The other day (okay, this was actually months ago!) I was reading an article on Apartment Therapy on Buy Nothing Groups. In it, the author shares tips and secrets to 'scoring' the cutest and best home decor on these sites. The article wasn't terrible in its entirety, but the focus and common thread throughout was: "use buy nothing groups because you can get a lot of stuff for your house for free."
I find this take interesting, and I guess unsurprising- Apartment Therapy is a home and style website, which translates to lots of marketing and a push for more stuff- stuff to fill your space, to leave your signature on, to make it pretty. I get that. I too, want the perfectly curated space, the instagrammable, light-filled, themed-but-still-beige-y-enough-to-appeal-to-the-masses vibes that seem to be both on trend and weirdly soothing.
The thing is, that is really only half of the story behind Buy Nothing Groups. Having participated in two such groups in the last 2 years doesn't by any means makes me an expert, but it doesn't take a philosophical deep dive to understand the purpose of these groups. The origins of the Buy Nothing Project may surprise you.
The story goes, two parents in the Pacific Northwest became concerned about the plastics they were finding washed up on the shore of their coastal town. This deep concern about waste and its impact on their local ecosystems and environments led them to brainstorm ways to become less reliant on purchasing 'stuff' altogether.
While you can read more about the origins and current philosophies about Buy Nothing Groups here, the spirit of the groups really isn't about getting free stuff to fill your home with. It's about avoiding the urge to buy something new, in communities where overabundance is already a huge problem. It's about finding what we need within our own communities. And I'd argue, it's about giving more than we receive.
I'll be the first to admit that as a new parent and now a new homeowner, I have more often than not been on the receiving end in our community. Both in and out of the Buy Nothing Groups, I've benefited from the generosity of others- Our biggest piece of decor (the one in the top photo) was a curb drop off by a neighbor down the street. But the receiving feels a lot more powerful when it's coupled with giving- for us, that's the old baby clothes we no longer need, or the gate that doesn't quite work in our current space.
The true spirit of the Buy Nothing Group is found in the handful of respondents eager to collect our spare Black Lives Matter sign, or the fellow mom talking about her little one's favorite dress as she passes on the pieces her toddler outgrew. Or the woman collecting all our moving boxes and bubble paper, some collected from our Boston Buy Nothing group, before her own cross-country trip.
I suppose we could always resell some things too (and sometimes, we do!) But in my humble opinion, if you're active in a Buy Nothing Group, you're really in the business of giving.
I'm curious, what's the nicest or most interesting thing you've given or received through a Buy Nothing or similar group? I'm super thankful for the artwork our neighbor gifted us, but my new (old) writing desk is a close second!
