Open Shed

Inside the shed is the place where Open Shed co founders, Lisa and Duncan share their story, chat about all things related to Aussie Collaborative Consumption and introduce you to your fellow Open Shed members.

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Spring clean your items in 2 minutes!

Whether you’re thinking of updating your item to give rental funds to OzHarvest, or think it’s about time you had another look at your Open Shed listings, Spring is a great excuse. Giving your listing a little of the spring spruce up is simple, quick and oh so beneficial.

Here’s how!

After you’ve signed into Open Shed, hit the MY ITEMS link in the top right of the page. From here, you’ll see all your listings.

Pop up the listings you wish to review by hitting EDIT.

Now you’re on the way to Spring cleaning your listing, here are some helpful tips you may wish to consider:

Check out your description: we humans love a bit of detail, so check your description to see if there are any key features or things to add that may make your item appealing to other members. Google also loves it when you refresh a description, and including keywords like the name of your item, the brand or key features helps potential Open Shed members find your item when they search for rentals.

Review your Damage Cover: if you’ve been a member of Open Shed for a while, your item may have damage cover that is too high or too low. This is the perfect time to fix that up!

Pricing your item: take the opportunity to review your weekly and daily rental fees. If the item is no longer new, there are quite a few of the same item on Open Shed and you’d like more rentals of your item, or you would prefer to encourage a longer rental, this is a great time to spruce up those prices and make your item more appealing.

Donate to OzHarvest: you can choose to donate part or the entire of your rental fees on individual items to OzHarvest during our #springcleanwithheart campaign, or for as long as you like. What a lovely way to finish up a Spring cleaning of your items! 

With the handy new fee calculator, you’ll be able to review your pricing and know what funds you raise for yourself and OzHarvest in a jiffy. And updating your listing takes 2 minutes, but helps make it more appealing to other members, new and old.

 So what are you waiting for? Pop in and give your item listings a Spring spruce up today! 

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Stop, collaborate and listen: Rebecca and the Collcons

“Strangers are friends you haven't met yet." says Rebecca, “And you’re going to like most people you meet, so why not try it?”

It’s the effortlessness that Rebecca uses to describe why she chooses collaborative consumption that infects you the most. The finish of university had seen a desire to do some research work, and that desire lead her to work with the Collaborative Consumption HQ.

Since that engagement, Rebecca has been a fan and active participant of the movement. So much so that Rebecca is a regular user of Open Shed, Airtasker, Gum Tree and AirBnb. And she was willing to give up more than the average person to show her passion for collaborative consumption. 

“At the previous place I lived, I tried to put my spare room on AirBnB. The landlord didn’t like it. They didn’t like it so much I got evicted. But I felt that if someone was going to be like that about it, then it wasn’t the right place for me to live,” shared Rebecca.

Having moved to different digs, Rebecca now lives in a share house that actively uses AirBnB to cover the rent when flat mates are travelling. The experiment to date has worked so well they are even sad to see their stop gap flat mates leave on their travels, but console themselves with a new friend made.

Rebecca’s journey to Open Shed was via meeting co-founder Lisa at an event. Rebecca was inspired by the idea that she could use Open Shed to set treasured but barely used things “free to have adventures”. The first item to be liberated was her violin.

“I had this dream to play as a child. I held it for so long that at 20, I was finally given a violin. I’ve been to 3 lessons since. I don’t have the time to take it further. But I love the violin and wanted to see if it could gain some stories of its own. I listed it on Open Shed. The violin was rented by Eric, a musician, who was looking to do a film clip. He had a violinist who came up from Melbourne who wanted to be involved. My violin ended up being in that film clip and spending some time with some musicians. It was pretty nice to see it get used,” explained Rebecca.

The finished product of that simple violin rental is now immortalised for all to see in a Hallelujah Cover By Lisa Pfisterer And Eric LIN.

Collaborative consumption for Rebecca is about making money, memories and friends. She understands that people may be scared of a new model of ownership and believes the movement needs more time and mainstream attention to help allay those fears. Focussing on the negative and feeding the fears in collaborative consumption isn’t something Rebecca is at all interested in. She believes that anything has the possibility of a negative outcome, but that if we focussed on that all the time, we’d never see a doctor or dentist, do things we want to do, or experience wonderful things.

As someone who would love to see more collaborative consumption, more community gardens and more sharing economy fun in general, Rebecca has this final piece of advice to offer on Open Shed and the collaborative consumption movement:

“Participating won’t take as much time as you think it will, and once you get into it, it isn’t at all difficult. There are no unmanageable requests for your time or issues with helping another person. But we need to do what we can. We need to retrain ourselves to hire more things, to look at what’s there and what alternatives we have available to us through collaborative consumption as opposed to the usual model of ownership.”

 From trying out expensive items through to treating Open Shed as an opportunity to fuel the imagination and try new things, Rebecca is keen to see more people engaged with Open Shed outside a one off need.

To rent from Rebecca and make a new friend of someone you haven’t met yet, check out her profile on Open Shed.

You can also meet her at the regular Sydney Collaborative Consumption MeetUp. 

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An Introverts Guide to Spring Cleaning with Heart

This is Bek speaking. I do the odd bit of content for the gang at Open Shed. And I’d like to share with you why I think the Spring Clean with Heart campaign they’ve got running with OzHarvest is the cat’s recycled pyjamas!

