Find free stuff around town

It’s been quite a year. Many of us found ways to offer our time and resources to help each other. And with in-person gatherings making a comeback this summer, there are more opportunities to make community connections.  

Mutual aid societies and online groups have prospered in Portland, offering free food, clothing, and other items to community members affected by various setbacks – from unemployment and disability to a health crisis or senior needs. These resources are available to those who need them, be it every day, once a week or once a month. 

In addition to pop-ups at parks or in parking lots, you can find free or low-cost options at the Resourceful PDX map and event calendar. However, since events and locations can change, it’s always best to double-check the organizing group’s social media accounts to confirm before heading out.  

Take what you need, leave what you don't, give what you can 

PDX Free Fridge lists free food in fridges and pantries across Portland. It is a community based and informed mutual aid effort to increase access to free food and vital supplies. Their mission is to redistribute existing resources by providing access to free food and supplies through community fridges and pantries. They offer community guidelines, FAQ’s, a guide to start your own efforts, and a map to download. 

The Really Really Free Market is a park pop-up where you can bring items you don’t need or want, and you can take what catches your eye.  

Places like the Paying it Forward Store offer free clothing on an ongoing basis. There are even plant and seed swaps for those interested in bringing nature to their gardens or homes.    

Give through organized efforts (Don’t leave things on the curb) 

If you’ve walked by a rain-soaked couch or a pile of mismatched shoes and old DVDs spilling into the street, you’ve seen how “free piles” can turn into litter. 

Instead, offer free items on Nextdoor, Buy Nothing Group, Freecycle or Craigslist where people are looking for items and will come to you to pick them up. Nextdoor and Buy Nothing Group allow you to share posts just with people living in your neighborhood, acting as a virtual yard sale and helping you get to know others who live nearby. You might even make some new friends, or find a baby sitter or someone to water your plants when you’re out of town! 

Top resourceful trends over the last decade

Resourceful PDX has existed in its current format for the last six years. In that time, there has been a lot of information shared, questions answered and resources that have come and gone.

The top posts from Ideas and Tips followed trends with similar themes: share, repair and DIY.

Sharing stuff for free

Portland residents are interested in sharing items they no longer need or want – and getting things for free through swapping and reusing.

The most popular post and how many people find out about Resourceful PDX is through Rooster. Rooster is a community of neighbors who share resources at no cost. It’s about borrowing things you need—and making rewarding connections in the community. 

Other community resources that offer free options include:

PDX Free Store is like a rummage sale except everything is free - clothes, housewares, music, toys and games. Bring clean, working items to donate, and take items you need.

Swap Positive offers clothing and accessory swaps around the Portland region, plus offer annual spring and holiday events.

Freecycle is a grassroots movement committed to a sharing economy and helping people give and gain cool free stuff. It promotes reuse and keeping usable items out of landfills.

Buy Nothing Project members post anything you’d like to give away, lend or share. It is neighborhood- and Facebook-based, focused on items you’d like to borrow or acquire, at no cost, from neighbors.

The repair movement is strong

Free repair events, open to the public, took off with Repair PDX in 2013. Now events take place all over the Portland region every month, where people bring broken items to be fixed. Items like small appliances, bikes and clothing are repaired by volunteers who give their time and talents to help anyone keep their items in use longer. Some bring in items that are nostalgic, others for economic or environmental reasons.

Repair PDX by the numbers:

·         Helped 2,665 people

·         Sharpened 404 tools and knives

·         Looked at 1,629 small appliances

·         Sewed 1,212 items

·         Worked on 219 bikes

Portland Repair Finder includes a variety of ways to fix and maintain existing goods, including shoes. The post ‘With a little TLC, your shoes will love you back’, continues to be one of the most popular.

In the next decade, we may be digging into the Right to Repair. State legislation for owners to be able to repair their own things – from electronics to farming equipment – is taking off in other states and Oregon is among them.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY)

From forging your own knife to learning to make a cutting board, creating, making and learning to DIY is widely popular.

The ReBuilding Center Open Shop is filling a gap in the community maker space since options have come and gone over the years. Become a member to use tools and equipment or take one of many classes they offer.

Or grab your friends and book time at the DIY Bar in North Portland.

As a reminder, there is always the Resourceful PDX map, available to show residents where to find all the community resources to continue to reuse, repair, donate, lend and swap.

