On the recent anniversary of an online referendum on the fate of one of Arlington’s largest “buy nothing” groups, some 400 people gathered in a Rock Spring back yard.
Wandering among tables set with everything from gardening items to designer purses, members of Buy Nothing Arlington (Northwest), VA perused and picked out finds from dozens of people last month. It was like a big yard sale, organizers said — except, in keeping with the Facebook group’s identity of giving and receiving at no cost, everything was free.
“People came with wagons and bags and filled them up with items they needed,” said organizer Roxanne Davis, who hosted the event at her home.
A year after members of the Facebook group voted to stay together instead of splintering into smaller, more neighborhood-specific groups, founder Kayla Owen said the 3,300-member online community “is happier and healthier than ever.” In addition to running a digital marketplace, the group now hosts monthly in-person meetups and, for heavily involved members like Owen and Davis, has given rise to genuine friendships.
“Arlington can feel like a really big place sometimes, but we feel that our group makes it feel a little bit smaller,” Owen said.
After the ‘coup’
Around this time last year, the fate of this Facebook group was uncertain.
With boundaries spanning from north of Route 50, all the way to McLean and then over to I-66 and Glebe Road, some felt that competing for and picking up free stuff was becoming too difficult, and possibly pushing some members away. Just as several volunteer admins were about to launch new groups and archive the legacy one, Owen stepped in and revoked their admin privileges — a move that some group members likened to a “coup.”
In a group-wide poll, however, 75% of respondents voted against splitting up. And so, Buy Nothing Arlington (Northwest) remained in place.
This decision meant a lot to some members, Davis said. Beyond just offering an alternative to traditional thrifting, “buy nothing” groups like this help people to meet their neighbors and maintain connections.
“I think it’s gone really well,” Davis said of the past year. “The members have been very, very appreciative of the idea that the group has stayed together.”
Members find creative ways to contribute, sometimes.
One has started collecting medical equipment like wheelchairs and crutches that people can borrow. The group also has clothing bins that pass from house to house, as well as a traveling recipe book.
“Buy nothing really comes through in all kinds of ways,” said Davis.
The ‘yard no-sale’
The meetup on April 27, billed as a “free yard no-sale,” came with a special kind of excitement, organizers said.
Members who had known each other online for years were meeting in person for the first time. More than 50 “gifters” set up tables laden with free items — and miraculously, Davis said she witnessed no fighting over who got what.
“You’re walking around and you’re seeing, ‘Oh, hey, I know so-and-so from this,” Owen said. “It felt almost like a family reunion.”
Visitors from pre-teens to seniors took home clothes, book bags, kitchen items, plants, books and storage bins. Owen plans to host similar meetups on this day every year, and she sees this event as a sign of progress.
“It shows that ‘community’ feel that people were starting to feel is going away, is flourishing,” she said.
Davis, for her part, has seen connections form and grow in this Facebook group. She said the social element, as exemplified in last month’s event, is what keeps many members coming back.
“The sense of community means a lot to them,” she said.