Homeowner club

It seems like a lot of people I know are buying houses. My boss and her husband just bought their first, as did my and Steve's friends Eric and Rebecca. A couple other folks are in the midst of the NACA process too, soon to be homeowners themselves.

One thing that's struck me these first couple months is all the money we're spending on stuff like lawnmowers, sump pumps, and hoses. Sometimes these purchases can be delayed but more often they are of the immediate variety. For instance, the basement has flooded. For instance, the grass is 3-foot high. For instance, the basement flooded again.

With all this in mind, Steve and I recently sent out an email to our homeowner friends, suggesting that we create an informal list of household and yard tools that we wouldn't mind sharing. We volunteered use of our painting supplies, Steve's toolkit, yard & garden tools, and lawnmower. I suggested too that we think about purchase bigger items as a group, like a ladder.

I grew up on a tight-knit block and borrowing stuff from the neighbors was a regular event. Anyone out there have experience with this sort of communal sharing of tools?