Contact us in the new year to share ideas, resources or questions.

Give the gift of ‘gently used’ this holiday season

Purchasing used items as holiday gifts is an alternative that reduces waste and saves money.

Find fun and unique items and feel good about re-gifting at the Cracked Pots second annual holiday pop-up shop. This year, the pop-up shop is in the St. Johns neighborhood commercial district in Portland and features 40 artists that utilize reclaimed materials, with all items at least 80% upcycled. Enjoy the festive spirit as you shop for something especially meaningful for your loved ones!

Read how residents feel about shopping for used goods at ReClaim It! and Community Warehouse in a previous blog post.

The annual Holiday Gift and Toy Swap, hosted by Swap Positive, is another way to find alternative gifts for kids and adults alike. This event needs you to RSVP ahead of time. Swap Positive also hosts swaps throughout the year for you to bring unwanted or unneeded items to share with others. Who knows, you may just find something that becomes a treasured gift to pass onto a loved one.

If you’re ready to bring a gift exchange to your office, choose to reuse. How about a silent auction with used goods to benefit community groups that share values with your workplace? Find 15 gift exchange ideas for your office holiday party.

For more inspiration, here are 9 ways to reduce waste over the holidays.

Shwop is your local membership swap shop

Shwop is a membership-based swap boutique for the whole family. It is the smart way to shop and swap your unwanted or unused items in your closet, drawers and jewelry boxes. Everyone shops, members swap!

Owner Marci Pelletier is celebrating both the shop’s seventh anniversary and a recent membership drive that reached 1,000 members. Marci is celebrating both highlights on April 20, 2019.

She found the current location in Sellwood in October 2018 after she outgrew a few other places in Portland. The inventory comes from members and takes items for the family, including men’s and kid items too. They don’t care about seasons and if it’s the right time of year (think sweaters in the summer!) like some used clothing stores do. And they aren’t brand or style specific, which also sets them apart from consignment shops.

The website includes a menu of accepted items, including:

• Clothes – pants, shirts, sweaters

• Shoes

• Jewelry

• Coats, jackets, fleece

• Exercise attire

• Belt, scarves, hats

Marci shares shop and volunteer needs through social media and frequent membership communications. There is structure around volunteering for those who have capacity to help and she welcomes volunteers to sort on Mondays, when the store is closed.

She has offered free pop-up stores for schools during conferences and worked with teachers on clothing drives, particularly in outer Southeast Portland. She sees a need to help others who may have fallen on hard times. Twice a year, she hosts free weekends with no questions asked.

She is hosting events, like tie dye and upcycled t-shirt workshops. These are free to members and open to the public for a small fee.

There is recycling, and reuse efforts made for items not sellable or wearable. Some textiles and fabrics find homes through relationships with artists; items like denim, flannel and cashmere that can be upcycled into usable, sellable goods.

Here are several ways to Shwop!

1. Become a member: Swap to your heart's content.

2. No-swap shopping: Just stop by and shop.

3. Donate: Clean your closet of those items you're not wearing, and they'll donate a shopping voucher to others in need.

Curious about this membership-based swap shop? Learn more about Marci from a previous blog post, get your questions answered online or visit the store for yourself!

The Buyerarchy of Needs

Are you already overwhelmed with stressful holiday errands and overspending? Worried about getting buried in all the packaging?

Consider a new low-waste way to approach the holidays this year that might save you some money and bring you a little more joy. The Buyerarchy of Needs is a visual guide to remind you of your other options besides buying something new.

As you look over your holiday lists, take a creative moment and ask yourself:

Is there something I already have I could use in a new way? Could I borrow or swap to get what I need? Maybe a thrift or resale shop has it? Can I make it?

Intrigued? Resourceful PDX is your local resource for tips and ideas to make simple changes in everyday choices. In fact, the Resourceful PDX map includes community-based organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials rather than throwing away or buying new.

Resolve to be a thoughtful consumer in the new year to save money and resources. Explore the website for more ideas and tips in our resourceful #holiday series. 

Learn how The Buyerarchy of Needs came to be by designer and illustrator, Sarah Lazarovic.

Make room at home and enjoy the holidays more

By guest blogger Casey Hazlett, Sustainably Organized, Inc.