Ok, let me start off by saying that if I am not armed with a keyboard, words tend to jam up in me like paper in a dot matrix printer. I find it incredibly difficult to take that leap with people where I truly connect.

It’s not that I don’t want to, I just...well, suck like an Electrolux at it.

This is why having a Spring Clean in Five Ways and the idea of spring cleaning with heart really appeals to me.

Introverts hoard Books

Have you seen that delightful TedX video by Susan Cain where she talks about the power of introverts? Well, 50% of you probably haven’t seen it as you’re off being social and fun. The other 50% of us were probably too shy to ask about it- so here’s the link. Thank me later.

One thing Susan talks about is how she turned up to camp with a suitcase of books because that was her idea of a great time. It is for me, too.

You electronic kids out there will probably tell me that I don’t need a suitcase anymore, that I need an i-thingie. However considering there’s no paper cut Apps available and I can’t find any “Eau de Page” to spray on my i-thingie, I still buy books.

(I’m also concerned being thwacked with a screen every night may be slightly more hazardous to my forehead. I could do without the dreams about being bitchslapped by Tron, thanks all the same.) 

ANYWAY- even though I read and re-read my books over and over, I am consciously aware there are an awful lot of dead trees hanging out on my book shelves. It’s like walking into a Tim Burton nightmare for pine forests without the (darkly handsome) Johnny Depp character!

As much as I love them, each round of dusting does make me feel incredibly aware of how much paper driven knowledge and story is hanging about waiting for the chance to be read.

And I am sure there are probably a bunch of other introverts in my neighbourhood who also have the same sort of deforestation programme running in their living rooms, too.

As we’re not the kind of people to do the whole “hello, have a bunch of muffins- oh what a lovely Volvo you have...” thing over the fence because it’s usually painfully awkward and clumsy (Oh what a nice muff...I mean volv...argh! When does the lease expire again?).

So I figure popping a swap library in front of our house is as legal as we can get to “trapping” introverts and stop me from being arrested for misunderstandings in the process.  

Trapping introverts for charity

A pop up swap library is basically is like a bird feeder for book worms and word nerds. You pop one of these out the front of your house with a sign that says “book swap” and some instructions, throw in half a dozen books and see if any of the word nerd species are attracted to it.

Or so my imagination told me. It works pretty efficiently in there. In truth, I haven’t tested this theory as yet.

I’m using the Spring Clean in Five Ways challenge as that sense of urgency I need to get this done. Dear reader, I am promising to take something I have had in my sketch book for ages and put it live in my front yard in Waverley.

AND- With this one little move, I am hoping to declutter, share something, connect with the locals, help others and spend time building the project, too.

How does this help Open Shed and OzHarvest?

If the gang at Open Shed are happy with the idea, I’ll be hanging some kind of Open Shed sign on there for exposure. And the whole idea of a swap library does carry the flag for collaborative consumption I guess, too.

Plus I am also undertaking a challenge with myself to list another 20 books on the Open Shed site for you to rent with all proceeds going to OzHarvest.  

Oh, and also hopefully bust a few preconceptions my possession loving partner has in the process about what people will actually do if given the chance to borrow (or he assumes, steal) a book in our local neighbourhood. He’s yet to list something on Open Shed yet, so I am hoping if I lead by (slightly zany) example, he’ll be brave enough to take his own leap!

(NB: I can’t make fun of him too much. He is after all, humouring me and scrounging the wood for it as we speak! He gets points for that, right?)  

How’s that for wiping off your Spring challenge in one tidy idea?

I’ll be blogging about it on Open Shed, via my own site of Unashamedly Creative and sharing the progress via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from the safety of my keyboard.

All going to plan, I’ll have some wonderful magic to report each time.

So why don’t you join me? Pick something you feel inspired to do, and let’s get this spring clean with heart thing happening!

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Five Ways to Spring Clean Your Life

This September, Open Shed is asking you to set your own personal challenge to

SPRING CLEAN YOUR LIFE FIVE WAYS

We want to know how you feel before, during and after this personal Spring time challenge.

Why are we setting this challenge?

Open Shed, our peer-to-peer rental site and pioneer of the collaborative consumption movement, has just released a charity feature where renters can donate some or all of their rental fee to OzHarvest.

With OzHarvest, each dollar provides two meals to an Australian in need, and their ethos is a great match for Open Shed, because both organisations provide value from excess.

That, together with the fact that it’s spring, means it’s the perfect time to refresh and renew to a happier you!

The Five Ways Spring Cleaning Challenge is in response to a raft of research that people actually feel better about themselves if they can declutter their space; share something with another; connect with local community; spend on experiences rather than things; and helping others.

Here’s what others say:

DECLUTTER

DID YOU KNOW?

“When you get rid of stuff you don’t love, you invariably uncover forgotten things you do love. Your life only has time, space, and energy for a certain quantity of things. Clutter takes up that time, space, and energy, and crowds out the good stuff. Getting rid of the clutter lets you re-discover the precious.” – Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard, creator of the 21-Day Declutter Challenge

Source: Didn't expect that. 6 surprising consequences of getting rid of clutter.  

  SHARE SOMETHING

DID YOU KNOW?

