5 Ways for You to Join the Sharing Economy

Remember when your parents used to tell you to share? Share your toys with your friends. Share the remote with your brother. Share your clothes with your sister.  Share, share, share….

I remember being asked to share a lot with those around me, and it must have stuck because I opened an underground dress library in college.

That sounds way cooler than it was, but basically just boiled down to me having A LOT of dresses.

This post was sponsored by Bunz. All thoughts and opinions are my own. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Like a lot. Over 200. I got into this bad habit of picking up dresses when they were on sale because at the time I was dating someone with a high profile job. We’d go to a lot of semi-formal and formal dinners, events, banquets, galas, etc. etc. etc. And, I thought you had to have a new dress for every occasion.

Silly me. You don’t. (I could have saved past me a lot of money with that knowledge.)

But, I would always pick up out of season dresses very cheap, typically on the final sale rack. Often these dresses were damaged or stained in some way, but since I majored in theatre, I had access to the costume department where I could alter, stitch, and fix most problems the dresses had.

I was in a sorority AND part of the music department. Sororities and music departments also have a lot of semi-formal events. So, instead of hoarding all of my dresses, I opened up a dress library.

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People could come to my dorm room and check out dresses for their performing arts class (a once a week class that’s like a cabaret where you sing once a semester and attend to listen to your fellow music students), parties, banquets, you name it.

I was basically the original Rent the Runway, except free and all you had to do was clean the dress before you brought it back.

This is a prime example of the sharing economy.

It’s based in community, connection, and sharing resources.

So, instead of running out and buying anything NEW every time you need something, you borrow it from a friend or now, thanks to technology, a stranger.

what is the sharing economy?

According to Investopedia, “The sharing economy is an economic model often defined as a peer-to-peer (P2P) based activity of acquiring, providing or sharing access to goods and services that are facilitated by a community based online platform.”

how does this relate to the environment?

I’m so glad you asked! We have talked a lot about buying less, waiting 30 days before making a purchase, and making sure you only bring something truly valuable into your home.

But, we haven’t talked a lot about sharing. The secondhand market and sharing are closely intertwined for me because both of them focus on using resources that are already in the waste stream.

We currently live in a linear economy which means we take resources from the planet, turn them into products, and then once we’re done with them we dump them into a giant hole in the ground where they’ll live forever. Doesn’t make much sense right?

Living a zero waste lifestyle is about moving to a circular economy where our resources can be used over and over and over again. To learn more about the circular economy check out the post What is Zero Waste? What is the Circular Economy?

While most of the circular economy hinges on design and corporate responsibility, there are still ways we can perpetuate that in our day to day lives like sharing and shopping secondhand.

how do I join the party?

1. Bunz

Sharing, swapping, and giving just got a whole lot easier with Bunz.

Bunz has found a way to streamline and ORGANIZE your local buy nothing group. It’s a platform designed to trade and swap so you can search for the item you’re looking for and set a proximity range!

The Bunz app is totally free. Meaning it doesn’t cost to download, but also there’s no money exchanged in the trades.

I’ve heard of several people swapping out things they don’t need like a pair of boots for a case or beer. Now, that sounds like my kind of trade.

What happens if you have something to give, but don’t need anything in return? Or maybe you need an item, but they’re not interested in what you have to trade?

To combat that situation Bunz created a digital currency called BTZ (pronounced bits) which can be traded in for things or can be used at cafes and stores.

If you’re in Toronto, which is Bunz central station, you have a ton of options like bars, coffee shops, tattoo parlors, restaurants, nail salons, the list goes on.

Thankfully, Bunz is expanding cause this sounds awesome. The app can be used anywhere so you can declutter those items that don’t spark joy, and hopefully, trade it for a few things that DO SPARK JOY!

If this sounds totally up your alley, you can download the Bunz app and get your friends, family, and neighbors to join.

This, of course, will help expand the pool of who you trade with, but will hopefully encourage others to adopt a new sustainable hobby in their life.

Here are a few ways you can encourage people in your neighborhood to join:

• Tell your friends and fam!

• Post about it on Facebook or Instagram

• Talk to your local zero waste group about it and ask them to share it with their friends. Check out my blog post on Finding a Local Zero Waste Group.

• If you’re a member of a buy nothing group, share the app with them which will help organize they group way better than on Facebook.

• Do you have a neighborhood app like NextDoor? If so, create a post sharing the app.

• Don’t forget to be a trailblazer and list a few cool things for trade in your area to get everyone started!

• I’m most excited to use this app to trade figs and apples from my trees in the backyard. I would love to swap a whole bunch of fresh figs for wine or tea!

2. library card:

A library is probably the first interaction we ever had with the sharing economy. You check out books, read them, and then bring them back.

To join costs absolutely nothing, and you only get penalized for not holding up your end of the bargain AKA bringing them back on time.

Now, there are all sorts of libraries starting to pop up like toy libraries, tool libraries, library of things, and even underground dress libraries.