Enjoy the holidays rather than just survive them: Consider these tips to create a plan.

Tip 1: Determine how much time you need to get ready for the holidays

No matter how much time you think you need – double it! This allows time for the unexpected and a little extra relaxation. Did Rudolph lose a leg? Consider how you can fix it before throwing it out. Make sure things (like gift bags) are stored properly so they can be reused each year. If you are planning to wrap gifts, consider creating a supply bin so you can just grab and wrap.

Bonus: Donate, give away or swap unused décor or supplies (like saved ribbon) that you hold on to but don’t ever seem to use or display. Organizations like SCRAP, Swap Positive or possibly family, friends and neighbors might appreciate them and it helps you clear the clutter.

Tip 2: Move furniture to display your holiday décor

Look at each room you’ll use during the holidays and think about it as an opportunity to declutter and reorganize. If you are moving a piece of furniture to fit more holiday décor in the living room, consider if any items can be donated. Check the Resourceful PDX map for options for resale shops and donation centers.

Tip 3: Plan for overnight guests

Use the guest room for guests, not storage! Consider giving yourself some time to make thoughtful decisions about where the best place is for stuff rather than hiding everything in a spare room or closet. If you still need that table or chair (or still love it!), discover a way to incorporate it into your home. 

Tip 4: Make space for new toys, games and stuff that comes home during the holidays

Now is the time to clear space to make room for the new stuff that’s coming in. What toys are no longer popular? Donate, fix what’s broken, or even consider having a party with friends to trade toys so you don’t have to buy new ones for your kiddos. PDX Toy Library is a local option for donation.

Tip 5: Take inventory of what you already have before heading out to shop

Gift wrap, holiday décor, baking supplies and presents that you’ve been saving to re-gift are just a few categories to check before you head out to shop. You’ll save time and money shopping at home first before heading out to the stores.

Bonus: Clean out the Tupperware drawer to reuse what you already own. If you are hosting a holiday meal and plan to send home leftovers with your guests, this is your chance to clear the clutter where you store durable and reusable items. Make sure you have the sizes you use (or can give away) and every bottom and top have a match. Use tins and baskets you’ve collected or buy used at a secondhand store.

Show your creative spirit this Halloween

Clever costumes and Portland seem to go hand-in-hand this time of year. One idea shared with Resourceful PDX was from a mom who created Halloween witch costumes for her two young daughters – out of a 80’s style, black lacy prom dress!

Start planning now for your own Halloween costume, and take advantage of all the great resources Portland offers for making, swapping or renting a costume.

Make a costume

Used clothing and reused craft supply stores allow you to create a unique and inexpensive costume of your own making.

• Find cool homemade costume ideas online. Pinterest offers a wealth of ideas to inspire you! Explore ways to get crafty, adorn a costume, and make hair wreaths or masks.
• Find all kinds of fabric and supplies at SCRAP for super low prices and costume ideas on their website.

Reuse a costume

There are great finds lurking throughout the city. Consignment, second hand and thrift stores are great resources for costumes, or clothes to make costumes. They also often have used costumes for sale leading up to Halloween.

• Vintage clothing shops abound in Portland, with clothing options for all decades.
• Many children’s resale shops have kids’ costumes as well.
• Bonus! Chinook Book offers coupons for many Portland area resale shops and the Resourceful PDX map shows Resale Shops too!
• Or attend or plan a costume swap – your friend’s costume from last year may be perfect for you this year.

Rent a costume

Short on time or crafty abilities to make your own? Renting gives you options for a stand-out costume.

• Helen’s Pacific Costumers and Hollywood Vintage offer costumes for rent.

Swap and share your way to savings for the school year ahead

School days are coming! Channel your creativity and resourcefulness to get kids off to a great start. Swap and share items you already have, but no longer need, to keep kids outfitted for activities inside and outside the classroom.

Host a clothing swap

Hosting a clothing swap with friends and neighbors is a fun and easy way to share kids’ clothes, toys, books and sports equipment, and donate anything that’s left. 

A clothing swap involves getting a bunch of people together to exchange clothes and other items you no longer wear, and offering them free of charge to others by swapping them instead. Swap events are a great excuse to get together with friends or meet new people, all while giving your stuff another life and helping everyone save money and avoid buying new.

