From mashed potatoes to a bag of buttons: Get free stuff through RI's 'Buy Nothing' groups (2024)

Facebook groups let neighbors give away and ask for free goods and services, from leftover food and used clothes to a cooking lesson or pet-sitting.

PROVIDENCE — Amy Ewen’s sprawling spider plant had an offshoot that was ripe for planting, so she took to Facebook to find a home for it. Within just a single minute of advertising it in a local “Buy Nothing” group, the sprout, no taller than a spice jar, was claimed.

Soon another taker emerged, but she commented on the post an hour too late. Pickup plans were already in the works for the first, so the second was promised a trimming from the plant the next time another offshoot appeared.

From scallion stems, a serving of uneaten KFC mashed potatoes, a bag of buttons, even a femur bone — for a dog, of course — this is the land of free stuff, where everything, except alcohol, goes.

When did the Buy Nothing movement start?

The so-called Buy Nothing movement was born 10 years ago, when friends Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesl Clark launched a gift-giving group in Bainbridge Island, Washington, inspired by their collection of plastic pollution from the beach. Since then, one group has spawned thousands around the world.

The concept is simple: Join your neighborhood’s group, post your items, and claim new ones by commenting on others' posts.

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How do Buy Nothing groups work in Rhode Island?

In Providence, the movement’s following appears to have grown during the pandemic, as locals searched for connection during an isolating time.

“I think what I like so much about it is that it really reveals a community in our neighborhood, and it’s kind of expanded the definition of who your neighbors are,” Ewen said.

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Minnie Luong, another member of the group, joined looking to give items away and gained a friend in the process. Luong, founder and head of Chi Kitchen, which sells fermented delicacies like kimchi and sesame slaw, was advertising old Vietnamese textbooks last month when she learned that the woman who'd claimed them shared Luong’s birthplace in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. As Luong described it, that’s “basically like my village, which means she’s practically family.”

When the recipient, a language teacher at Brown University, picked up the books, she brought Luong homemade sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf in celebration of the Lunar New Year. In exchange, Luong gave her a jar of fermented spiced cabbage.

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Not everything, though, is claimed. Min Tunkel, of Fox Point, once attempted to give away three-quarters of a spicy ghost pepper doughnut — a Halloween special from Dunkin’ — which Tunkel reviewed as “pretty bad.” It turned out no one else wanted it either, and it became stale before a taker emerged.

But that doesn’t mean partially eaten food always goes to waste. Recently, a Buy Nothing group member reminisced about opened cheese given to another member, who said he sliced some up as a snack, and “the rest turned into anything that needed cheese.”

Less than two weeks ago, a partially used container of dried gourmet mushrooms, described by the giver as “too strong and stinky,” saw 12 comments — all from interested members. In response, the giver split the fungi into three batches for a few lucky winners.

How to have success in a Buy Nothing group

More popular than half-eaten food are items like cat food, baby supplies, clothing and furniture, but for those who want to make sure they scoop up hot deals, strategy is key. Those with the best chances set up notifications so that Facebook will alert them throughout the day as items go up — a frustration for some who work typical 9-to-5 jobs and may not be eyeing their phones. When users do find an item they want, often it is offered to the first person to express interest in a comment, though that can go awry for those who don’t follow instructions. Many posts display multiple items in multiple photos, but posters are usually asking viewers to comment only on individual items they want, rather than the whole post. A Providence Journal reporter made that mistake recently when trying to snag a Shaun the Sheep backpack lumped in with an assortment of other items, including Tiki torch fuel, wine corks and a figurine of Carmen Sandiego.

But don’t fret. Those who aren’t first may still have a chance if the giver opts to raffle off items.

As group member Victoria Jenkins put it, “You don’t realize that maybe your junk mail is someone else’s hamster’s bedding.”

Buy Nothing group basics

• Interested in joining a Buy Nothing group? Find your tribe through the navigation page buynothingproject.org/find-a-group, which links to groups throughout the state, the country and the world. You can only belong to one group at a time.
• A free app is also available through Apple's App Store or Google Play.
• While you should check the rules of your specific group when joining, the Buy Nothing movement does have a set of global standards (found at bit.ly/3jkYew8). A few basics: No selling, renting or trading. No pressuring others via private messages. No recruiting or solicitations for religious, political or other organizations.
• Aside from offering objects, you can also offer gifts of time, talent and self. Those could be a cooking lesson, a night of babysitting, a playdate for pups, and much more.