Our street's shared tool shed made me rethink owning everything

I used to think I needed my own tools for every job. After borrowing a rake from the shed, I saw how much space and money I could save. Sharing really cuts down on clutter.

4 comments

4 Comments

oscar2811h ago

Hold up! Sharing tools sounds good until you need something and it's gone. Last summer I went to grab the hedge trimmer from our shed and it was broken because someone didn't oil it. @riverk82 says people take care of shared stuff, but I've seen neighbors leave rakes out in the rain. Now I keep my own tools locked up so they're always ready and in good shape. Trusting others with your gear just leads to hassle.

riverk822h ago

Yeah, the part about "sharing really cuts down on clutter" is so true, but it does something else too. It kind of changes how you feel about the stuff itself. When it's just your tool, you might not care for it as much, but when it's for the whole street, you clean it off and put it back nice. You end up taking more care with shared things than your own sometimes, which is a weird little side effect.

matthew5022h ago

Remember trying to set up a tool library in my old building, @riverk82, and seeing this exact thing. My own drill would sit dirty in a drawer, but the second it got a tag for everyone to use, I'd wipe it down and organize the bits after every loan. It's like knowing others depend on it adds a tiny layer of duty your own stuff just doesn't have. You stop seeing it as just a thing and more like a shared job that needs looking after. That weird care you talk about is what makes the whole idea actually work.

sageknight46m ago

That weird side effect riverk82 mentioned shows up everywhere once you look for it. Like the shared coffee maker at work gets wiped down every day, but my personal one at home gets gross until I can't ignore it. It's like the shared responsibility turns maintenance into a small public act, and nobody wants to be the one who dropped the ball.