Swap Positive is a local resource that provides all you need to know about attending, hosting and getting involved with swaps in Portland. There are options for family swaps and those specific to household stuff or clothes of every size.

Center for a New American Dream put together this video about hosting or participating in a clothing swap that can help you plan your own swap!

Find used sports equipment

Don’t forget about sports gear and equipment – items for school and recreation leagues can add to your budget. From cleats to uniforms, there are ways to find used items through swapping, borrowing and purchasing gently used goods through your friends, neighbors or Craigslist.

Join a swap and play space

Join one of the swap and play spaces around Portland to connect with other families with children. Swap and plays offer an opportunity to swap outgrown clothing, toys and gear, share community play space and also connect with other parents and kids in your neighborhood.

Portland swap and play spaces are membership organizations and vary in hours, activities, events and ways to get involved. They are Southside Swap & Play, St Johns Swapnplay and Woodlawn Swap n Play. 

Check out other back to school resources in our previous kids in school posts.

Resourceful PDX in the news!

The new map feature on the Resourceful PDX website, and some of the community partners listed on the map, have made news this week.

The Portland Tribune article "Want to borrow a tool, get some fix-it help, or share your stuff?" features several resources listed on our new map. 

“In Portland, dozens of these free or low-cost resources — kitchen shares, toy swaps, tool libraries, bike fix-it-yourself shops and more — are just around the corner, for the taking. To some, they may seem like a secret society, not necessarily easy to find unless you already know someone who participates.

But now, the city has issued an easy-to-use map of 30 to 40 of these resources — a one-stop hub for sustainable living at the neighborhood level — on its Resourceful PDX program site.”

— Jennifer Anderson, The Portland Tribune

KGW Channel 8 also featured Resourceful PDX and some of our community partners on their evening news.

The Resourceful PDX map includes community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organizations that help residents reuse, swap, repair and share such items as tools, building or art supplies, household goods or other materials.

The resources featured in the news pieces this week are PDX Time Bank, Repair PDX, Kitchen Share, Woodlawn Swap n Play and Know Thy Food Cooperative.

Do you have a community resource to add to the map? Share more resources with us!

To nominate a community-based, not-for-profit or grassroots organization for inclusion in this map, send us a message with relevant details about the organization, such as: name, location, website and contact information, plus a brief description of why it would make a good addition to the Resourceful PDX Map.

Swapping is more than give and take

“I think swapping is invaluable to communities,” said Shay Mullins at the Spring Stuff Swap. “You are able to receive things you need and get rid of things that might otherwise be tossed out.”

Swap Positive has been hosting community swaps for 11 years in Portland. Swaps bring together volunteer coordinators, donated venues and swappers who bring clean items in good condition to share, at no cost. Items remaining at the end of a swap are donated.

Shay has lived in Portland for nearly 6 years. She grew up in Southwest Florida going to garage sales and “would dumpster dive after the Ringling School of Art and Design let out, and collect copious amounts of art supplies and other non-garbage items that were thrown away,” she said. “I used to use Freecycle, but here in Portland, the giving atmosphere is different and swaps abound, so I ended up moving into those circles rather than staying with what worked elsewhere.”

Shay has participated in and volunteered for dozens of clothing and ‘stuff’ swaps. She loves the culture of giving at community swaps.

“I participate in clothing swaps a couple times a year and have been coming to each biannual stuff swap for four years now.”

One of her favorite parts about participating at a swap is the possibilities. “I love finding things that I need or that someone I know needs. I actually ask my friends for things that they may need so I can keep an eye out for them at the swap.”

“I also like witnessing someone receive an item that they've been wanting for a long time, or needed but couldn't justify purchasing for whatever reason – that ‘paired up’ moment when someone finds something that they need, want, or love. It's elating!”

Another worthwhile element for her is knowing the items she brings that aren’t taken won’t be sold. The remaining items go to organizations and individuals who give them away, in the spirit of sharing. No money ever changes hands. Everyone involved gets to be with other kind, generous, thrifty, sustainability-minded people. That is the mission of Swap Positive Free Swaps.

Are you ready to swap? View our event calendar for upcoming events. Or visit Swap Positive's About Swaps page to learn more and get your questions answered on the FAQ page.

Find more stories about swapping in Portland. #sharingcommunity