Buy Less, Waste Less: Calgary Tool Library

There are a two topics that tend to run together in waste-reduction blog circles: zero-waste and minimalism. I talk mostly about zero-waste here, but there is definitely cross-over. Minimalism focuses on reducing the amount of personal belongings we have, making do with what we own already, reducing clutter, and limiting unnecessary shopping.

Minimalism is popular for a number of reasons. It can help reduce stress by having a cleaner and more organised home, it can help save money by limiting impulse shopping, and it can help the environment by saving resources and reducing waste. Everything we own will ultimately be disposed of when it breaks or loses its usefulness, so the less we own, the less there is to enter the waste stream. There is also less (often plastic) packaging to discard from new products, and less resources wasted on products that are used once and then never used again.

Tools are a terrible culprit for one-time-use purchases. We often only need a tool for one project and then it sits in the basement, or the garage, never to be used again. Enter Calgary Tool Library. 

The Calgary Tool Library is based out of the Bridgeland/Riverside Community Association building and has a wide variety of tools, which you can browse online. For a $40 yearly fee, you can borrow any of their tools for a week at a time. If you are working on a big project, or use tools just a few times a year, the membership fee easily pays for itself. The tools in the library get used to their maximum potential, and we don't have to store and maintain them.

In the past few months, we have made good use of the tool library. To name a few things, we:

• Used their pressure washer to wash the siding of our house, and clean our gutters.
• Used a hand saw and an axe to make firewood.
• Borrowed a rototiller and weeding tools for yard and garden maintenance.

We have also borrowed a cordless drill and possibly other tools that I am just not remembering at this time. My point is that it is a great program, and you should check it out!

Are you members of the Calgary Tool Library? Leave a comment!