Buy Nothing

Stuff. I haven’t yet gone over to Essentialism. But stuff tends to accumulate and the responsible thing to do is find a proper home for the stuff you no longer want. Donations to charity shops are fine, but often go to waste or languish on shelves. Why not find a home for your cast-off goods directly?

I’ve been using the Buy Nothing group, which connects people via a Facebook group. It restricts membership in a particular group to residents of that city and you have to have a Facebook profile. Today, I gave away a coffee table – it was picked up by someone who lives about half mile away within two hours of my posting. I also lent out a garment steamer, the recipient promised to have it back to me by the end of the day.

Buy Nothing is not perfect. You get a few no-shows, though in my experience not nearly as many as when you try to give something away on Craigslist or Freecycle. There is a better sense of responsibility and community on Buy Nothing, given everyone’s proximity and the intimacy of connecting with your personal Facebook profile.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets

Inauguration Day and the Hill We Climb