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The borrowing/gifting economy is alive and well on my community Nextdoor page. Our homes are generally bursting with stuff, and I think people feel good about being able to share their bounty with others, and maybe also clear a bit of their garages and basements at the same time.
I find this thread terribly sad. I have lived as an adult in this country for 60 years. In all that time I have never encountered such nastiness toward neighbors.
Neighbors in general are not your best friends...they are you neighbors...and you cooperate with them to make the neighborhood work well.
And you routinely lend things back and forth. And you aid each other when needed. As we are old and mildly handicapped our neighbors provide assistance in small tasks...We cannot climb even small ladders...so they help us change AC filters. And we watch their houses when away and corral a wayward mutt when someone leaves a gate open.
I really am sad. I think a number of people posting on this thread should move to the far north regions of Montana...where there is no one else. And may you age and die lacking both neighbors and friends - which you so richly deserve.
In a perfect world, perhaps. We've had unpleasant experiences in the past with lending. Items damaged, lent to OTHER people other than the neighbor, having to ASK for our stuff back.
So, we don't lend. We don't need the drama. And it isn't nastiness. It is not wanting to spend our money replacing or repairing lent items.
In a perfect world, perhaps. We've had unpleasant experiences in the past with lending. Items damaged, lent to OTHER people other than the neighbor, having to ASK for our stuff back.
So, we don't lend. We don't need the drama. And it isn't nastiness. It is not wanting to spend our money replacing or repairing lent items.
Good point. Sugar, butter is one thing but I won't lend expensive items anymore either. Once I lent my inlaws care giver my outdoor patio table and chairs for her barbecue. I told her we were going on vacation and wouldn't be able to pick it up until the following week, and she darn well knew we were going away because my inlaws lived with us and I had to get the sis in laws to care for them.. but she gave the set away while we were gone for that week. I was totally shocked.
What kind of person gives loaned items away to others?
I always wondered, too, why people don't just go to the store and buy what they need. We had one neighbor who used to borrow things like sugar and charcoal. We always bought name brand, in the case of sugar and charcoal we bought C&H and Kingsford, and when it was returned it was generic. A different neighbor borrowed our potato masher and broke it using it and bought us a new one that was much better than the one she borrowed. The one she borrowed was old and I certainly wouldn't have cared if she didn't replace it, but I still have the new one she bought, several years later, and it's a good one!
Once we loaned our brand new Shop Vac to a relative and when it came back it didn't work. They never offered to replace it. Then they borrowed our carpet cleaner we'd only used a couple of time and never returned it. Haven't loaned them anything else.
I can only remember one time that I borrowed from a neighbor instead of going to the store. It was Christmas Eve, the stores were already closed and I was making dressing/stuffing and realized I didn't have any sage.
Now I see people on Next Door asking for things from neighbors that they would like to have but I guess don't want to pay for. For instance, they ask if anyone has a fire pit or a baby gate or whatever that they no longer want. I would go buy one rather than ask on a neighborhood forum, but that's just me. If someone is OFFERING something that is different. But asking just seems weird to me.
One of my dad's neighbors used to borrow his riding lawnmower. Then my dad found out he was using it to mow other people's lawns for money. Sheesh!
I always wondered, too, why people don't just go to the store and buy what they need. We had one neighbor who used to borrow things like sugar and charcoal. We always bought name brand, in the case of sugar and charcoal we bought C&H and Kingsford, and when it was returned it was generic. A different neighbor borrowed our potato masher and broke it using it and bought us a new one that was much better than the one she borrowed. The one she borrowed was old and I certainly wouldn't have cared if she didn't replace it, but I still have the new one she bought, several years later, and it's a good one!
Once we loaned our brand new Shop Vac to a relative and when it came back it didn't work. They never offered to replace it. Then they borrowed our carpet cleaner we'd only used a couple of time and never returned it. Haven't loaned them anything else.
I can only remember one time that I borrowed from a neighbor instead of going to the store. It was Christmas Eve, the stores were already closed and I was making dressing/stuffing and realized I didn't have any sage.
Now I see people on Next Door asking for things from neighbors that they would like to have but I guess don't want to pay for. For instance, they ask if anyone has a fire pit or a baby gate or whatever that they no longer want. I would go buy one rather than ask on a neighborhood forum, but that's just me. If someone is OFFERING something that is different. But asking just seems weird to me.
One of my dad's neighbors used to borrow his riding lawnmower. Then my dad found out he was using it to mow other people's lawns for money. Sheesh!
There's a bit of that on Nextdoor, but I've also been able to make money, too. Recently, we had an item that my son no longer needed set aside to donate. By chance, I saw a request on ND for said item to borrow for a couple of weeks and sent a message stating that she was welcome to it. A couple of weeks later, she sent me a message asking if they could purchase it, because her son loved it. I said sure, and she came right over with a wad of cash for my son, who wasn't expecting any money for the item, but he was certainly happy to have it. And even if she hadn't offered money for it, I would have been happy to pass it along. We've got a lot of stuff in our basement that is in excellent condition but we no longer need, and I'd love to clear it out. Seeing those items go to neighbors who really appreciate them is great!
I always wondered, too, why people don't just go to the store and buy what they need. We had one neighbor who used to borrow things like sugar and charcoal. We always bought name brand, in the case of sugar and charcoal we bought C&H and Kingsford, and when it was returned it was generic. A different neighbor borrowed our potato masher and broke it using it and bought us a new one that was much better than the one she borrowed. The one she borrowed was old and I certainly wouldn't have cared if she didn't replace it, but I still have the new one she bought, several years later, and it's a good one!
....
Now I see people on Next Door asking for things from neighbors that they would like to have but I guess don't want to pay for. For instance, they ask if anyone has a fire pit or a baby gate or whatever that they no longer want. I would go buy one rather than ask on a neighborhood forum, but that's just me. If someone is OFFERING something that is different. But asking just seems weird to me.
Some people are on a tight budget and can't always spend $$$ on top brand items, and other people have a basement of stuff that they don't use and would be happy to get rid of. As the saying goes, you don't ask, you don't get. Seems like everyone wins.
Some people are on a tight budget and can't always spend $$$ on top brand items, and other people have a basement of stuff that they don't use and would be happy to get rid of. As the saying goes, you don't ask, you don't get. Seems like everyone wins.
Exactly! I love seeing our old stuff given a new home with people who need it. It serves no purpose hanging around in our basement, cluttering up the place.
I bet most of the people expressing disbelief that anyone would borrow sugar in this day and age think 'cooking' means taking a block of frozen food out of a cardboard box and putting it inside a microwave for 5 minutes.
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