Imagine a world where we didn’t have to pay for anything. Imagine if we only had to buy what we really need to and the rest we could share around. Imagine if we got back to basics and rediscovered what real community was.
If you haven’t heard of the Buy Nothing Project yet, you’re in for a treat. It is an initiative that is growing in popularity by the day. It is changing the way that we do things.
How Did It Start?
The Buy Nothing Project was founded in Banbridge Island, Washington in 2013. A collection of community-based groups came together to form a way of giving goods and services. They wanted a way for people to share with each other and form real communities.
What is the Buy Nothing Project?
The concept is simple and brilliant. Buy Nothing. Share Everything.
“To build resilient communities where our true wealth is the connections forged between neighbours.”
https://buynothingproject.org/about
The Buy Nothing Project is intended to be hyper-local. In order to develop a community, members need to live in close proximity. It is about getting back to basics and how a community used to be. It develops a greater reliance on those around us, looking after our neighbours and sharing what we have. It encourages a sense of gratitude.
GIVE what you no longer need,
ASK for what you want, and
express your GRATITUDE.
Stats
At the time of writing, The Buy Nothing Project has:
- 7.5 million Buy Nothing community members
- 13,000 Buy Nothing community builders
- 128,000 Buy Nothing communities around the world
- 850,000 app downloads
In a nutshell:
https://buynothingproject.org/about
BuyNothing offers people a way to give and receive, share, lend, and express gratitude through a worldwide gift economy network in which the true wealth is the web of connections formed between people. We believe that communities are more resilient, sustainable, equitable, and joyful when they have functional gift economies.
Why Join?
There are many reasons to join your local Buy Nothing group. Here are 6:
1. Save Money
Joining a Buy Nothing group saves money. It means that we don’t have to buy all the things, all of the time. We can source items new to us rather than new from a shop.
We all need items at various times. Take babies, for instance. They require a lot of gear for the first year of life. Much of this furniture doesn’t get much use. The clothes are barely worn before they are grown out of. Large items like change tables, rockers and walkers take up space. Babies move through the stages quickly. Parents either keep this gear for a future baby or need to pass it on. They might gift to a relative, donate to an op shop or sell.
As your family grows and changes, seasons come and go, so does the stuff in our house. It can reduce the pressure on the budget if we don’t have to pay for every new item that we need. This can help to alleviate the pressure of the rising cost of living too.
2. Environmental
Through the Buy Nothing Project, we can keep items out of landfill. We can consume less. Fewer precious resources used, slave labour and transportation required. Our need to dump will be less.
By giving unwanted items to someone who needs them, we can reduce what we buy, reduce waste, reuse rather than opting for single-use, and repurpose to give a new lease of life.
3. Minimalism
I love that through Buy Nothing, giving items away can help you reduce the clutter in your house. You can specify that you need an item gone that day if you are in a rush. People often show up quickly to take the item. It feels good to get stuff out of your house and into another home. Sometimes I’ve been sent a photo of it being used and the joy that it has brought them.
Porch pick-up is safe and convenient. I like not having to answer the door to people every time. It means I don’t have to waste time in the day or make sure I’m home at a certain time.
There are many Saturdays where we are pottering around the yard and shed. I’ll ask my husband if we should get rid of something. He’ll often agree. I’ll post it in the group and within an hour it can be picked up. It’s a great feeling.
4. Build Community
Joining your local Buy Nothing Group is fabulous for building community. It keeps things local. People like being able to help each other out. Whether it is sharing excess lemons from a tree, gifting a toy that is no longer played with or clothes that no longer fit.
Keeping it within a suburb or two keeps the group small. This helps to reduce petrol emissions and cost.
5. Good Quality
You don’t have to drive a long way to walk around a maze to squeeze it in your car and put it together. We have a lot of IKEA furniture in our house. It has a place. It took a lot of effort to source these items with young children. In hindsight, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble and money and sourced it in my local group. You can source ready-made, quality pieces that will last the test of time.
6. Feels Good
The Buy Nothing Project has many benefits. It makes you feel good. It feels good to declutter and make space in your home. It feels good to be generous. It feels good to get something for free.
Some of us have a lot. You are doing okay financially or your children have grown. You just want the excess gone to a new home.