“Social networks and real-time technologies are taking us back! We’re bartering, trading, swapping, sharing, but they’re being reinvented into dynamic forms.”

“What I find fascinating is that we’ve actually wired our world to share, whether that’s our neighbourhood, our school, our office or Facebook network, and that’s creating an economy of ‘what’s mine is yours’.”

- Rachel Botsman, author

Source:Rachel Botsman at TedXSydney 2010, on the power of collaboration and sharing through network technologies, and on how it will transform business, consumerism and the way we live.

  CONNECT WITH SOMEONE IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

DID YOU KNOW?

Relationships are critical to our well-being. The Grattan Institute’s Social Cities report cites evidence that people have fewer friendships and neighbourhood connections than they did two decades ago and looks at ways to make cities better places to live by increasing our opportunities to connect with other people.

Source: The Grattan Institute’s 2012 Social Cities report

  SPEND ON EXPERIENCES NOT THINGS

DID YOU KNOW?

"Purchasing things like televisions, clothes and coffee machines won't make you happier overall -- but buying experiences maximizes happiness," says Michael Norton, associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and co-author, "Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending."

Source: Happy Monday: The Science of Smarter Spending

  HELP OTHERS

DID YOU KNOW?

University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman says that helping others can improve our own lives. "We scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise we have tested," he said.

Source: Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

Read more: 11 simple, science-backed ways to boost happiness 

  HOW TO TAKE PART IN THE CHALLENGE

Step One. During the month of September, set your five-way personal Spring Cleaning challenge by decluttering, connecting, sharing, experiencing and helping others.

Step Two. Take before / after pics, tweet it out, Facebook it, blog your experience, pin it to Pinterest, all using the hashtag #springcleanwithheart. Oh, and talk about it too!

Step Three. Throughout your Five Ways to Spring Clean Your Life challenge, share how it affects your sense of wellbeing.

Here’s an example of a recent Spring Clean Your Life Five Ways Challenge by our very own PR star and friend of Open Shed, Sarah Allen!

Making the challenge your own

Write about it in your blog

Photoblog it with before and after shots

Tweet it out as you complete each stage of the challenge using the #springcleanwithheart hashtag

Create a Facebook album with before and after shots and captions

Update your Facebook status with the five steps as they happen, using the #springcleanwithheart hashtag

    Find your own way and let us know about it!

      Want to get involved? 

Find out more! Spring Clean Your Home for OzHarvest with Open Shed

Find out what's hot about Collaborative Consumption including some research you may be interested in. 

Check out how to use the Open Shed charity feature and spring clean your listings! 

And of course, list an item on Open Shed! 

        Happy Spring Cleaning – ask your friends to join in!

I’m Spring Cleaning with heart for OzHarvest this September – join me! Details: 

Five ways to Spring clean your life? Yes please! Take the challenge with me: 

Take the Spring cleaning challenge for OzHarvest and do the utter declutter! 

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Using collaborative consumption to be collaborative in consumption: Jon’s story

In a 1 bedroom apartment in Newtown, Sydney, lives Jon, a collector of all kinds of items and curiosities. Listing things on Open Shed is yet another link in the chain in the way Jon prefers to find what he likes and needs.

This is his story.

Rachel Botsman’s talk was what inspired Lisa and Duncan to start Open Shed. It is also the reason Jon found it. After listening to Botman’s TEDx talk on collaborative consumption, Jon Googled to see if he could find anything that would suit his needs in Australia. It was the early days of Open Shed, where listings were a little thin on the ground and most of the searches came from Europe and the USA, so Jon thought he would do something to change that.

Jon listed his first 20 or so items on Open Shed.

“I can’t remember the first thing I listed, but I know my cordless drill and my paper shredder have proven popular. The paper shredder and I became friends via Gumtree. I tried to source a shredding company to get rid of a bunch of documents I no longer needed, but every company I found wanted a skip’s worth of paper to take the job, and would provide a certificate of shredding to say they had done the work. I didn’t have that much to get rid of, and it seemed like overkill. So I looked around for a reasonable quality shredder and I found one that I later found out was worth about $500 for $100 on Gumtree. I bought it second hand, and I thought other people may get some use out of it, so I listed it on Open Shed,” explained Jon.

To Jon, Open Shed is “what lending to friends should be like. You don’t have to remember who you leant that book to, or worry because there’s insurance and a bond. I don’t think anyone’s going to retire on the money they make from it, but it supplies what’s missing between simply lending something to a mate and knowing you’ll get it back.”  

Jon is fascinated by the unusual, obscure and the wonderful. He describes what he can see during our phone interview- a compound bow and arrows, Star Wars light sabres, a guitalele given to him at an airport‎, a rotary treble, a mixer, an anatomical skeleton, a guitar, a bass and countless other items.

He tells of a beautiful wooden table he had found and lovingly restored with a router and a belt sander, items that are on Open Shed. He is intrigued by Mythbusters, tested.com, the Bower and Reverse Garbage, finding most of his treasures find their way to him through hand me downs or via eBay and Gumtree.

“If I could rent anything in the world from Open Shed, it would be a 3D printer. I met a guy at Reverse Garbage who had some amazing amount, like over 130kgs, of 3D printer filament. He was giving it away. I asked him why and he said it was because the sizes had changed it and it no longer fit. He gave me about 30kgs of it. Now it’s sitting in my lounge room waiting,” Jon shares.

