How to Avoid Buying Stuff 2024

My generation are so used to owning stuff that even the idea of streaming music and not owning a CD was a bit of a wrench for us. The younger generation don’t seem to have the same attachment and are quite happy to keep their money for experiences instead. I think we could learn a thing or two from them. Here are some useful resources to help you avoid buying stuff so you can put your money to better use.

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Before we delve into specific resources you can always check out the following avenues for free items

• Jumbletown
• The free section of Swapshop
• The free section of Adverts
• The free section of Done Deal

Avoid buying a Car by

• using public transport
• cycling or walking
• using joining a car share scheme like Go Car or Yuko or the peer-to-peer Jointhefleet.com. It is possible to rent electric cars from Gocar, and if you’re in Dublin city UFO Drive have an electric car for hire on St Stephen’s Green, D2.
• using lift share service like Carpool or Liftshare

Avoid buying a Bike by renting one from 

• Dublin Bike Scheme or 
• Bleeper Bikes (Dublin and Sligo)
• Bike Share (Galway, Limerick and Cork)
• Bolt e-bikes (Sligo)
• Greenbikes (Dublin – recycle donated bikes and have special rental rates for students)
• Bike Library (Dublin – allows you to borrow a bikes, e-bikes and cargo bikes)

Avoid buying a Boat (yes really!) by

• renting one from Tubber or GetMyBoat

Avoid buying Clothes & Accessories by

• using clothes rental sites like The Nu Wardrobe, and Borrower Boutique and for special occasion outfits check out Happy Days, The Rag Revolution, Covet, Designer Room, The Ivory Closet, Coco Boutique, Envious Dress Hire, Another Day Out, Beauty and the Bump (maternity) in Ireland, Girl Meets Dress (NI) and Dress my Bump (Maternity) in Northern Ireland or Mud Jeans and Compare Ethics in the UK
• You can also rent hats from milliner Mod Design and Hat Hire by Caroline in Galway or Saraden Designs in Meath.
• swapping your old clothes with friends and family or going to an organise clothes swap like those run by Cork Clothes Swap or Change Clothes Crumlin, D12
• getting free ones in Freecycle groups like Zero Waste Freecycle Ireland
• repairing / upcycling what you already have. For classes and workshops check out Sustainable Fashion Dublin or The City Seamstress in Dublin, sewirish.ie in Clare, Sew Last Season in Galway, and Offset Warehouse in England.

Maternity & Baby Stuff

• The Stork Exchange (rental of car seat, buggies and cots – Dublin & Spain)
• clothnappylibrary.ie (reusable cloth nappy hire)
• mummyhub.ie ( sling hire)
• kangaroobabies.ie (sling hire)
• Babywearing FSOT Facebook group (sling borrow)

Avoid buying Toys by

• Dlulukaloo. (toy subscription scheme for 0-4 years)
• Loop Toys. (toy rental)
• Clever Tots Toys (toy club)
• Carrickmacross toy library
• Bainbridge Toy library
• Cork Toy Library
• getting free ones in Freecycle groups like Zero Waste Freecycle Ireland
• renting toys from Whirli (if you’re in the UK)
• Game Cycle in a UK based sharing platform where you can earn points for trading games, which you can redeem against games you want

Avoid buying Holiday Accommodation by

• Couchsurfing
• swapping your house with someone else on Love Home Swap, Home Exchange or Guest To Guest 
• Pet sitting with Trusted Housesitters

Avoid buying Books by

• using the local library
• sharing with friends and family
• using little libraries
• using archive.org
• sourcing a book from the Facebook group Book Swap Ireland
• checking out if your local cafe or hostel has a ‘take one, leave one’ book shelf
• visiting your local recycling centre. Some centres, like the one in Bray, Co Wicklow, collect books and offer them to citizens for free
• downloading free audio books or e-books or comics from websites like those listed here or from from your library via Borrow box or Libby. or others listed here

Avoiding buying DVD’s by

• subscribing to Netflix
• renting movies off SKY

Avoid buying TV by

• renting from Pay as you View

Avoid buying Spare Parts by

• printing spare parts at your local library using templates from sites like Thingverse

Avoid buying Homeware by

• asking friends and family for duplicate (every house has them)
• reusing plastic takeaway containers as tupperware
• reusing jars as take-away coffee cups, or vases or to store food
• picking up things from Freecycle pages & groups and the free section on adverts.ie

Avoid buying tools & equipment by

• Renting from local hire companies
• Renting steam cleaners from Clean Eco Ireland

Avoid buying Garden Equipment by

• making your own compost and if you don’t have enough compostable waste get more on Sharewaste
• joining your local GIY group and swap seeds and seedlings
• collecting seeds from parks and gardens (remembering to ask permission first)
• picking up things from Freecycle pages & groups and the free section on adverts.ie
• dumpster diving. I have a beautiful orchid that I rescued from skip!

Avoid buying Food by

• joining Olio and connecting with people looking to rehome extra food

Avoid buying Training by

• joining Skillshare and swapping skills

E

PS – You might also be interested in my articles Six Weeks towards Zero Waste and Savvy Sustainability