For others, we are just starting out. You might have just moved out of home, arrived from another country or starting again after a relationship breakdown. You may be a new teacher setting up a classroom or daycare. You’re grateful for anything you can get for free, especially if it helps save you money.
Who Can Join?
Anyone aged eighteen and older. There are Buy Nothing Communities located all around the world.
You can find a local group on Facebook or download their app.
What Are The Rules?
- You can only join one group. This keeps it fair.
- Stay local.
- No onselling of items that were given. This goes against the spirit of the project. Members caught selling items that they received for free are banned.
- No sob stories. Everyone is welcome to the items, not who deserves it the most. There are plenty of charities, churches, community groups and Pay it Forward groups that serve this need already.
- No hate speech, threats or harassment.
- Participate at your own risk
- Give freely, receive freely, and share freely. No selling, buying, renting, trading or bartering.
- Show gratitude for what you have. Say thank you.
You can read the community commitment in full here.
Should I Stop Using Facebook Marketplace?
I see the Buy Nothing Project as another option in the circular economy. It’s like having another tool in our tool belt. It is okay to use different platforms.
If I pay a lot of money for an item, I will generally sell it once we are done. It feels good to recoup some of the money. I keep this aside for purchasing future items. For some people, they don’t need the cash to sell items. They are doing okay financially. For others, it is not worth the hassle. They would rather give it away than have to write an ad and deal with annoying buyers.
Whilst we are home with young children and renovating our home, every dollar adds up. I don’t feel bad about selling items to make some extra cash. I make sure not to sell items given to us from Buy Nothing.
Some items that are of good value but I don’t wish to sell, I will often post them onto my local Buy Nothing Group. If there is no interest, I will donate it to an op shop. This goes for items that I have been given or when I feel like the right thing to do is to give it away.
Items that are not good enough to sell, offer on Buy Nothing or donate to op shops I put out the front for Hard Waste. Sometimes these are taken by others to use or sell. We get two hard waste removals from our council every year which is handy.
Any Negative Experiences?
I have only had a couple of negative experiences personally. I once picked up a box of Lego. I was so excited and couldn’t believe someone had given them away. This feeling turned to disgust as I opened the box. A dozen cockroaches scampered out. Upon tipping the contents out, we found pieces of food, rubbish, broken toys, random toys from fast food places amongst the lego. It was gross and pretty disappointing.
Since then, I have had members not show up to collect items. This is not dissimilar to Facebook Marketplace but still frustrating.
The majority of interactions have been positive however and I want to use the platform more.
How To Find Out More
Want to find out more? See below for links to the Buy Nothing website, app, book, podcast and social media. There are many ways to get involved and even donate if you want to.
- Website
- App, download for free on the App Store or Google Play.
- Book, The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan by Liesl Clark & Rebecca Rockefeller
- Podcast
What Else Can You Access For Free?
There are so many goods and services that we can access for free. These can help to take off a little pressure of rising groceries, energy bills and housing. Here are a few suggestions:
- Borrow Audiobooks. There is no need to pay for a subscription when you can listen to them on your device for free. Simply download the apps, add your library card details, search for titles and borrow them. You can find out more here.
- Toy Libraries. We don’t need to own every toy. Save money (and your sanity) by borrowing them instead. Find out more about toy libraries here.
- Repair Cafes. Give your clothes, household items and toys a second life or volunteer to help others. Find out more here.
- Grow Free. Grow your own food and give freely to someone else. Give what you can and take what you need. Find how these Grow Free carts work and where to find them here.
- Healthy Food Coop. These are open to everyone, not-for-profit mini supermarket, easy meal kits to feed 4 people for a very low cost per serve. Free bread, fruit & veg with eligible purchases. You can find out more about The Healthy Food Co at Playford or other locations in Adelaide here.
- Cashback. Need to buy something new but want to get some cashback? Find out more here.
- Discount codes. Looking for a discount code or referral link? Most require you to spend some money first but it can be a way to save some money. You can find some here.
Are you a member of your local Buy Nothing Group?
I’d love to hear about your experience. Feel free to comment below or connect over on Instagram or Facebook.
Melanie Wegener
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