On Sidewalk Shopping

Despite some of my earlier essays (see On Noisy Neighbors), I love living in a major urban area (see On Watching the World Go By, On Walking to the Liquor Store for Candy, etc.). There’s always so much going on, so much energy all around you. One day you might lose power because a police pursuit ends with someone crashing into a power line and creating mass chaos. The next day there might be an incredible block party 100 yards away from your front door with music and food and drinks and a wonderful sense of community. You really never know what you’re going to get. And that feeling doesn’t just extend to events. Take a stroll around my neighborhood any day of the week and you’re going to find the topic of today’s essay: free things sitting on the sidewalk.

The neighborhood I live in is very walkable, so I try to take advantage of that as often as possible and in my frequent excursions I’ve learned to keep my eyes open for people that are doing a little spring cleaning, moving in or out, or possibly even tossing their spouse out of the house like some kind of bad romcom. More often than not, you’ll find a small treasure trove sitting on the sidewalk outside one of these abodes. There’s no telling the quantity or quality of items you’ll find but sometimes you’ll catch a real winner.

From mini-fridges to couches missing most of their cushions to hideous lamps; anything you’re looking for might just show up on the side of the road as if provided by the universe, just for you. Obviously, it’s shitty when people just dump their garbage on the side of the road (I’m looking at you guy who puts his destroyed mattress out there…), but a fair amount of the time, the stuff that’s out there is at least passable! Just recently I found a new rolling office chair for our apartment, and I only had to carry it 10 blocks!

When we moved in to our current apartment, we received a lot of hand-me-down furniture (which was incredibly kind and helpful [for the record, furniture shopping during a global pandemic suuuuuucks]) which we’ve slowly replaced with newer stuff. Each time we’ve said goodbye to an old cabinet or table, we’ve put it on the sidewalk in front of our place and within the hour, poof, it’s gone.

It’s a great feeling knowing that whatever piece you’ve moved on from has found a new home, gone to someone who needs it… or maybe some teenagers who took it to a parking lot just to smash something because they’re bored…kids are strange, man. It feels a little like being back in time, bartering for items you need with ones you don’t. “I’ll give you this box of random books for that end table”, “throw in the broken microwave and that Reservoir Dogs poster from your college dorm and we’ve got a deal”.

And don’t even get me started on those little libraries that have popped up on every street corner… I fucking love those!

But anyways, what’s the best thing you’ve pull off the street? Best thing you’ve put out there?