By Nadia Stuewer
Interested in getting stuff for free? Want to give your unwanted goods away to somebody who wants them? You might consider joining your local Buy Nothing group, of which we have two in Lowertown.
Buy Nothing is a community-based gifting group. Buy Nothing groups are Facebook-based groups open to everyone over 18, where members gift items to other members. These items range from as large as a fridge to as small as a pair of earrings. Members can also offer the gift of time, helping others with picking up items, decluttering closets, and other services.
This is how it works. A member will post an item they no longer want with a photo and brief description, and other members will comment on the photo indicating their interest in taking that item. Gifters are free to choose the person to whom they wish to give the gift. There is no rule of “first come, first served” in Buy Nothing. If there are multiple requests, the gifter will draw a name, or give the item to someone who gave a good explanation for why they wanted the item. Members are able to post requests for items as well.
To function well and to get a true neighbourly feeling, where members actually get to know each other, Buy Nothing groups try not to get too large. The idea is to be as hyper-local as possible. In this way they differ from Kijiji and Freecycle and other similar groups. With these groups they share a focus on sustainability and reducing waste.
In Lowertown, King Edward Avenue divides our two groups, Lowertown East and ByWard Market/Lowertown West (which includes the area known as The Wedge, north of St. Patrick and east of King Edward.)
Erin Ladouceur, a former administrator, tells the story of Buy Nothing groups in Lowertown. In 2008, one group covered central Ottawa, from Lebreton Flats to the Rideau River, making it one of the first Buy Nothing Project groups in Canada. Over time, dozens of new Buy Nothing groups grew out of this original group, one of which was the Lowertown/Sandy Hill group. By 2019, this group had grown to over a thousand members and covered a large area, in neighborhoods where many members walked to pick up gifts. At this time, the admins started to prepare to “sprout” (create new groups) by researching demographics and carefully planning the boundaries for the new groups to create community, not divides. In September 2020, three new groups were launched: ByWard Market/Lowertown West, Lowertown East, and Sandy Hill. Many members were hesitant, and even upset, by the reduction in the size of their group, but many were also excited. One benefit of a small group is that people can walk just a few minutes to exchange a gift with a neighbour, and our smaller group feels more personal.
If there is one drawback to Buy Nothing, it’s that it is Facebook-based, requiring a computer or smartphone, which not everyone has. Perhaps those that need it most are unable to access it.
Nat Portelance, a member of Lowertown East Buy Nothing for several years, loves the neighbourhood giving it enables. “It takes a village to help each other out,” she says. One day, while she was dating her now ex-partner, his teenage daughter was sent to him from foster care out of the blue with only a backpack. Nat asked her Buy Nothing members for clothes and within a few days, the girl was well on her way to building a new wardrobe.
Marie Lapointe has been an enthusiastic Buy Nothing member first in San Diego and now in Ottawa. Her groups in San Diego were much larger, in terms of membership and geographic area, and posts would get up to 90 requests. In Lowertown, it’s rare for an offer to receive more than a dozen requests. She has made friends through Buy Nothing and received many great gifts including an Ikea shelf, brand-name clothing, and best of all, three same-day tickets to a Senators game. She once delivered two large, stinky bins of compost to someone wanting to start a garden. One person’s trash is truly another’s treasure.
Erin loves Buy Nothing “because it allows me and my family to reduce our carbon footprint, to save money, and to meet our neighbours. I find it comforting to pass our family’s cherished items on to someone else to enjoy.” Her home is filled with Buy Nothing treasures: “Some of my favourite gifts have been artwork, scoby for kombucha-making, a bookcase, clothing, plant cuttings, and dog toys.”
Interested? To join either the Lowertown East group or the ByWard Market/Lowertown West group, just search Facebook for the name of the group in whose boundaries you live and request membership, or visit the Buy Nothing Project at https://buynothingproject.org/.
