Why Buy When You Can Borrow?

I had just come home with a bag full of new yarn, excited to start knitting the sweater my daughter had asked me to make for her. All I wanted to do was cast on and start knitting.

But — any knitters out there will know this — the skeins of yarn have to be wound into usable balls first. Otherwise, they’ll turn into tangled messes. I should have just paid the fee to have the store wind them for me! But, cheapskate that I am, I couldn’t do that after having spent oodles on the yarn itself.

If you’re not a knitter, let me enlighten you about the tedium of the winding process. For me, it entails sitting cross-legged with a loosely-bound hank of yarn stretched across my knees, going round and round, winding the strand into a neat ball, while trying to avoid hand cramps and yarn tangles. It probably takes 15-20 minutes per skein, meaning I was looking at a few hours of winding before I could even get to the fun knitting part!

Well, maybe I could just buy a winding machine. Down the rabbit hole of an online search I went. Of course, winding yarn involves not just one but two mechanisms: a yarn swift and a ball winder. The swift resembles a clothes drying rack and holds the yarn, while the winder — naturally — winds it.

I was looking at upwards of $50 just to be able to start my project. Nope. My inner tightwad had to find another way.

Lightbulb moment: Why not ask my online Buy Nothing group?!

I had never needed to own these machines in the past, even though I’ve been a knitter for decades, so why would I commit to buying them now?

​It’s rare that I buy large quantities of yarn at a time — I wind as I go.

So, instead of asking if someone had these items to give away, I posted on the Buy Nothing group that I was merely looking to borrow them for a couple of days.

Success! I received a near-instantaneous response!

One person had the swift, and another the winder. And, because Buy Nothing groups are hyper-local, they were right in my neighborhood. Within a matter of minutes, I had coordinated with the generous lenders, and picked the items up from their front porches.

I spent a blissful hour setting up the machines and winding the yarn for my sweater into tidy, manageable balls. I even dug through my yarn stash for any unwound skeins and wound them too. Then, instead of having to find a spot in my craft room for large new tools, I just dropped the winder and swift back off to their respective porches.

BENEFIT OF BORROWING OVER BUYING

• Space Saving: Borrowing prevents the accumulation of infrequently-used items, reducing clutter. This is particularly important in small spaces, storage-limited spaces, or already-crowded spaces.
• Cost-Effectiveness: When you compare the cost of buying seldom-used items to the minimal effort required to borrow, borrowing is a clear winner.
• Community Engagement: Borrowing promotes a cycle of resource sharing within your community, strengthening your connection to your neighbors.
• Sustainability: When you borrow an item, nothing new needs to be manufactured, lessening the environmental impact.
• Purposeful Use of Space: Not having to find a permanent spot in my craft room for the yarn swift and ball winder, allowed me to keep more of my space dedicated to creativity rather than storage.

Now I was all set to spend my cozy, winter evenings knitting to my heart’s content!

Here’s how you can try borrowing instead of buying for your next project:

• Check Local Groups: Join community sharing platforms (My Buy Nothing group is on Facebook.) for tools you need temporarily.
• Spread the Idea: Share your borrowing success with others to promote community and sustainability.

What will you borrow next?