5 Cheap Ways To Upgrade Your Home With Stooping

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Newsweek recently profiled a Midwestern woman named Aubri who snagged a highboy dresser that someone put out on the curb for trash pickup. When she got home, she found a jewelry box hidden inside with rings valued at more than $3,000.

Aubri was living every stooper’s dream.

In an Instagram reel, the Sorry Girls describe stooping as “the sourcing of free items left out on the street as trash, or sourcing of items that have been left out in the hopes that they will be stooped by a stooper.”

Reclaiming usable discarded furniture — the big-ticket version of old-fashioned trash-picking — is nothing new, but social media has rebranded it as “stooping” and pushed the trend toward viral status.

Here’s how you can ride that trend to an upgraded home on a budget.

Stoop a Wooden Treasure and Wax It Back to Life

Beeswax furniture polish will breathe new life into the wooden chair, table, armoire or nightstand you rescued by bringing out its natural color and grain while protecting it from future damage.

Make sure to get genuine beeswax polish — but don’t worry, you won’t have to spend a lot. Amazon has high-quality options for less than $10.

According to the British wax polish company Gilboy’s, just apply a thin layer of wax to exposed areas of wood furniture and let it dry for 30 minutes. The site reminds you to forget everything you learned from “The Karate Kid,” writing, “It’s not ‘wax on, wax off,’ it’s ‘wax on, stay on!'” Finally, use an open-weave cloth to buff with the grain for a soft, protective sheen.

Or Sand It and Stain or Paint It

Stoopers love wax polish because it brings out the natural beauty of reclaimed wood furniture without changing the color — but sometimes, changing the color is the best upgrade of all.

In that case, HGTV recommends using an aerosol stripper (which you can get for around $15) to lift the old finish from your newfound conversation piece and then removing it with a scraper.

Next, clean the working surface with mineral spirits ($10) and use medium-grit sandpaper ($6) to smooth the surface. Finally, remove sanding residue with a clean cloth and apply paint ($9) or stain ($8) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Condition Reclaimed Leather Back to a State of Luxury

If you spot a leather couch or chair on a stooping mission that would be perfect if only it weren’t dry, cracked, warped and ragged, grab it anyway. You can conjure its natural beauty back from the dead.

According to Architectural Digest, you’ll need these items.

• Saddle soap ($10)
• Water
• Leather conditioner ($10)
• Leather cream ($10)
• A soft cloth
• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton swabs

Once you gather your supplies, just follow these steps to restore your leather treasure’s original state of splendor.

1.  Use saddle soap, water and a cloth to eliminate mild stains.
2. Thoroughly clean the entire surface with a dry cloth.
3. Apply leather conditioner.
4. Apply leather cream.
5. Repeat every month or so.

Give Metal Furniture Its Mettle Back

Whether it’s made of steel, aluminum, wrought iron or copper, metal furniture can add a touch of sturdy elegance or a raw industrial feel to nearly any space indoors or out.

According to Krylon, you can transform just about any piece of metal furniture from busted to beautiful with the following steps.

• Cover a well-ventilated spray area with a drop cloth.
• Clean all spray surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner and let dry.
• Use a wire brush or sandpaper to remove rust and chips.
• Apply a layer of primer until the entire spray surface is coated and let dry for 20 minutes.
• Use a sweeping motion to apply light, even coats until you achieve the desired color and let dry.

Amazon lists a range of metal-specific spray paints and primers for less than $10.

Make a Mosaic out of Just About Anything

From vases and valets to benches and bookshelves, you can transform nearly any hard surface into a mosaic masterpiece with a few bucks and one trip to the craft store. 

To rejuvenate the surface of whatever you stoop, cover it with an adhesive, and affix it with a pattern or design made from small pieces of hard material like glass, tile or stone, and then grout the spaces between.

While the cost of every project will vary, it’s easy to keep most in the double digits and complete in one day. Better Homes and Gardens compares mosaic projects to putting together a puzzle, and the result is tabletops, shelves or any hard surface reborn with beauty and color but still perfectly functional.

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