I traded homemade baked goods for a punk picture, an acrylic art piece that was bigger than the measurements on the Craigslist post. The poster said he’d Googled me, saw I was a ‘creator” and asked if I had anything to trade. Rumballs & lemon curd, I told him and he was cool with that. I’ve also gotten a snowboard with full kit, a universal remote (from girl who didn’t even own a TV) and some designer boots. Oh, and an almost new, expensive trash can. Yep, free from strangers, people I’ll probably never meet again. I was happy and so were they. Gagné- gagné as an old boss used to say.
In the dumpster fire that was 2020, most of us questioned what was important to us. After returning to NY after being in Australia for almost 6 months, I struggled to settle back into the new Brooklyn. But as things calmed a little I slowly reconnected with friends, having socially-distanced coffees outside on a bench or weirdly distanced friend-dates at someone’s home. We’re all working on our new normal, whatever that is to you. But connection for me also came from an unexpected place- Facebook, meaning I had to actually use it again.
It started with an introduction to my local Buy Nothing Group by a friend. I had already started considering a deeper level of purge after being separated from my belongings while I was away and realizing that it was time to actually let go of the things I don’t need. I didn’t miss them, so…
Enter the weird and wonderful cast of characters that are part of my new community, the Brooklyn version of Broad City, where we trade curb alerts, plants and occasionally things we need. There’s plenty to go around as people continue to leave big cities, apparently with little more than their personal belongings based on what’s left on the street, and we’re taking advantage in that lemonade out of lemons kind of way. And while Work From Home usually means more casual outfits, I was recently greeted for a pick up by a woman in a fabulous black velvet robe and yellow heart-shaped glasses, exemplifying that there are those who are out to break rules even when no one is there to see (and it SO made sense when you see the shoes I got from her!)
Without going to the office and diminished social occasions, the craving for contact is affecting many of us. The internet gives us the ability and groups like BNGs give us the reason to come together with a common interest and goal. The reality is that I’ve made friends from this new group and we’ve saved items from landfill that I didn’t think anyone would want. Now, in 2021, with the situation not looking like it will be much different for a while, I’m looking forward to handing off what I consider junk to whoever may find a need for it. And there’s no end to what you may end up receiving- one of my new friends gave me a tarot reading. And I gave her bubble wrap. Gangné-gagné.
