Invest in Sharing graffitiPhoto: Toban BlackNeither a borrower nor a lender be? Stuff it, old man. Shareable has collected a primer on “collaborative consumption,” i.e. the fine art of consensual mooching. At the risk of sounding like a dangerous commie: It turns out there’s basically no reason to be the sole owner of anything ever again.

Among the things Shareable shows you how to go splitsies on:

Grist State of Emergency | A limited-run newsletter from Grist, exploring the ways climate disasters are reshaping elections. Delivered every Tuesday until Election Day.

Reader support helps sustain our work. Donate today to keep our climate news free.
  • Housing. If you can handle a housemate, sharing living quarters reduces your rent and can make your utilities usage more efficient. Our favorite: The cohousing directory, which helps you find communities with cooperative home ownership.

  • Food and gardening. Sign up for a shared vegetable garden, find a CSA, or start a collaborative cooking group. Our favorite: MamaBake, which helps you organize multi-family-style large-batch cooking.

    • Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

    To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

  • Work. Start a coworking space to consolidate utility usage — and get that water-cooler culture you’ve been missing at your telecommuting job. Our favorite: The coworking wiki.

  • Travel. Why stay at a hotel when you can house-swap or couch-surf? Our favorite: CouchSurfing, which hooks travelers up with a place to crash.

  • Transportation. From slug lines to ZipCars, there are a lot of ways to share transportation even if you’re going somewhere public transit can’t take you. Our favorite: Taxi2, which turns the expensive and wasteful airport taxi ride into a shared experience.

  • Media. Borrow and swap books, DVDs, music, and games. Our favorite: BookMooch, which lets you offer up books you’re over and request books you want to read next. (Sure, sure, it’s called a library, but some of us have a book-buying problem, okay?)

    • Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

    To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

  • Clothing. Rent clothes for special events, or throw a swap meet. Our favorite: SwapStyle, which keeps fashion victims from becoming fashion hoarders.

  • School supplies. Sharing keeps college students from having to write home for money. Our favorite: Chegg, which rents out textbooks. (Because let’s be real — are you seriously going to need that $100 chem book this semester, let alone next?)

Read more:

“The Gen Y Guide to Collaborative Consumption,” Shareable