Community Corner Curb Mining And Stooping Etiquette Rules Are Still Evolving; How You Can Help: Block Talk The etiquette of a new freecycling trend around Americans’ cast-off is still being written. We want your advice and tips to craft it.
Old furniture and other unwanted items left at the curb are considered fair game, according to the unwritten rules of curb mining and stooping, freecycling options that some are choosing to furnish their homes and apartments. (Shutterstock)
It’s prime season for “curb mining” and “stooping” as people caught up in a spring cleaning frenzy part with things that have been cluttering their garages, basements, and closets. Someone could probably use this, they tell themselves.
For those unfamiliar with the terms, they refer to the practice of salvaging usable items from other people’s discarded belongings. Curb mining typically occurs in residential neighborhoods, while its urban equivalent is known as stooping. This form of freecycling isn’t new, but in decades past was sometimes sneered at as something “other” people do. Now, curb mining and stooping are seen as legitimate home furnishing strategies among people who not only want to save money but also rescue still-usable furniture from the landfill while shrinking their environmental and consumerism footprints.
Generally, it is assumed that if something is abandoned on the curb or at the stoop, it is free to anyone who wants to salvage it. But is it as simple as that? We’re asking for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column. If the item doesn’t have a sign saying it is free, is it OK to assume it is?
How long do you wait for someone to take your stuff before you dispose of it yourself or pay to have it carted away? What do you do about neighbors who put useless junk at the curb and leave it there because no one else wants it, either?
Also, this: If you have a job and a good income, is it morally OK to snap up the particularly good stuff, or should you leave it for someone who can’t afford it? Just fill out the survey below. As always, we don’t collect email addresses.
Help Write The Etiquette Rules Of Curb Mining And Stooping: Block Talk