Finding the balance between pricing an item on Open Shed is something Jon sees is tricky for most users. Some rental fees are closer to that of a commercial rental business, whereas Jon’s motivation for sharing is less about the financial and more about the story of an item and the idea of discovery. You get a deep sense he wishes to encourage items to find adventures as opposed to collect dollars.  

From moments where people are happy to have a chat and learn the story about an item, to drill lending and seeing people in front of him who firmly have their eye on getting the job done quickly, Jon has seen all kinds of rentals on Open Shed.

For someone who delights in the Wombles lifestyle of “making the use of the things other people leave behind”, Open Shed is Jon’s playground to host and share what he “wouldn’t miss for a week or so, in order for someone else to use it.”

You can check out his collection, or start a conversation about what else he may have tucked away, via Jon’s Open Shed profile.

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Open Shed helps you bridge the friendship gap: Laure’s story

When Laure turned up to a collaborative consumption workshop presented by the City of Sydney, she discovered Open Shed for the very first time. So inspired by founder and CEO Lisa Fox’s presentation, Laure listed the first of many items the very next day.

This is Laure’s story on why she uses Open Shed and supports collaborative consumption.

Sharing to Laure seems “useful” and “easy”. She’s an avid fan of not just Open Shed but also Go Catch taxi App and AirBnB, both of which she has used on a regular basis. She’s also listed herself as a dog sitter on a pet friendly collaborative consumption site, though is yet to have her first four pawed visitor. Open Shed posed a unique set of considerations for Laure.

“The first item I listed was my snowboard. It was a little difficult for me as I love my snowboard; it’s such a personal item. However I trust the process and have faith that the sorts of people who use Open Shed are the sort of people who respect other people’s belongings,” she explained.

The snowboard may not have gone on its first Open Shed adventure just yet, but Laure has had many a successful rental with other Open Shed members. The people are helpful, the process is simple and there is even friendship to be had.

The best example of this was the rental of a bicycle from Open Shed. Laure wanted to try triathlon for the first time, but didn’t want to spend the money on the equipment prior to seeing just how far her commitment to triathlon would go. She also didn’t want to be in a position where her bicycle made the already gruelling first attempt difficult through not having the proper equipment for the task at hand.  

Laure turned to Open Shed and found not only a bicycle of high enough standard to assist her competitive aims, but also that the owner of the bicycle had a mother who was willing to share her knowledge as an experienced tri-athlete with Laure if she continued with the sport.

Her own interest in collaborative consumption also saw her combining her love of cuisine and creating Chefspotting, a web portal that makes sharing meals with others possible.  Laure freely admits that it can be tricky to get two parties to participate on the idea of people power driving sharing, whether that’s items, meals or otherwise.  However, her belief in the process of collaborative consumption is strong.

“Collaborative consumption brings you together on common ground. It brings your community together so you can discover new ideas and to discover new people and insights. I think too that even if you don’t know your neighbour it bridges the help gap. It gives you an excuse to get to know them and to build more of a community through very simple actions,” Laure said.

Laure is also intrigued by the application of collaborative consumption to almost any part of the economy. The food industry and the discovery of new dining experiences, cuisines, sharing meals and exploring the local food scene as a traveller are the sorts of things that make for an interesting idea.

As a French women living in Australia, she also sees the potential for car-sharing and ride sharing to have a very positive impact on common problems such as pollution, traffic and congestion, and to potentially bridge the gap between public transport and single person car usage in Sydney.

Of Open Shed, Laure had this to say “The drill and hole analogy is the best way to sum up collaborative consumption. What you need is the hole, not the drill. Open Shed can give you that hole. It’s all about trust and making sure everything goes well through the bond and insurance (the Open Shed guarantee). The people in the community are like minded and care as much as you do. You can see this via the feedback system.”

If you are in Sydney and looking for everything from snow gear to a fryer, Laure can help. Check out Laure’s listings- maybe you could be the person to take her snowboard for its very first Open Shed adventure.  She’s also keen on trying Google Glass, so if you can help, that’d be a listing Laure would love to see. 

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Why collaborative consumption: It’s just a six minute fix!

Ugh, moving. We all feel this way, right?

Apart from the packing every single thing you own into boxes, living in a half deconstructed living space, shipping your stuff across the city (or the country), cleaning your old place, cleaning the new place and then trying to work out where the heck everything is going to go, moving is stressful for the pocket, too.

Beyond mover’s fees or vehicle hire, double bonds, cleaning equipment and petrol, invariably you arrive at a new place and find you need something. It could be a drill. It could be the garden is a tad out of control and you’d like to fix that up. Or for the first time, maybe you need a lawn mower. But after all the rinsing of your wallet to get here, do you really want to shell out more money for something that is a 6 minute fix?

That’s where Open Shed is at its finest. Whether it’s getting a drill for those six minutes, or renting a sewing machine to fix up the kid’s Book Week costumes, if you’ve got something you really need to do but don’t want to spend $100’s of dollars on the right equipment for that new purchase to be used once (or once in a blue moon), renting from Open Shed makes a lot more sense.

Time versus Money

The most common objection we get to the idea of using Open Shed for a six minute fix is “It’s easier for me to get in the car and go buy something than hope someone lists it.”

