuff." That's all the stooping available to us. It's like a giant flea market.
Me too - only badly damaged trash. Even used things are overpriced and if there is sth neat it costs a lot :( Poland. I guess we are a poor country...
People usually put them out in the evening, rather late
Freecycle.org is in most major cities. Same concept but you can request or pick up (all free.) I do find a lot fo stuff here in NYC on the curb, Craig's List and Freecycle. I also look around on 31st (so many people move) and at universities at the end of the school year.
One thing you have to look out for in NYC and other big cities is bedbugs. The cities are infested with them and street furniture is one easy to spread them. They are notoriously hard to get rid of. And once one apartment gets them, every other place in the building will too.
Yup. There's a reason brass and iron bedsteads were all the rage in the 19th century - bedbugs didn't lay their eggs in the crevices as they did with wooden beds. Anything soft and upholstered is also a risk.
which is why you dont take them into your place right away and spray them down first
My fear of bedbugs would definitely make me reconsider taking anything with fabric. Didn't know wood was a risk too... too bad.
One of the advantages of living in a very cold climate is that you can just leave it outside at -35 C for a week and that kills pretty much everything.
Huh, wouldn't have thought of this.
I agree - I would never take a matress, sofa, etc.! I've had friends go through the bedbug nightmare... sometimes it's just not worth getting something for free,
Note to self, opening a used furniture store in NYC is a possibility