So, you can check out tools for weekend home reno project, toys for your kids, or check out camping gear for your upcoming trip. This is SO smart, because most of these things we don’t need to own, we can just borrow them for a short period.

Unfortunately, the underground dress library is closed.

3. bike programs:

Another eco-friendly program in the sharing economy is bike sharing!

Maybe you’ve seen a row of bikes parked in your downtown area? Those bikes are available for anyone to ride for a short time. The programs can be free or involve a small fee, but you can take the bike from its dock and then ride it to another dock and drop it off.

Some systems are dockless, or what I like to call free-range bikes. You can take them for a ride, and then drop them off anywhere.

4. food scraps:

Technology really is making sharing cool. While I’m sure you could offer up your food scraps and compost bin on Bunz , there’s also an app specifically designed for taking and accepting food waste. If you’re in an apartment and struggling to compost check out my blog post Composting in Apartments and check out ShareWaste.

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5. knowledge:

This one is a little out of the box, but stay with me… instead of sharing things, it’s sharing knowledge.  

I love learning. I think that’s pretty obvious thanks to lots of well-researched posts on this blog.

But if you love learning, and would like to take a class or two to keep your brain sharp, but don’t want to go back to school - check out edX. You can audit free courses from universities like Harvard, Brown, Princeton, Berkeley, Berklee and more.

Most of the classes are free, and I just signed up to take one on the circular economy!

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and will jump into the sharing economy. This was just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many ways to start sharing with your community, which is honestly one of the most radical things you can do in today’s society.

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Did you know loneliness is the second biggest killer in the world? The first is air pollution. You can help tackle both by getting in on the sharing economy because you’re creating connection and reducing the overall amount of resources you consume!

Don’t forget to download the Bunz App , and I would love to know if you’ve ever used it! ESP if you’re from Toronto, I would love to know the coolest thing you’ve traded your BTZ in for?

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making a Purchase

I’ve been on a bit of a minimalist kick lately. There’s just something about cleaning out your closet that makes you evaluate every purchase you’ve made in the last calendar year.

I prefer to organize and deep clean first thing in the year. There’s something about cold weather that makes me want to nest in my home (probably because it’s too cold outside to go anywhere), it’s after the holidays, and it just feels like a perfect time for reflecting.

As a bonus, Marie Kondo’s tv show Tidying Up came out... so, I mean who wasn’t ready to declutter, organize and spark joy?

I’m pretty happy that the Tidying Up TV show involves no shopping minus gathering a few small boxes for drawer organization. I’m even happier that after following up with a few of the families that participated, their homes have stayed TIDY! 

This means they’re not running out and filling up their new found space - which is great!

In the past, I have definitely gone shopping after decluttering and felt excited that I had space to store all of my new belongings.

I never intentionally went out to shop and fill space, but because I had space I often allowed myself to shop, does that make sense?

I feel a lot of people fall into this mindset. I don’t think many people intentionally buy things they don’t want or don’t love. I think in the moment they think they want and love it, but only with time and space do they realize... they don’t. 

As a former shopaholic, I can tell you that’s how it was for me. I tended to love things in the moment but never really thought about them practically. 

In college, after I sold my books back to the book store, I’d take that money and spend it frivolously. I remember I bought a beautiful pair of heels that were 5” tall... do you know how practical it is to wear 5” heels without a platform? For me, it was not very practical. I wore them a few times, and that was it. 

My instinct was to run to the store for anything and everything I needed, instead of sitting with that want or need and thinking about it. I didn’t want to wait for a solution. I wanted to buy a solution RIGHT NOW which I think is an overall symptom of our society which relies a lot on instant gratification.

I try not to reflect on all of the money I could have saved had I been a bit wiser....

But, on top of all that, I didn’t value things. Things were not something I respected. I viewed things as disposable, mostly because I was buying disposable goods. But, disposable is 100% a mindset, and it’s not a very healthy one.  

1. does it fit my ethics?

This one right off the bat will eliminate A LOT of things I don’t need. I’m not saying every purchase I make is an ethical one, but I do try to make my purchases as ethical as possible.

And, if I need something so bad that I’m willing to sacrifice my ethics for it, then I KNOW it’s something that I NEED.

The most common instance of this scenario is jeans. In most designers ethical ones or not, I have a small waist and an x-large rear. I’m pear shaped, and trying to find pants that fit both areas of my body is a real challenge.

I often resort to buying jeans that aren’t the most ethical simply because they’re what fits.

Before going shopping, try to determine your ethics. Ask yourself if the things you’re about to purchase fit into those ethics.

• Do you want things to be mostly plastic free?

• What about slave labor?

• What about ecological business practices?

I feel like this blog post could be a topic all to itself, but I have talked about this a little bit more in How to Make the BEST Choice for the environment. 

2. would I be willing to pay full price?

Because I do try to opt for ethical purchases, this often means shopping second hand or on sale, because ethical purchases can be really expensive.

Before you go shopping, try to identify how much money it hurts for you to spend? $20, $50, $200? I don’t know what your budget or spending habits are like but anything that costs $50 gives me serious pause. It makes me truly evaluate the item and whether or not I need it.  