Is it really?

When you factor in the time you spend going to the hardware shop and fighting the other cars in the carpark, or facing the joy that is having a specific mission to get something and a lot of slow walking people spending their day window shopping at a crowded shopping centre, the petrol, the parking, the cost of the item and the time it takes you away from what you are doing- is it really that easy after all?

On Open Shed, if something isn’t listed in your area, you can post a Wanted item. These Wanted items are emailed to people within 10kms of where you are. So if someone has something in their house or shed waiting to find something to do, they will be notified and can post the item for you.

Instead of spending time fighting hoards of shoppers and a bunch of people in consumer mode, with a tiny bit of planning, you can be saving yourself a headache and some cash.

A 6 minute friend?

One thing we’ve found that is a delightful side effect of Open Shed is people who have shared items often find a new friend from doing so. From bonding over tennis racquet rentals to discovering a mutual love of walking or poker, our members are making new friends through having the equipment that makes their interests happen.

So back to the idea of moving in- what better way can you meet your neighbours and make new friends in your new local area than sharing interests and items on Open Shed? Is the ice breaker you have with your kid’s new best mate or your introduction to the local community through something you share with another person?

Helping your neighbour, or being helped by someone when you move into a new place is a great way to start an introduction. Sharing your common interests or exploring new ones through renting what you have is a great way to take that introduction further.

So the next time you’re thinking “it’s just a six minute fix!” why not try turning to Open Shed to see what you can discover rather than high tailing it to the shops?

You may get much more than that item crossed off your to do list, and a much better, cheaper and fun return on that six minute task. 

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How to be an inner city greenie: Sydney edition

Living in the city doesn’t have to mean you lose your greenie side! Here are a few ways you can green your life, even if you are living in the big smoke.

Enjoying the health benefits of Low Tox Living

Alexx Stuart is a foodie, former award winning bartender and all round nice gal who is on a mission to encourage lowering our exposure to harmful toxins around the home and in the food we eat. From practical and simple recipes based on real food, to alternatives for common household items that contain harmful toxins, and a dash of myth busting on marketing claims, Alexx is providing the tools needed to live as low tox as possible.  

Greening the home with Green Renters

Originally a Melbourne based project, Green Renters is also offering workshops, tips and tricks for the renters of Sydney to green their homes. Balancing the idea of not owning a property and therefore not wanting to jeopardise a bond or good relationship with a real estate agent can be hard, and this is where Green Renters comes in.

From running workshops on how to green your rental to reduce both cost and environmental impact, to providing tips and advice through the Green Renters blog, and building community and giving information via the Green Renters Facebook page, Green Renters is helping renters lose that sense of powerlessness and green their lifestyle. Green Renters also work together with community groups, social housing and run campaigns to support a sustainable future.   

Composting, Worms and Chicken Rental

Many councils are now getting with the programme and offering renters and owners free worm farms, compost and access to other fun green stuff. We know that Waverley, Randwick, Woollahra, North Sydney and Hornsby Councils all run some kind of programme to support using compost and/or worm farms to reduce waste, as do many others. Hit your local council website and see what they have to offer- you may be surprised! 

You can also reduce your scraps and get fresh eggs to boot by participating in Rent-a-Chook. Yes folks, you can check out a chook on a short term basis to see if it fits with your lifestyle. Bgurk!

Getting closer to nature with Community Gardening

Feel like pitching in to help or perhaps starting your own community garden? Or trying to start a veggie garden of your own on a balcony, in a rental or simply with limited space? You can grow your own veggies and fruit with a little bit of advice from Milkwood Permaculture and Transition Sydney.

Getting a fix on the Bike Repair Cafe

On Abercrombie Street in Redfern (on the Chippendale side) is an amazing little cafe called The Town Bike Pit Stop. More than simply a bike friendly place to stop for a coffee, the Town Bike Pit Stop operates as a City of Sydney assisted bike repair cafe. You can make use of tools and advice to fix your bike in a friendly and positive cycling environment.

  Loving Bicycling in Sydney

Be green and get fit while you are doing it by bicycling in Sydney! With new cycle lanes being added all the time, plus a supportive community via Facebook page I love Sydney Bike Lanes and Cycle Ways, you can turn your commute frown upside down and enjoy a wheelie good way to get to work!

Talking the green talk at GreenUps

Held monthly on the first Tuesday of each month, GreenUps is Sydney’s sustainability networking drinks for people who want to see green and sustainable change. Each month tackles a different topic- and it’s a great way to meet like minded people to get your green on.

Finding inspiration via Think, Act, Change

Not just about greening up your life, Think, Act, Change is an amazing group that is pushing for social change and education of all kinds. From hosting movie nights to panel discussions, special events and TEDx dinners, this little group will give you the giant injection of inspiration, plus some friends to aid the perspiration, that is required when you want to make lasting change!

Learning what’s new at Eco Expo

Want to learn how you can live a sustainable lifestyle in the city? Head to Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on September 20th to 22nd 2013 and find out all you need to know during the Eco Expo. A mix of information, education and trade stands for people, communities and businesses who want to go green, the Eco Expo is held each year to bring new products and solutions to greenies of all kinds. This year also includes the always inspiring David Suzuki sharing his vast knowledge. Tickets are essential.

