The Free Store? - A Growing Grassroots Trend
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The "free store": it's like a thrift store, but thriftier. Clothing, appliances, books, etcetera: everything inside one is free. Community founded and community fed, "free stores" are sprouting up all over the country - from Baltimore to Boise - in what appears to be both a throwback twist on consumer culture and a grassroots response to economic recession.
Free Thinking
The idea of a store where everything is free is not an entirely new one. The first "free" stores were started by the the radical group the Diggers, who opened sites in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in the late 1960's. The Diggers (on their official website, which is up and running to this day) described their free stores as a sort of hippie haven, a counterculture institution "where reality came to change its wardrobe". Along with several pictures from the stores' early days, the Diggers' site gives old stories of goings-on at the free stores - including accounts of soldiers gone A.W.O.L, who came to the stores for a change in clothing (and often a change in ID as well).
Today, free stores are rapidly increasing in popularity. In light of the nation's recent economic recession (and with an inspired jumpstart thanks to the ever-present initiative of grassroots communities nationwide) free stores are sprouting up all over the country. From clothing to kitchenware, most everything can be found (usually used, of course) at free stores, which themselves come in all shapes and sizes: warehouses, building spaces, and even neighborhood garages.
Why (and how) to use a free store
The rules for a free store are simple: take what you need (or even what strikes your fancy), donate what you don't. Free stores are perpetuated by community donations; without them, the stores wouldn't survive.
That being said, free stores are a great place to pick up a vintage T shirt, or find extra pieces of silverware, or even (in the case of my hometown Boise location) find a new desk chair. If you are going to a free store simply to pick up something for kicks, be sure to leave something behind. There are always those in need who can really use the commonplace things each store offers.
If you're looking for employee "help" while at a free store, you'll find that most stores are fairly liberally operated - much to the tune of their hippie forefathers. Though, this characteristic does differ from store to store. Often, volunteers or founders will frequent their locations, and for some sites (those in more upscale venues), at least one person will always be present to help.
If you do have questions, suggestions, (or sometimes even requests) most stores have their own website or Facebook page. Check them out there.
Where can I find one?
Here are just some of the cities with community free stores. Each one also has an accompanying website.
Sources Used
Sutherland, Amber. "This Store's Free for All: '60's 'Take All You Need' Spirit Downtown." New York Post. 27 February 2009. Web. 10 January 2012.
The Baltimore Free Store. Web. 13 January 2012.
The Digger Archives. Web. 5 February 2012.