I come across a lot of deals when I’m shopping second hand. I come across items I like, maybe an item that’s been on my list for a long time, and maybe that item isn’t quite perfect, but I find myself saying, “Oh, well it’s close to what I’m looking for, and it’s only $8”

Have you ever uttered the phrase, “It’s only X amount of dollars”? 

If you have, then you probably know that phrase means you don’t love it and you definitely DON’T need it.  

So, the first question I ask myself before making a purchase is, “Would I pay full price for this item or would I pay my sacrificial price for this item?” Ask yourself whichever number is higher, and if the answer is no, don’t buy it. 

3. do I need it?

This one is tough because it can be difficult to sort through what we need, a true want, and a temporary want. We want to make sure that we’re eliminating temporary wants because those are the ones that clutter our closets and drawers. 

For more info on this topic be sure to check out my post Why I Wait 30 Days Before Making a Purchase all about setting a personal buy-ban for yourself.

You can pinpoint a true want and need if you give yourself enough space. If you’re still thinking about something weeks or months later, then it’s probably a true want or need. 

4. is this for the person I am or the person I want to be?

Maybe you’ve waited 30 days or months, but still find yourself dreaming about that item. Is that a true want, probably. But, you also need to get real with yourself. Ask yourself the hard question. Is this item for the person I am or the person I want to be.

For instance, I love skirt suits. I LOVE them, but I don’t go to the type of meetings necessary for wearing skirt suits and always feel very out of place when I do wear them. So, no matter how much I want them, I know they’re for the person I want to be vs. the person I am.

In my mind, I’m also excellent at gardening and working out 4 times a week. In actuality, I am NONE of those things.

So, there’s no need for me to go overboard on gardening supplies or to buy 15 pairs of leggings. Owning a few pairs for the few times I do manage to workout before doing laundry is perfect for me.

Speaking of which, check out these 7 eco-friendly activewear brands!

5. what is the end plan?

The last thing I ask myself is about my end plan. Somehow framing the product in it’s full lifecycle beyond just, “I see it; I want it; I buy it.,” helps to create a story and a plan for my purchase.

Because everything you buy, at some point, has to leave your home. Ask yourself:

• Is this an item worth passing down?

• Is this an item I would repair or can be repaired?

• Is this an item that can be recycled?

• Is this an item that will be sent to the landfill?

• Is this an item I could resell?

There’s no judgment from me on what the answers may be, but sometime’s it’s helpful to give more context to a purchase.

lastly:

Now, this isn’t a question, but I hope that you’ll wait for the perfect item. Sometimes, it’s just about having enough patience for that perfect item you’ve been looking for to arrive. And when it does, you will be so filled with joy!

Have you asked yourself any of these questions while shopping? Are there any tips and tricks you have to reduce the amount you shop?

Why I Wait 30 Days Before I Make a Purchase

I wait 30 days before making any purchase. I talk about this pretty often on my Instagram feed because I think it’s really important.

I love supporting sustainable businesses, but I also love not buying things because not buying something is one of the most sustainable choices you can make.

I for one am super susceptible to marketing, and I think a lot of us can be. Pretty much every time I find a new TV show, I’m trying to buy their entire wardrobe. Have you seen Timeless because I want all of Lucy’s sweaters. What about Jane the Virgin because I want to live in Petra’s closet.

Marketers have done a great job making us believe we need a new product for every problem or want that we have. Like I don’t need baby blue hot pants - but I WANT SOME.

When I put some separation between me and my want often even a few days, the want dies down and I can make a more rational decision.

When we impulse buy, we tend to forget that we have simple solutions are all around us - it just takes a bit of creative thinking or looking through your drawer to realize you already had a navy blue sweater.

You can read more about this under the header Know Thy Wardrobe in the post 6 Tips for Secondhand Shopping.

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I wait 30 days before making any purchase because marketers have done a great job making us believe we need a new product for every problem we have. But, simple solutions are all around us... #GoingZeroWaste

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Recently, I wanted an electric kettle for my office.

See, I like tea. A lot. And, I was working at the kitchen table instead of my office because I was close to the stove/kettle/tea.

When I’m in my new office space, if I were to go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea everytime I wanted tea, I’d spend all of my time downstairs instead of working.

An electric kettle would have solved this problem, but before I bought one, I decided to wait 30 days to see if I could come up with a better solution - AND I DID!

I had a double insulated wine bottle I have never used before and it's PERFECT.

It holds an entire french press worth of tea and holds heat better than any other bottle I have (I think because of how skinny it's neck is)

It takes me around two hours to drink this whole thing, and at that point, I feel like it makes sense to go downstairs grab a snack or stretch and make put the kettle on to make a new batch.

I would highly encourage anyone to adopt the practice of waiting before buying!

The next time you want something, just tell yourself to wait until next month. Don’t write it down cause if you forget, then clearly you didn’t need it in the first place.

For more tips, watch the video below.