To reduce waste and save money, some people have been turning to local “Buy Nothing Project” Facebook groups that help them gift and share unused items among neighbors.
According to the Buy Nothing Project website, the way the group works is simple: Take a photo and post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share.
You can also ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow. There’s no buying, selling, or trading, the website states, because it’s strictly a group for gifting and building community.
Donna Van Stralen, an admin of a Buy Nothing Project group in the San Francisco Bay Area, talked to The Epoch Times about why she likes to participate.
“It’s so fulfilling to be able to use something that someone else doesn’t need anymore,” she said.
Ms. Van Stralen says also finds it fun to ask for something to see if anybody has it to give away.
“And so many times somebody has it ready to give to you,” she said.
A screenshot of Donna Van Stralen talking to NTD on July 13, 2024. (Helen Billings/The Epoch Times)
Two of her favorite items she received were a lip balm holder and a Magic Bullet blender. She was going to purchase them but decided to ask the group first, and people had them to give away.
Additionally, she enjoys meeting new people.
“I’ve met neighbors that I hadn’t met before … which has been kind of fun,” Ms. Van Stralen said.
She said the original mission of the Buy Nothing groups is about community, and that’s why they’re small, hyper-local groups.
Ms. Van Stralen said she doesn’t like sending items to the landfill and ends up giving a lot of things away.
Items Ms. Van Stralen was gifted. (Helen Billings/The Epoch Times)
“I had my sewing machine from when I was in high school that sat there forever and I never used it, and I finally posted it and gave that away. So that was cool,” she said. “And then cleaning the garage, I had an old hydraulic jack that was my dad’s and someone was able to use that.”
She mentioned that she has a lemon tree, and sometimes there will be an abundance of lemons, and she will post them in the group to give away.
“I was able to borrow a pop-up tent for an event that we had here at the house,” she said. “I didn’t want to have to buy one because we don’t use it often, and I was able to borrow two of them. So it was wonderful.”
Additionally, she fosters kittens, so she posted a cute picture of the kittens and asked if anybody had any cat toys to get rid of. People were happy to give her some, she said.
(Courtesy of Buy Nothing Project)
As an admin, Ms. Van Stralen said she helps to monitor the group and make sure people are following the rules. She also checks profiles of new users if needed to make sure a valid member is joining the group.
“We have to approve any members that come into the group. So they have to answer three questions to be part of the group, like what their cross streets are, and are they 21, and are they in any other group, because you’re only allowed to be in one local neighborhood group at a time,” she said.
To encourage a fairer sharing environment, she said, she encourages people to let the item simmer by letting multiple people respond before choosing a recipient rather than giving on a first come, first served basis.
She said you can get creative in finding a way to choose a recipient, and she offered some suggestions: Choose the person with the funniest response, take their personal story into account, use a random name picker, or choose somebody you haven’t given to before.
(Courtesy of Buy Nothing Project)
To ensure that people feel safe, she said users can report any issues to the admins to investigate, and leaving items outside for pickup is an option.
The Buy Nothing Project was started in 2013 by two friends from Bainbridge Island, Washington, with the idea to rethink consumption habits. With that, they started an experimental local gift economy. Since then, according to their website, it has become a worldwide social movement, with 128,000 Buy Nothing communities in 44 nations around the world.
(Courtesy of Buy Nothing Project)
