What is Stooping?
You already know we’re hardcore thrifters, so it’s only right we take things up a notch and get into stooping! Stooping is the sourcing of items that have been left out on the street, either as trash, or with the hopes that they will be stooped by a stooper, get it?
There are whole online communities dedicated to streamlining and organizing stooping, mostly on Instagram, like Stooping NYC and Stooping Toronto. You can also find stooped items with curb alerts on online communities like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace or Buy Nothing groups.
5 Stooping Tips & Hacks
1. Look up your local stooping accounts OR create your own if it’s not already a thing!
2. When you find a stoop you want to share, post it on your own instagram story and tag your local stooping instagram to make it easier for them to re-share. If you are a private IG account, DM them instead with a bit of detail about the product! Check out the example of an IG story or DM below!
3. Turn on your notifications for your local stooping account to get to the items first!
4. Timing is key! Watch out for more items at the beginning and end of the month (people are moving!) You can also check if your area has a large items pickup day.
5. When taking a photo, try staging the item a little to give it more of a chance to get taken.
Don’t give up hope!
The item might still be there, lots of people don’t show up because they assume the item is already taken. Give this a try!! It could be your new favourite thing!
Watch my mini Doc on all things stooping
In this video, I interview some of the founders of stooping NYC and Toronto and give a go at it myself! Follow along with me :)