Has anyone of you heard of this? It is awesome. It’s a hyper-local gift economy. Items are offered to the group without strings attached or obligations. No money can be given for an item or donated. Giftees are chosen by the gifter using whatever criteria they want. No complaining or sour grapes allowed.
I love it because only people in my town are a part of it and since it’s on Facebook you get an idea of who will be taking things. Addresses are only given over PM. I watched several families have Christmas entirely for free, including trees, decorations, gifts and dinner. Incredible.
I’ve only been gifted two things, a cook book for me and blankets for the kitty shelter.
I’ve gifted 4 throw pillows, an old laptop, candles for a memorial service, Xbox games and a Chia Pet. People need things for their homes, as gifts to family members, etc. Most of them are on limited incomes and a small item can make a huge difference. I’m now starting a massive apartment purge (ugh) so the gifting list is getting big.
If you are interested, here is a website with info and you can check to see if there is one in your area. I’m getting a huge kick out of finding homes for my things.
"Hyperlocal connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of its residents.“…
seems like it has the same meaning as “local” ( ‘Inflammable’ means flammable? What a country.”)
as someone else in this thread mentioned… it sounds like the Craigslist “free stuff” section… or Freecycle or bookmooch or paperbackswap.
Yes, Craigslist Free Stuff but in this case I know more about this person since I have access to their Facebook profile. Yes, that can be BS but people who are there just to take and exploit are quickly weeded out. It is heavily monitored.
In my Craigslist Free Stuff I get listings everywhere even remotely close by. Freecycle was just creepy. Of the stuff I gave away when I moved, which was a lot, only 1 of them I felt good/safe. The others were questionable.
It sounds like a good program - if it helps people feel better/safer about giving and/or receiving within their community or a closer network, then 'sall good.
I’ve had great experiences getting rid of stuff via craigslist “free stuff”, but I certainly understand the aversions to that route, especially for females.
It is predominantly women on the page, lower income, many single mothers. A lot of the giftees will post pictures of the item being used. I like knowing who is getting use out of my things. I am one of those people who donate and volunteer local organizations to keep things in the community. But that’s me, I’d rather see my money and items in direct use instead of going into a black hole.
I figured this would be interesting to some of the cheapskates on the forum. You can request items and I’d say 90% of those requests are fulfilled because everyone has stuff in the house they don’t need.
"Hyperlocal connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of its residents.“…
seems like it has the same meaning as “local” ( ‘Inflammable’ means flammable? What a country.”)
I think the hyper part denotes that it’s even more local than just Local … like it’s just one block, within a Community
A friend of mine just told me about this. I think it sounds awesome. I have a purge project of my own on the horizon, so I’m looking forward to checking it out.
(And maybe I’ve been in Seattle too long, but “hyper-local economy” made perfect sense to me… Damn hippies!) ;-D
Im interested in giving stuff away. It sounds more fulfilling than having a garage sale. Maybe ill do both. There isnt a community near me on that website.
What is mind boggling is how much stuff I have that other people need and would appreciate. It’s making me feel kinda gross how much stuff I have. The list of gifts I’ve given is getting really long. Thankfully incoming is minimal.
Yeah, I just joined the one in my hood and just running through things in my head, I feel like I could overwhelm the list. I guess it’s a nice side benefit to appreciate how lucky we are!