Reducing your impact with Collaborative Consumption

Looking to be more active and share in more ways than via Open Shed? Join the Sydney Collaborative Consumption Meetup. Here you can meet the founders, friends and supporters of Sydney’s collaborative consumption scene, or find the support you need to start you own collaborative consumption idea. The group meets roughly every 3 months to touch base, talk, share ideas and work out new ways to help promote the wonderful world of collaborative consumption.

  These are our Sydney tips for getting your green on. What other places, groups and associations are you participating in to get your little bit of sustainability happening?

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Announcing the Open Shed Guarantee

Here at Open Shed we want to help to break down the barriers that prevent Australians from sharing more often. We know one of those barriers is concerns around damage and non return. So we are really excited announce the rollout of the Open Shed guarantee.

Now, the items you list are safer than ever before! Under the Open Shed guarantee Open Shed will pay to repair or replace an item (up to the value of $1000) if something unfortunate happens to your item during an Open Shed rental.

How does the Open Shed Guarantee work?

Part of listing an item on Open Shed now also includes specifying a coverage amount for that item. Every time a new item is listed, the owner is required to nominate how much they wish to be covered under the Open Shed Guarantee.

When the item is rented by another Open Shed member, the owner will pay a small coverage fee (0.5% of the amount they want to be covered per day or 1.6% per week). This amount will be deducted from the rental fee before it is transferred into the Owners account.

Does this replace the bond?

No. There will still be a bond and renters will continue to pay the bond amount if something happens while the item is in their care. However, to simplify things for all our members, the bond will now be set at 20% of the amount the owner has nominated as the coverage amount.

We’ve chosen to do this to make things easier to calculate, but to also create a safe environment for Open Shed owners that doesn’t result in bonds that deter renters from renting an item.

If the damage bill is more than the bond, an owner just needs to provide a receipt to Open Shed and we will reimburse the money paid up to the coverage amount nominated.

Between now and Friday 12 July we are transitioning between the existing arrangements and the Open Shed guarantee process. If you are an Open Shed owner you should have already received an email from us setting out the transition steps.

As always, if you have any questions or need any extra assistance, contact the Open Shed team via 1300 953 534 or [email protected].

Happy Shedding!

[openshed]

Time to get sharing people!

Tomorrow, Sunday June 2nd marks the date of Global Sharing Day - a day for us to all recognise the awesome things we can do to create community, reduce our environmental impact and get to know our neighbours through the humble act of sharing.

Obviously every day for Open Shed is sharing day- it’s what we do after all! But we’ve put together some fun ideas, places to visit and wonderful ways you can get your share on.

Are you ready? Go!

Participating in activities already on

You can share and share alike at the Marrickville Markets (Sydney) this Sunday. Organic and fun, they are held on the front lawn of the awesome sauce in creative reuse and sharing ‘rubbish’, Reverse Garbage.

You can get all green and sustainable in Brisbane with the amazingly fun, free and family friendly Green Heart Fair at Chirnside.

At Wyndham, Victoria, you can share the pantry by taking part in the monthly Wyndham Community Food and Garden Swap.

Melbourne is having one heck of a great time as they give away 500 free lemon trees at Melbourne City Square, Swanston Street under the Lemon Tree Project Pop Up Festival.

Or you can be inspired as you stream Global Sharing Day from around the world right onto your computer.

Long term sharing activities

If you want to get into the sharing but are not sure how, here are a few great ways you can get into Sharing Day!

Share a meal: Looking for an excuse to start a MamaBake group in your area- or to join the thousands already kicking it across Australia? Why not use Global Sharing Day as that excuse to cook yourself into free time and new friendships?

Share the workload: Want to share your love of natural beauty in public spaces? Join a local chapter of Responsible Runners in readiness to share the load of keeping our beaches and natural habitats free from litter.

Share an idea: If you love sustainability, alternate currencies and sharing knowledge with like minded people, you could sign up to speak at the Australian National CES/LETS Conference in Tasmania in November.

Kick-starting your sharing lifestyle

What better way to kick off your sharing lifestyle than to begin the baby steps on Global Sharing Day?

Here are some great ways you can plan you more shareable next 12 months.

• De-clutter the wardrobe- drop clothes that are in good nick off at a charity or hold a clothes swap.

• De-clutter the house- get rid of the things you don’t use via Ziilch or Gomi, or some of these great organisations.

• List what you use sometimes on Open Shed- with a bit of elbow grease, you could be sharing in no time!

• Stop gifting physical items- and instead give gift subscriptions to charities, unwrap the gift of food through Oxfam or start a Kiva loan for someone instead

• Plant a herb, fruit and veggie garden- you can share the produce with your family, plus share the run off with your neighbours or via My Home Harvest where you can share information, tips and conversation around growing your own food

• Organise a book club- with a Facebook event or a group email, you could be swapping all kinds of books regularly among your friends. And yes, you have the added bonus of being able to track what friend has which book through Open Shed groups, too

• Share your skills- Through creating a repair night and invite the local neighbours together to repair toys, bicycles, electronics or anything else your group has the skills to look after. If you are in Melbourne, you can even join Fix It Melbourne to start your repair journey.

• Show sharing to the world- by putting a free things box outside your house, creating a Popup library in your street or making your own co-working space for a working week.

These are our favourite ways to honour Global Sharing Day- what are yours? What have you got planned?

