Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Sharing is the Answer, Man
Seems like I’ve been reading a lot about the “sharing economy” lately. I love this concept for so many reasons. Way back in 2006, I was urging you to “borrow or rent” when possible in my “Eco-Organizing” newsletter. As a frugal person who has frequently lived in small spaces, I’ve always been an advocate of reading library books, borrowing aero-beds and passing baby-gear (that stuff is huge) around the neighborhood via a neighborhood list-serve. Certainly technology has made it easier to share things than it was back in the Sixties, when my parents drove my crib up to Brewster, NY, to my godmother’s house before her son was born and then retrieved it again before my sister was born.
While some people get excited about apps like Uber and Zipcar, in my line of work Rent the Runway is a lot more exciting. Rent the Runway, if you don’t know, is a company that offers designer clothes that you can rent for one night. So if you have a black-tie event but you’re not feeling particularly flush, you can rent the latest Vera Wang gown for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it. You can have a new dress for every event, and best of all, your closet can stay lean and fabulous.
Over the holidays, a friend was telling me about Tradesy, where a friend of hers had rented her wedding dress. Now, I’ll admit, my immediate reaction was: Well, I’d never do that! But of course, if there is one thing in your closet that is unlikely to ever be worn again… that is it. It is also, in all likelihood, a huge space sucker (Ballgown style? Tulle?). I don’t know about you, but not only will my daughter probably hate my simple, raw-silk wedding gown (no sparkles) but she’ll probably be too tall for it by 7th grade, and I think she should at least finish high school before she gets married!
So, while I am still pretty attached to my wedding dress as a keepsake, here is my hope for the future: Perhaps a generation raised on Zipcars and Airbnb can share more than car seats and pack’n’plays. Perhaps the sharing economy will help relieve us of our attachment to ownership. And perhaps, freed of the weight of too many possessions, we will have more time for experiences and exploration rather than cataloging and maintaining.
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