Mourning the Loss of the Free Table

Perhaps you may recall the chair I used for my Front Door Makeover (Blog post)?  Well, I found that chair from my super secret weapon for vintage acquisitions – the “Free Table” at my nearby thrift store.  That’s right, a table, set outside, all of whose contents are free to the taker.  A table that was refreshed with different wares every day the shop was open (4 days a week).  A table that I could walk to from my apartment in a matter of minutes.  A table that was well lit 24 hours a day so I could peruse the goods at midnight if I felt like it.  A table that could lift my spirits and add some adventure to any bad day.  Alas, that table is no more…

Vintage books, great titles, colorful covers - from the Free Table

Free to flip some more

 

 Although I’m currently on hiatus from vintage shopping (a self-assigned status due to lack of room in our apartment), I allowed myself to drop by the thrift store today since I was in the mood.  I noticed upon entering that the free table out front had been halved (one of the foldout tables it consisted of was gone).   I immediately suspected that the glory days were over.  Just now, as my husband and I returned from some important errands (buying more tiles for my map coasters and new dog toys for our Boston Terrier), I gasped as we cruised by what is essentially the shop for my Etsy shop.  Out front?  No.More.Free.Table.  Gone.  *sniffle*

Classic clutch

 

But I completely understand and in fact agree with the move.  I mean, do you really want people coming right on up to the store in the middle of the night to snoop around?  While I have the best of intentions I must admit I feel completely shady every time I do it regardless of the time of day.  Then of course there is the issue of dumping.  The table became an easy destination to “donate” items without having to work within the regular hours of any donation center.  There were frequently entire trash bags stuffed with who knows what, swiftly chucked on or under the table from a car trunk.  Now I’m guilty of this too (the donating – not the trash bag from the car scenario), but I saw the free table as an anonymous way to improve someone's day just as it often brought a little joy to mine.  

An assortment of rough wood frames....free.

 

One day, left next to the dumpster at our complex, were a number of plastic rider toys that had been discarded by a family upon moving out.  We’re talking 3-wheelers, little sit-on-top scooters, etc. that are a blast for kids under 5 or so.  I looked them over and only found one that had an issue (a large hole in a tire).  The others were still completely usable with hours of fun left in them.  If I had a kid, I would attack them with cleaner and maybe (of course!) some spray paint and give them a new life and a new owner before being retired to the landfill.  Well, I don’t have kids.  But there was that free table….  I enlisted my husband to help me salvage the rider toys and take them over to the free table.  We moved as fast as we could in front of the "No Dumping" sign, but were excited about the possibility of someone finding a toy and taking it home as a surprise to their kid.  Sure enough, we frequently scoped out the situation and within a matter of hours all the toys were gone!!!  Sure, they may have been taken home and become trash in another person’s yard, but we could only hope they were taken home and given another day to ride by an enthusiastic young driver.  Sure, we had ignored the store's rules about the table (No Dumping), but we had kept something from the trash that could maybe add a bit more fun to the world before being tossed away. 

American Tourister Escort Suitcase....'you are now free to move about the cabin'

Free Faux

So the free table is gone.  I can no longer try to play Secret Santa, nor can I occasionally save vintage items from their final destination.  It was good while it lasted, but let’s face it; a lot of the stuff on that table was just garbage (including some things I brought home – sorry hubs!).