[openshed]

Open Shed at Vivid Sydney

On Saturday I was really pleased to speak at one of the first Vivid ideas events for 2013 - "design your day job" organised by &Company.

I was invited to speak about collaborative consumption and how just by thinking differently about your “assets” - be that time, space, skills or tools - you may be able to shift your side project to centre stage. Just like Duncan and I did 2 years ago.

I was there to inspire, while also being honest about how bloody hard it is to "design your day job":

Its been a hard slog. The hours are long and the pay not that great. But its totally worth it. We have complete career freedom and we love what Open Shed stands for - connecting people, reducing waste and helping people to think and act differently.

I also spoke about collaborative consumption, both as an innovative business model and also a social movement.

As a business model, Collaborative Consumption has the potential to change the way we consume. It is a fundamental challenge to the prevailing top-down consumption model. There is no merchant or middle man. And individual private ownership is no longer the end goal, rather “access” is.

An online rental marketplace like Open Shed does not itself have an inventory - there is no physical shed. Rather we are optimising what YOU as an Open Shedder have.

Collaborative consumption businesses empower individuals to be more resourceful and give themselves the flexibility they need to create the world they wish to live in.

I also reflected on why I have persisted with Open Shed, despite many crisies of "faith"

Its the conversation that happens when Open Shedders meet. That’s it. I am passionate about people, conversation and experiences AND I love helping people share those conversations and experiences.

It was a fantastic day of awesome talks and panels. You can check out the twitter chatter here and here and I will come back and post the talks here once they are up online.

[openshed]

What’s the most unusual Open Shed item?

When the Open Shed team are out and about, we often get the question “what’s the most unusual item you’ve ever had on Open Shed?” We’ve never really had anything super strange (no dungeon shackles, dinosaur bones or dodge ‘em cars we’re afraid!) but we have some things you won’t find easily in other rental hire situations.

So here they are, in no particular order. The little bit of cool, kooky and the unusual you can discover on Open Shed! 

A pair of Medical Astrology text books

These books are used in astrology to diagnose illness and provide counselling services through doing a complete birth chart. Expensive, and only for those who know how to do a complete astrology chart, both books are hard to find and extremely useful for students of astrology who want to take their studies to the next level.

Doggy Trekking Equipment

Any keen outdoor enthusiast who loves their dog will appreciate these two items. Fido can help carry things when you’re trekking through the bush with his very own dog backpack (his packed lunch maybe? Spare tennis ball?) and we also have a dog life jacket for doggy’s that might be a little too adventurous or need that extra helping paw when having a swim. 

Animal Costume Onesie

Is the office suit getting you a little down? Looking for a cool way to spice things up a little? Then have we got the listing for you! Why not go dressed as a flying fox, cow or frog? Perfect for parties or simply freaking out the neighbours, you can’t go past the joy an animal costume onesie can bring. Available in 12 funky animal flavours. 

Laser Cutter Machine

Perfect for those nights where playing Bond villain is the only option, we have a laser cutting machine available for hire. Actually, on a more serious note, this is an extremely helpful device for cutting all kinds of materials quickly and easily- and it comes with the assistance of a fully qualified assistant. For the fraction of the cost of some rental companies, this laser cutting machine is a real gem.  

Badge Maker

Support the band, sell that feminism or keep the kids amused- the choice is yours with a badge maker. One of our most popular items, the badge maker creates beautiful badges for all kinds of needs quickly and easily.  

Dancing up a Storm

Dancing materials are starting to pop up quite a lot on Open Shed. Forget tummy tucks, you can boogie your way to belly happiness with a belly dancing DVD. 

Or if bringing a little bit of tapper, tapper into your day, why not try these tap shoes? Great for the dance floor, awesome at the bus stop. 

  A DJ Console

Beyond air guitar, there is probably nothing cooler than being a DJ, which is why having an actual DJ console on Open Shed is so very awesome! “Hey DJ, keep playing that song” could be what the crowd yells to you at your very next party. 

  Marlena the Mannequin

She was once used as an eBay model, attracted the affections of a confused young man and now lives out her days as part of a lounge room art installation. She is available for hire for dress making or eBay clothing shoots, or if you feel like hanging out with someone a little ‘armless.  

  Wind up Gramophone

What’s that you say? Need an awesome music player for a 1920’s costume party? Then baby, have we got something for you! We have an awesome wind up gramophone on the site, ready and waiting to break out the tunes at your next Great Gatsby party. 

  Beer keg Fridge

All of these words alone are awesome- together, they are simply amazing. Hire this now and be your own Beer Baron! 

  These would be the items we would class as the most unusual out of the almost 500 items available on Open Shed. Have you got something in your shed or cupboard that could top these? Why not list it today?

[openshed]

How to make Mother’s Day rock with Open Shed

Want to do something cool, green and oh so mum friendly this Mother’s Day? Great! Open Shed have the right stuff for you!

  Say bye, bye to the DIY list

Are there little things about the house and garden that could really do with some attention? Or are there nice things like a bird feeder or new home-made planters that would get your Mum suitably pleased?

You can avoid the headache (and the wallet rinsing) associated with a trip to the hardware store with Open Shed. We’ve got lots of tools available for rent including what appears to be a whole shed’s worth with Paul in Pascoe Vale.

