community gifting groups are my jam
connecting with neighbors + saving money 🎉
Do you have a local Buy Nothing or community gifting group in your area? And are you a member? I'm a total fan girl of these groups. If you have one in your area, I’m rooting for you to join it. 🤩 Here's a guide to getting started in a Buy Nothing group. But without going into a total love fest about them, let's discuss why I love them (and you might too)!
you can get things you want and need for free (hello, wonderful!)
it's a great way to build community and connection with neighbors; sharing our extra stuff creates so much goodwill (even if we vehemently disagree on who should be president or what books belong in our libraries)
access to a community gifting group offers an opportunity to pause before you buy and smash that "Buy Now" button
gifting to neighbors is way better than throwing crap in the trash (for about one million reasons)
it reduces waste, which is good for the planet and our communities
Exactly zero people are upset about spending less, getting along better with our neighbors, and throwing less stuff in their garbage cans.
It might sound dramatic, but participation in our Buy Nothing group significantly shifted how we consume and dispose of things in our family and how I think about consumption more generally.
As a direct result, we get many things from neighbors that I likely would otherwise buy. We've saved so much money!
We run to the charity shops less often because our neighbors can use most of what we would otherwise donate.
It saves them money and reduces landfill waste. Most items donated to charity shops aren’t sold or repurposed, so they end up in the trash anyway.
I also don’t hate it when neighbors come to my house and pick up items from my doorstep. Easy peasy.
Indirectly, Buy Nothing has changed my mindset about how to get things I want or need. In the past, it never occurred to me to ask to borrow from neighbors. Now, it's often one of my first considerations. Particularly when we need to use something once or twice or for a short time, I may ask to borrow it from a neighbor (through Buy Nothing or directly) before buying it ourselves.
For example, we wanted to dig a hole in our yard to install a pull-up bar a while back. Instead of buying the tool we needed, I knew our neighbor had one. We borrowed it for a day and returned it with a bottle of his favorite whiskey.
People share and request various things on Buy Nothing at price points across the spectrum. From a half-full case of juice boxes that didn't win over the kids to furniture and trampolines, the Buy Nothing exchange is your oyster.
If you're not yet convinced you should sign up for your local community gifting group, here are a few of my favorite items I've received and gifted in our local Buy Nothing group.
favorite items received in buy nothing in the last year
Golf Clubs | I didn't need anything nice, but I wanted a set of clubs I could use with my boys if I decided to golf with them periodically. A neighbor offered a set of clubs that needed a little TLC for the handles, but that was good enough for my needs. New-to-me clubs for free.
Black Frames | It took me forever and a day to gather up the supplies for this gallery wall, but the large black frames on the right came from a neighbor via Buy Nothing. I was stoked to fill the whole wall with repurposed and reused frames.
Holiday Cardstock | Wrapping up these upcycled toilet paper tubes as gift containers for my niece last Christmas, I wanted to add a little holiday element to them. Buy Nothing came to the rescue. I requested holiday card stock in my group, and several people offered up their extra paper. For the same effort I would have spent dropping by a big box art supply store, I picked up just what I needed for free from a neighbor—saving money and reducing waste.
Cellophane | Sometimes, Buy Nothing is perfect for odd requests for small things we don't often need but have lying around. I needed cellophane for a raffle basket I made for our library's annual fundraising dinner. I didn't have any, but a Buy Nothing member had just enough left on a roll to cover the basket. It was a perfect fit and free. If you’re curious, here are some ideas for sustainable raffle basket ideas I rounded up as I prepare a basket each year for our annual fundraising dinner!
Juice Boxes | Just before my son's birthday party earlier in the year, a neighbor offered up two packages of juice boxes their child did not like. We don't generally drink juice boxes, but I thought these would be perfect for the party since they would be tossed if someone didn't use them anyway. As expected, they were a big hit at the party, and I was happy to get one of the snacks for free.
favorite items gifted in buy nothing in the last year
Tickets to a Fundraising Dinner | At the last minute, a friend had a conflict with a fundraising dinner we were scheduled to attend. I offered her tickets as a last-minute Buy Nothing gift, and a neighbor was happy to take her place! There's no shame in making that a decent marketing opportunity for the event, too, reminding people who might not have heard about it that we still had some tickets available.
Compost Bins | After selling WasteWell, I had some extra compost bins I no longer needed for prospective customers. I offered them up on Buy Nothing with great interest and ended up giving away all eight of them to a mix of new and avid composters.
Lomi + FoodCycler | It's no secret I'm not a huge fan of either of these electric food waste bins. I've shared more about my thoughts on them here. But just because they aren't for me, doesn't mean they aren't for someone. I gave them away on Buy Nothing and was happy to pass them to someone who would use them more than me. If you're curious, this electric compost bin is much better!
Hammock | When we moved into our house many years ago, the previous owners left a hammock in the shed. It seemed awesome. So fun! And then we never used it for years. Seeing it take up space in our full shed, I could no longer endure it, so I passed it along. It wasn't in perfect condition, but I disclosed what needed to be fixed to make it perfect. A neighbor with the right tools and skills scooped it up.
Playroom Rug | It served us well for many years, but our boys outgrew the space as a playroom. I passed along the rug to restyle the space for the boys' new needs. It was much easier to have someone pick up the rug than figure out what to do with such a large item we no longer needed!
Ice Cream Maker | Another purchase I thought we would love and then hung out in the back of our cabinet for years. It was time to find a new home where someone would use this more than us. I'm in a season of life right now where I just buy ice cream when we need it. Tillamook forever friends.
Outdoor Couch | This was pretty dirty after sitting outside for a few years. I tried but could not figure out how to get it cleaned up. I'm also not great at deep cleaning items, so I decided to post it with full disclosure that it needed a lot of love. Maybe someone else had the skills or tools to do what I could not (which was highly likely). And, low and behold, my neighbor was happy to take it off my hands!
Champagne Flutes | Remember when we were told to add “all the things” to our wedding registry because that's what you were supposed to ask for? And then, nearly 15 years later, we've barely touched half of the things we received, especially the fancy china and glasses. I gave our wedding china to a friend last year. Some of it was still in the boxes! Recently, I passed along 14 champagne flutes on our Buy Nothing group that I could no longer stand watching collect dust in our cabinet. I could have sold them on Facebook Marketplace, but I'm not an avid seller and didn't feel like trying. A neighbor was happy to put them to good use.
S'mores Roasting Sticks | With the best intentions, I bought a package of 100 s'mores roasting sticks for all the romantic campfires we planned to have in our fire pit. We've had one bonfire in the seven years we've lived in this house. Womp womp. Someone else who would use those sticks needed them more than me, and I was happy to pass them along.
value and nature of items all over the map
You can see that the types and values of items gifted on Buy Nothing groups vary greatly. The group is designed not to prioritize gifts based on their dollar value. After all, sometimes the cheapest things are just what we need (like when my neighbor passed along four tubes of unopened toothpaste we needed). It's not pricey, but we all need clean teeth!
I've shared a whole bunch of resources about Buy Nothing groups. Hopefully, they can help you understand what to expect, how they provide value, how to sign up, and why I think you'll benefit. Community gifting groups are good for your bank account, the community, and the planet!
what if we get it right
Last week, I received an email from a reader telling me that climate change was a hoax created to enrich and empower the elites. While this sentiment has been debunked repeatedly, what if we consider climate solutions not for the planet but for us? So many climate solutions are also community and connection solutions; community gifting groups are a perfect example. Reducing waste is great, but building relationships with neighbors and saving money are pretty sweet, too! Have you tried a community gifting group? Tell me what you think!