apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i would love to have a neighbor who had cable and then could split the bill with them a bit, since i really want to cancel mine (getting killed with a rate hike). We get 1 fuzzy channel with an antennae here, so if it's gone we go completely without, no news or local anything.

This is a recipe for disasaster. I'd like to hear from this person a year from now to see if they're all still friends.

I know someone who let a good friend stash his furniture at his house while he was going through a divorce. The furniture completely fills a room on the first floor. It's been there for 3 years now and the friend has made no attempt to collect his stuff or even pay for the inconvenience.

If it were me, I'd have had a yard sale two years ago.

This has worked well for us. We've shared law and garden chores, power tools, pools, etc. with neighbors over the years. We've had neighbors who could access our wi-fi in their house, so I footed the wi-fi bill and they mowed our collectively-fenced back yards. I shared plants from the garden and babysat, they looked to the fact that we--being new to town--met a few poeple got a few party invites tossed our way. Years ago in grad and law school, we had several friends who were given a set of house keys so they could use the laundry facilities, watch TV, or escape roomates for a night. Little somethings nice often appeared in return: a lunch out, some brownies, popped in our towels with their 1/2 load of wash, cooked dinner, etc. We still offer up no-strings- attached guest accomodations when ever any of us are in each other's towns. (We get the chance to be back in civilization; our friends get an escape from winter.)

I'm like a bratty little kid who doesn't like to share....is there something wrong with that?

in a perfect world...it is questionable and yes, suzy8track I'm there with you...I don't see nothing wrong, we are just not in Mayberry, NC Andy Griffith's days...

JaxByDefault is hogging all the decent people.

It wouldn't be a surprise that I don't like to share either, would it? I somewhat envy the social acumen of people like Jax who seems to be able to have these mutual situations with people who don't suck, or cause one to be wary of putting too much trust in everyone they meet.

I do this. I don't have cable, so I watch some shows at my boyfriend's house. I live in an apartment with little storage, so when I paint I borrow a latter from a friend who has a house. I "pay" them back with baked goods and companionship. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I don't see why I should buy something that I'm only going to use once every few years, and my friend won't miss it while I have it. I'm also a big fan of using the library and renting DVDs instead of buying.

Totally with you, Suzy8Track and KatieJane; sounds awful. Kind of like that "loan out your stuff to various people" network that was on the site the other day; sounded like a perfect plan to never see your borrowed items again. I like having/using my own stuff, and I like my privacy.

My mom has a very mobile library and dvd collection (of classic movies = Fellini, Tarkovskiy, etc.). We had always opened the house up for whoever needed to stay over - for a day or for a month... Here, in our house, we're proud of the great relationships we have with our neighbors: we can borrow tools, ask them to feed our cat while we're away, just get an advice... I don't think we can split the cable bill with anyone though. But I DO believe in mutually beneficial relationships.

I wouldn't do it among friends because well friendships don't always work out and someone gets stuck with the bad end of the stick. I have stored things with family who had the extra space - like some furniture got stored in a basement of an uncle's house (he didn't use it for anything and it was partially finished). You can't really end your relationship with family like a friendship can end.

Kathryn - I feel for the guy. I would have at least had the garage sale after the second year. If the guy ever showed up later, I'd say I sold it and I was keeping the money as what it should have cost him to store it.

Growing up and even now, my mom has always hated for my sister and I to be buying anything new if she has one that we can borrow or that she doesn't use anymore and I've adopted that mindset. I'm always borrowing their ladder or random tools My neighbors and I share a wi-fi connection and get our groceries delivered together to avoid multiple delivery fees. We have get-togethers about once a month and folding chairs, cookie sheets, kitchenware and more float around from party to party and everyone is responsible, helpful and appreciative. We all are pretty diligent about returning stuff to its rightful owner and it just works out. Some mutual respect and appreciation is really whats needed. Of course, there may be one bad apple as time goes on, but can't let that spoil things!

This has worked extremely well for us, too. We have an open-door policy with our neighbors, they have a key and are free to grab whatever they need from our house if we are not around. Of course, they are our very good friends, I'm not saying this would work with just anybody.
I think it's easy to get caught up in the "MINE!" thing, but why does it matter if someone is able to use something that's just sitting there. It just means everyone needs a little less crap in their house.

KTG: I have always considered myself lacking in social acumen. Thanks! Also, there are many decent people left.

For all of the cynics out there: It's worked well for us in a variety of locations, from big cities to small transitional cities. (Disclaimer: we've never lived in the suburbs, so can't guage its effectivenes there.) It isn't rosy-perfect, but I never expected that. On the whole, it works.

I grew up in a big family; spouse grew up in a very small town. I think this sharetopia/barter model works for us because we've both grown up with it. Honestly, I'd never thought about it until this thread--always assumed it was just part of city living.

I guess I just see potential for annoyance - like someone borrowing your big pot and that night you realize you would like to make pasta or something. Then you have to rearrange your plans, find one to borrow from someone else, or go out and buy another.

Something as simple as a stepstool or ladder I'd be more than willing to lend out to neighbors - but I am not silly enough to give them keys. Trading stuff like cookie sheets and kitchenware is baffling me - I buy my own because I don't like using other people's things because I like to go with my version of clean not someone else's.

Interesting idea, hope it continues to work out for you.

What I'm really excited about is that you used "I" instead of "we". Most bloggers seem to feel that nosism is an absolute necessity. Hearing "I" sounds fresh these days!