Remember when you needed a wheelbarrow last summer when you had mulch delivered to your driveway? You didn’t own a wheelbarrow at the time.
But you ended up buying one for that once-a-year project. Now the wheelbarrow sits in your garage 51 weeks of the year.
Unused.
What about that time you wanted to hem window curtains, but didn’t have a sewing machine? You chose to hem them by hand.
A tedious task you didn’t enjoy.
It took a lot longer than you expected. Something that would likely take less than 15 minutes on a sewing machine.
Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier and faster if you borrowed a sewing machine to hem your curtains? Or if you could lend your wheelbarrow to a neighbor who only needed it for one day?
That’s where a new site called Meutch can help.
About Meutch
Created by Sam Firke and launched this month, Meutch (short for “mutual aid”) is an online sharing community where you can share items you have or want to give away.
To people you know in your neighborhood, from your workplace, shared interest groups, or within your faith community.
Either lend your things out or find a permanent home with someone who can use something you no longer need or want.
Firke has created a website where you can post items you’re looking for or items you own they you’d love to find a new home.
Features include:
- Search for what you need (no endless scrolling)
- No ads
- No cost
- No data tracking
Initially focused on Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, you get started by joining circles. A circle is a group of people you know. Circles can be public, private, or secret.
You list items you want to share or give away. Or search for something you’ve been needing.
Once you find something you want, message the owner and arrange for handoff, pickup, and return (for shared items).
What I Like About Meutch
Meutch is privacy focused and offers an online space where neighbors, friends, co-workers, faith community members can:
- Easily share with each other
- Give away items they no longer need
- Reduce spending and waste
- Get to know each other better
And it’s not on Facebook, which is an added bonus for me! (I left Facebook years ago.)
When I first heard of Meutch, it reminded me of my neighborhood when I was growing up.
Neighbors would lend their extra folding chairs for parties, lawn mowers or garden equipment, and share extra vegetable/flower plants with each other.
And talked about the various projects they were working on at their home.
Nowadays, that doesn’t seem to happen as often. Neighbors don’t seem to be outside as often. So you don’t get to know each other as well.
And for many folks, it’s easier to buy something for that one-time project.
Summary
Meutch is an online space where, as Firke says “…you can share things with people you trust.”
Initially focused on strengthening community ties in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, you share through circles with people you know. Learn more and see screenshots from Firke’s Meet Meutch post.
From the Meutch Common Questions, I learned if you live outside of Ann Arbor (that would be me) and want to start a circle, you need to bring your own friends. And contact Firke with any questions.