  Keep the kids entertained

Sometimes the best present you can give any Mum is a day of kids entertained and playing happily together. Nothing stops bored, fighting and plain cranky kids in their tracks like a new activity. That’s why renting this super sized collection of Leggo or a collection of board games could be just the ticket!

Fun for all ages, playing together as a family for the afternoon is bound to put a smile on Mum’s face.

  Host a Family BBQ

Bringing the family together for a bit of fresh air and renting a BBQ is a lovely idea. Not only does Mum not have to worry about dinner, it’s a great excuse to get everyone together to have a proper family chat. Nice!

  Have a dance

Dancing with the whole family? Why not! Imagine the fun of popping on a belly dancing DVD, or learning to dance a couple of styles, and getting everyone together for a bit of a giggle as you learn how to get your groove on?

The great thing too is that no matter the weather outside, Mum is sure to have a great time- and may even rekindle or discover a new hobby in the process!

  Capture Memories

Mum’s have a great memory for the many milestones of their kids lives. Why not enjoy that trip down memory lane as you make a family photo collage?

You can scan those precious photos to make new, digital versions while also making sure they are preserved for all times.

It’s a great way to get both Mum and Dad remembering the fun times the kids may not while creating something together to keep.

  When it comes to Mother’s Day, the thought truly does count. Don’t forget too, if you have big plans and need something special to make it happen, you can post a Wanted on Open Shed.

What are you planning to do with your Mum this Mother’s Day? 

[openshed]

We are so excited to part of Stockland's Collaborative Consumption Experiment.

We are partnering with Stockland to pilot Open Shed in 5 of their residential communities around Australia. These 5 Open Shed / Stockland communities (2 QLD, 2 VIC and 1 WA) were softly launched last week.

So what do this mean for our fabulous, existing Open Shedders?

Your Open Shed experience is going to get better! Our goal has always been for Open Shed to be a sustaiable social business, and with this partnership we believe we are now on the path to achieving this. This is a fantastic opportunity for our team to work with a partner focused on building community connections and sustainablility. Together we are looking forward to introducing more people to collaborative consumption behaviors, and increasing community connections.

[ideashoist]

Over the last couple of months we’ve been working hard on a brand new digital magazine format for Ideas Hoist which we think you’re going to love.

It’s almost ready so if you’d like to be one of the first to get access just click the picture above or go to http://hello.ideashoist.com.au.

Of course we’d love it if you shared with friends and helped spread the word about Australians making ideas happen!

[openshed]

**_Did you catch Lisa [chatting to Ideas Hoist](http://ideashoist.org/post/41127079605/lisa-fox-co-founder-of-open-shed)?_**

[openshed]

February 2013 Think Act Change: Consuming Less in Times of Excess

[View the story "February 2013 Think Act Change: Consuming Less in Times of Excess" on Storify]

[openshed]

Declutter and help others...

One of the best ways to get organised for the year ahead is to do a bit of decluttering and it seems many of you have been busy in January doing just that! I've noticed on Facebook and LinkedIn a number of requests for ideas about how to make sure that your no longer needed stuff is going to someone who needs it, or at the very least not to landfill. So I thought I would share a couple of sites that I know and I hope you will add, in the comments, any services or sites that you can recommend. [Givit](http://givit.org.au/): an online matching service that connects you with trusted charities. Charities let Givit know what they need. Givit places it on the [Givit List](http://givit.org.au/the-givit-list.aspx) and you can easily see what is needed and by whom.  [Dressed for Success](http://www.dressforsuccess.org/affiliate.aspx?sisid=134&pageid=1): provides free clothing, styling and presentation skills to women wanting to enter or return to the workforce; or needing good clothes to present themselves well at an important life event. [Donate](http://www.dressforsuccess.org/affiliate.aspx?sisid=134&pageid=22) your preloved workwear and make a real difference to another woman's life. Mattresses, they're one of those really annoying things to dispose of. I guess that's why they are the most common item put out for Council collection and why almost 1.25 million end up in Australian landfill each year. So I was really excited to learn about [Soft Landing](http://www.softlanding.com.au/) at the NSW Green Globes (they were a finalist) last year. It's a Mission Australia mattress recycling and refurbishment social enterprise. I can't help but think its cool that an old mattress could become a boxing bag! Our friends at [Ziilch](http://au.ziilch.com/) also do a great job of helping you get your no longer needed stuff to people that have use for it. If you are in Sydney [The Bower](http://www.bower.org.au/services/reuse-referral-service.html) also offers a fantastic Reuse Referral Service. They keep a database of over 1000 organisations, charities and institutions who will repair, reuse and resell your unwanted goods, keeping them out of landfill. You can call 9568 6280 Monday - Friday and The Bower staff will help you find a new home for all your no longer needed stuff. Awesome! And with floods and fires sweeping Australia today its seems a good time to quickly comment on disaster giving. From all that I read donating money is the best way to help out, as the storing and transporting of donated goods is just an added expense for the charities involved. One exception to this that I have found is the [Givit Flood Appeal](http://channel.givit.org.au/the-givit-list.aspx). They are currently running a flood relief program, so you can donate practical items such as sunscreen/repellant, supermarket gift cards, new underwear/socks....  _Do you know of a great site or service that distributes or is looking for second hand items? Please share it below._