I believe that whatever each of us can do to encourage and participate in sharing and borrowing rather than buying and owning can go a long way toward repairing our society’s unhealthy relationship with material possessions.
To this end, I love the idea of NeighborGoods, a new site which hooks people up to borrow things like ladders, tents and lawnmowers. The point? It reduces the need to buy new things. Why buy something brand new that you might only use once or twice (like a backpack for Thailand), when you can simply borrow it and then send it back into The Great Cycle? This idea is potentially really good for the environment, the community and the soul.
If you’ve ever used FreeCycle to get rid (entirely and forever) of things you don’t use or need, you’ll know how great it feels to free yourself of unwanted items and meet other people’s needs at the same time. You might even score something for yourself while you’re at it, all without having to buy.
For those of you in the Durham area, let’s try it!
Though NeighborGoods is so far only available in the Los Angeles area, the owner of Neighborgoods has set up a special group for me and others in the Durham area! Check it out HERE.
You’ll find the following items of mine listed as borrow-able:
- Garden shovel and two rakes
- Hedge trimmers
- 2-3 person tent
- Thermarest air mattress
- 7-speed Jamis men’s commuter bike
- Charcoal grill
And you’ll see the following items on my borrowing wish list:
- Lightweight sleeping bag (40 degrees F) — need for 3 weeks only
- Lightweight trekking backpack — need for 3 weeks only
- 2-layer water-resistant jacket for ladies (size M) — need for 3 weeks only
Thoughts on this? Other ideas? Post a comment, or write to Crystal and let her know!
Thanks, Crystal! You obviously get why we built NeighborGoods in the first place and we’d love for you to try it out. I created a group just for Sparkleize here: http://neighborgoods.net/groups/sparkleize. You can share that link and invite all your friends. It gets you passed the need for an LA zip code. Once you sign up, I’ll make you an administrator so you can manage the group yourself. Let me know if you have any feedback or if we can help you grow your group! micki@neighborgoods.net
Hooray, thanks so much Micki! I can’t wait to use this and tell my friends about it. Checking it out now…
Neighborgoods sounds like a great idea and I hope it takes off in the Triangle.
When I lived in Berkeley years ago, the local public library had a “tools library” where local residents could go borrow power tools when needed instead of buying their own.