For all the flaws and follies of Facebook that cause me to avoid this platform in my personal life, one shining phenomenon rises above: The Buy Nothing Project.

I always caution clients against running a “home-based consignment shop,” in which we try to coordinate a sale for everything we’re decluttering. The few dollars are rarely worth the time and energy of haggling a price with a Craigslist rando.

Instead, we can gift that item directly to a neighbor through the Buy Nothing Project.

The Buy Nothing Project started as a hyperlocal gift economy between neighbors who wanted to reduce their environmental impact. It’s since evolved to include chapters in neighborhoods around the world, including my little corner of the world in Southeast Baltimore.

Group members post items that they’d like to give away or receive. No money, no bartering, no haggling, no let’s-meet-in-public-in-case-you’re-a-murderer. Just pure generosity and social connection with our neighbors.

The environmental benefits are myriad: less production of new stuff, less items sent to landfills, less carbon emissions when we can pick up what we need at our neighbor’s house down the block instead of driving to a big box store.

There are obvious financial benefits, too. When neighbors can spend less money on the stuff they need in that season of life (e.g. the kids’ stuff that fits them for precisely 12 days), they have more money available to buy essentials and experiences from local businesses.

But the end game is not just healthier ecosystems and bank accounts, but healthier neighborhoods. When we know and trust our neighbors because we gifted them a serving tray and borrowed their power drill, we’re happier and healthier individuals. Less clutter, more community, y’all.