It seems like every holiday has become an excuse to buy more stuff. We've been hearing more and more abut "upgrading" lately... especially with barbecue grills. Seems like everyone needs the biggest, beefiest, heaviest one available. Oh, and in stainless steel, of course. Are these two grills in our backyard evidence that we fell prey to this trend?
AT On... Upgrading to Borrowing
Almost, but not quite. We had a few people over for the Fourth and realized that our charcoal grill, while it works fine for a few burgers, probably couldn't keep up with a crowd. What amazes us is that the first thing we thought of doing was buying, when we knew that more than one of the guests we invited had a grill we could at least ask to borrow.
So now we're wondering: why is the reflex to buy, rather than to borrow? Is it tacky to borrow something like a barbecue grill? It's certainly greener to borrow and return something you don't need all the time. Perhaps it's because all that asking nicely and saying please and thank you is a hassle, or perhaps it's the sense that you're somehow indebted... on the line for a future favor.
Are you a borrower? Or when you need something you don't have, is your first instinct to grab your wallet and head for the store?
Comments (11)
Top Tours
- Nancy's Mid-Century Swanky
- Katy and Tighe's Cozy Island Cottage
- Green Home Tour: Erica Tanov's Secondhand Beauty
- Matthew and Emma's Eco Environment
- Donna & Riley's Zero Energy Idea House
Top Posts
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I don't mind asking to borrow, but barbeques are really messy. If I had to move it into my car, I would be less than thrilled.
Also, gas grills do pollute a lot less. At least going by my observations.
view SFGail's profile
Borrow, but consider reimbursing your friend for the gas you use up. My downstairs neighbor borrows a lot of things, and although I'm fine with it, I am considering starting to charge him because, frankly, bbq gas and vaccume bags do add up after a while
oh and whatever you borrow clean when you return it!
view Hollie's profile
slightly off-topic, but on the subject of "upgrading" we have been noticing sooo many commercials lately that involve trashing old stuff in order to get new stuff, such as the ad campaign where people would push trucks off cliffs, etc, and now the one where women are taking wrecking balls to their refrigerators. these are obviously exaggerated, but still, it's a weird image. it just makes all this stuff look so disposable! reuse, anyone?
view akostalas's profile
Wow... Most things on AT and nearly everything on Re-Nest remind me that I have a lot less $ than your target audience, but this one is especially blatant.
Seriously?
Uh, yeah, I would think of borrowing first. Who the hell runs out and buys an extra grill for one party? No one I know, and not cuz we're environmental saints, more like cuz we're normal people who don't have crazy disposable money burning holes in our pockets.
view mjoe's profile
If it's something small that I'll use often I'll go buy it. If not, I can usually find a way around it, or I'll borrow from a friend or family member.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
i like my grill and i keep the ones around that have been upgraded so that i can use them in a pinch. i really love te Big Green Egg because it hold the juices in the meat really well. I like to use lump hardwood. I know that it may seem that it pollutes more... but I think that the collection and transportation and refining of propane is a lot more harmful if you want to get into that topic. I really do not think that it is that important. The biggest porblem is people using lighter fluid to get charcoal started. Use a chimney starter or even an electric coil igniter. No matter what, lump hardwood or charcoal is better for the flavor no matter what. I like to consider myself pretty green, but I also like a good steak cooked at 600 degrees over charcoal. Best in the world.
view mozmun20's profile
I totally agree that we should grow a borrowing culture! My husband and I talk about this all the time, everything from house and yard tools/machines to kitchen appliances. I can see that it is sometimes a little awkward to borrow from friends or neighbors, but what about a little neighborhood borrowing co-op? I think it would be cool to have a neighborhood shed with wood working tools, grills, lawnmowers, edgers, etc. that one generally only needs once or twice per week. Folks could sign them out as needed and we could all save money, space and resources!
view Green Me's profile
I'm with mjoe. Many of us don't have the disposable income so we borrow or... *gasp* do without (heaven forbid).
view ronzo's profile
Lawnmowers especially! I think it's so silly that everyone in the neighborhood has their own gigantic machine that's only used once a week or so. My lawn is so small, I'm planning to just borrow the mower from neighbors until I can score one on craigslist.
I like the idea of reimbursing for gas used - that'll make me feel like less of a mooch.
view SisterRae's profile
I'm all for borrowing, as nice as it is to 'upgrade' or run out to buy something new, I've really attempted to re-use or borrow more lately. On the topic of grills, I actually just acquired my neighbors old gas grill, spent a few dollars (under $20) on new parts and refurbished it. It doesn't look like the Cadillac of grills, but it works just fine.
On the lawnmower front, it's the same, a few us actually just share the duties of cutting grass down the block and rotating who pays for the gas, etc.
view bwdesign's profile
Honestly, I am more of a do-without-er, and a make-do-er; I don't like to borrow, and I am careful about what I buy new, especially if it is secondary to a holiday, party or event. We have had the same weber grill for 14years and can grill for multiple people on it no problem;a lot of our friends are vegetarian, like I am, we can grill veggies last; although we often find that we all enjoy just a big salad, bread, cheese and wine.
The best compliment that I evet got from so was that I was "resourceful".
view Rndrc's profile