SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) — Whether you’re desperately trying to find an item or looking to get rid of one — there’s help for that, through Facebook’s ‘Buy Nothing’ Pages.

Kristin Palazolli was looking to declutter, but before heading to the landfill, a friend of hers suggested she join her area’s ‘Buy Nothing’ Facebook page.

Palazolli joined and eventually became an admin of a community of nearly a thousand neighbors looking to give or receive.

“You’re interacting with these people on a hyperlocal basis and getting rid of your excess, maybe at the same time. If you need something and someone else has access, it brings those communities closer together,” Palazolli 

So here’s how it works:

  • If you are interested in giving away an item you can upload the post to the facebook page.
  • If someone is interested in your item, they will comment ‘interested’. 
  • If you are interested in an item you post below their photo ‘interested’. If there are multiple people who want the item it is up to the giver to choose a person at random.

The most popular give: kids stuff and household items.

“You know your kids grow out of something so fast they wear it twice.They never wear it again because now it’s too small.”

Buy nothing also helps fill supply shortages. “Recently with the baby formula issues someone came on and said look, I’ve got all these sample containers of formula. I don’t need them, I don’t want them. We’re not using them. Here if you need them here, you can have them”

And helps families after tragedy strikes.

“Last year there was a there was a huge fire in manlius the the buy nothing people got together and said here’s how we can you know put these people back in having clothes and having what they need for their houses and I’ve got a chair I’ve got a couch and I’m not using it. That kind of thing. So it really helped the people who. Literally at that point had nothing…. you know it’s just nice to be able to say I have this stuff and I don’t need it here. Let me share with you.”

There are a couple of rules to buy nothing pages.

  1. Everything is free. No strings attached.
  2. Everything has to be done in the open.
  3. Be kind to each other in all posts.