Buy Nothing Project

Perhaps the most radical and most human part of this ecosystem costs nothing at all.

The Buy Nothing Project has taken hold across Buffalo neighborhoods through hyperlocal Facebook pages, where neighbors give away items they no longer need to someone right down the street.

The Elmwood Village Buy Nothing Group launched in 2018 and has grown steadily since.

Now with 3,200-plus members, the, the Kenmore Tonawanda group has more than 7,000 members and sees items like snowblowers, furniture, garden furniture, and clothing change hands freely every week.

And I got it for 65 bucks.

All those like Facebook Marketplace, like Buy Nothing resale groups, you make a killing off those.

Yes.

That is be- that's basically become the new thing now.

Emily just like literally before we hopped on the podcast just now got a Radio Flyer wagon off the side-

Oh

... of the street 'cause she saw it on like Facebook Marketplace but, or a, what, what do they call it? Buy Nothing group.

Yes.

I'm not going to do this for long because this is, it's a process and I have too many base cards sitting around to like, to rely on this, but something that I did do that was kind of fun.

I'm in a, I'm in what's called a buy nothing group.

Okay.

Pasquale, a buy nothing group.

For me, it's on Facebook.

It's a community group, so people in my neighborhood or in my community within a radius of a few miles.

It's called Buy Nothing because the idea is you're just constantly giving each other stuff that you need and ideas that you just buy as little as possible.

I got an extra toaster.

But before we get into it, I have a hack for you.

If you listened to my interview with James Dong a few episodes ago, you remember he mentioned that he bought nothing new for like 10 years, and that Buy Nothing community played a big part.

Well, I didn't know anything about Buy Nothing, so I looked it up after our interview and joined my local Facebook group.

That's how they operate.

Had to verify my address and my pure intentions, and I already... gave up free stuff, and I got a plant that's in front of me right now, and a puzzle that's on the table in front of me too.

Someone else does.

And whatever you need, someone else probably has.

So join Buy Nothing community on Facebook.

Like, I don't need to actually get rid of all these things that I'm getting rid of, but they're not really being utilized, and so it's time for them to go on to someone else.

I got rid of so many things on my Buy Nothing group today.

It was amazing.

I mean, so many people came and got so many things.

It is amazing.

I- I'm always surprised at how quickly things go on there.

So if you're not on Buy Nothing, and you want to keep things within your community, not send them to the thrift store where you're not sure what's gonna happen to them, highly recommend it.

Things have always gone so quickly for us in our area.

Instead of buying new, we buy used.

So I belong to a great Buy Nothing Facebook group for my neighborhood, and these are all over the place.

And so almost any time I'm getting rid of something, I offer it to people in my neighborhood on this Buy Nothing group.

And similarly, like, if you need something, you know, often neighbors will, will turn out to have it.

And in line with our sort of sweet spots concept, this is also a fun way of building connection between neighbors.

I am a Bear in the Big Blue House girl, which was technically his production company, but also Sesame Street.

I actually have a really, really awesome Sesame Street vinyl on my record wall that I was just gifted for free from my Buy Nothing group.

I've been watching all the old Sesame Street, getting a head start on it.

This is exactly, I could talk about it.

[laughs]

Amber Cunningham is here as a mannequin, um, which, which I got off Buy Nothing, and it was used at an adult party, and then washed.

[laughs]

So it's-

Number one, give it away to people that you know will use it.

My favorite for this is a buy nothing group, but I also have used Facebook Marketplace.

I have used, um, Nextdoor.

I've done a free sale in my house, like, which just basically means I put everything on my front yard and put a free sign up, and put a notice on my buy nothing group, told all my neighbors.

My neighbors started bringing things over and putting in the- them in my yard to go.

That was really fun.

I don't have to worry about it.

I want it to leave my h- my yard, and it does.