Recent Offerings in the Atwater Buy Nothing Group(s)

One man's trash...

I don’t know my neighbors. Well, I know my downstairs neighbors, and their dog, a little. And I met the elderly couple next door when I backed my car into their wood fence and gave the guy money to fix it (I apologized). Now, I wave when I see them outside chain smoking. They don’t wave back, but whatever.

Online, however, I know the neighborhood, thanks to Facebook “Buy Nothing” groups (I don’t fuck with NextDoor). If you want to understand the origins and politics of the Buy Nothing movement, here’s a recent deep-dive. It’s not Facebook Marketplace. The short version is that people give things away, usually arranging to leave the item(s) outside their front door at an appointed time for someone else to pick up. You never pay for anything. It’s how I got my kettle, which has been used once since I got it and not by me (I microwave mugs to heat up water and if I go to Hell for that, so be it), and a bunch of canned cat food with extra vitamins for cats with kidney problems (my cat doesn’t have kidney problems but I looked it up and the extra vitamins don’t hurt her). I’ve also given things away: packing materials, a vase, right now I’m trying to get rid of a couple bath mats.

The group is a kind of X-ray of the neighborhood (Atwater Village, Los Angeles, near Glendale but not in Glendale, East of Silverlake, above Frogtown). (Or should I say groups. I am in two of them. I read somewhere you’re not supposed to be in more than one, but I am!) You see how many families there are, what their income level is, what hobbies they have. A census by way of usable trash. It’s mildly interesting, which is the sweet spot for this here newsletter.

So, presented without commentary, a sampling of items posted within the last month:

•  4 Covid tests, expiring in 4 days

• A refrigerator

• “Two small handmade pottery cups to give as a pair.”

• “My visiting friend left a bottle of mouth wash here that he had to purchase to make it to the minimum to pay with credit card. He either used it very little or not at all, I'm not sure... But either way, we're not using this...”

• Thyme

• A can opener 

• An egg pan

• Serrated knives

• “Hanging shower caddy like new”

• Moonology Oracle card deck

• “There's lotsa lemons on my tree. Limit 15 per person. If you're in AV, I will deliver to your porch.”

• “Knitting needles - sizes 3&6”

• “8 pairs of fruit of the loom boxer briefs, size M. Brand new, out of package, have been laundered. Husband bought the wrong ones and trashed the package.”

• Connect 4

• Amethyst geode

• “Charbroil propane grill. Needs new propane but works great.”

• A bag of small hand sanitizers. 

• “Record player with built in radio. Works great. Has an aux Jack, usb port, and place for sd card.”

• A box of nails

• An electric leaf blower

• “100 thicker hair ties? i have a big bag of new, unused hair ties and don't need all of them”

• Paper coin wrappers

• Tangerine juice and apple juice

• “iMac, 21.5”, circa 2015 with a new hard drive installed. The monitor has minor cosmetic issues but it works fine.”

• “50+ colorful plastic hangers!”

• “Like new lingerie and lace underwear. Size small. Available for pick up tomorrow. If you like lace, this is for you. I’m allergic to lace so they need to go. Contactless front porch pick up. Would prefer this go to one person. X post.”

• A feral kitten

All of these items had at least one interested party.

Lizzie

(You know what else you can pick up for free? This newsletter!)

PS- this was fun!