We habitually spend a lot of time in daily routines, and we hear about cool stuff from the same sources. As such, we tend to lack awareness of things that don’t have the capability to advertise broadly. So, what’s something you expect many people don’t hear about or consider for use in their life?
It’s common to think of libraries as Public Book Rental, but recently most have expanded their services quite a lot.
- Rentals of items many households may only need briefly, like tools to find insulation gaps
- Online services that allow for digital renting of comics, manga, audiobooks, and even streaming services like Kanopy that have both old and new movies/TV shows
- Printing services; so that you don’t need to buy an ink cartridge for one printout one month, then another 4 months later when that cartridge has dried
- Tax prep assistance; because fuck Intuit
Libraries were admittedly the reason I started the thread but I’m also curious what other things will be mentioned.
Libraries are one of the only public places left where you’re not expected to spend (or even need) money.
Our public library has a whole 18 hole putt-putt golf setup that they trailer and set up inside the various branches during the year. Kids play during the day and the adults pay to play after hours with free drinks and Hors d’Oeuvres. Usually a silent raffle as well (I won 3 six packs of beer and a tasting set of glasses last month)
My library even has 5G routers you can rent for 3 months at a time. Really great option to get internet at home if you’re on a tight budget.
Shout out to the librarians in Gulfport, MS. They were really helpful and friendly when some haggard dork with a weird foreign accent showed up out of the blue in desperate need for a printer to deal with some DHS forms.
Thrifting.
Yeah I know it has been ransacked by greedy resellers and Goodwill’s awful practices. But sometimes when you thrift, it is nice to sometimes get things you are after. Quite a money saver too. I think thrifting is a good anti-consumerism practice in days where people spend too much on new things that don’t do anything for them.
Say more about Goodwill’s awful practices…
Walking more than .25 miles from the parking lot on park trails
LMAO this is soooo true. Recently went on a hiking trip at a national park where there were lines to get into the parking lot, but as soon as you stepped off the paved trail the crowd went down 90%, and a short walk later and we were the only ones in the whole park.
Yeah, it’s usually how I talk my wife into going for a walk. “But, I’d have to take a shower and do my hair.” “You know we won’t see anyone after the first 3-5 minutes” “fine” 🤣
What’re they going to do there
They step 15 ft into the trail and have an Instagram photo shoot
Then lie about how far they actually walked or dress it up as a progression story like “I’m going to lose weight and I started by this trail here!”. Knowing full well they didn’t do shit.
Geocaching. I used to do it all the time, and need to start back up.
If you don’t know, it’s basicly a gps based treasure hunt. Some hunts are one and done, and others are multistage riddles to solve.
Walking around the neighborhood.
It’s good exercise, you can meet your neighbors, and sometimes you can pick up something someone is throwing away that’s in good condition.
100% this.
It changed my life, literally from being barely able to walk a few steps (even getting the mail at the door, I would then had to rest for the entire day) to be walking miles almost every single day of the year. It all started by walking a few feeble steps in my neighborhood, one day after the other. And it took me less than a year to get back into, let’s say, a functional shape.
Great one. Also, try walking around a more affluent area than the one you live. You’d be surprised how often you can get a high end lawn mower for free that just needs a $15 tune up kit (or nothing these days if the owner happened to buy an electric).
This seems like a great way to get shot if you don’t look like the right kind of person.
The thing about the more affluent areas is they generally don’t shoot people there very much.
Not just more affluent areas but also places with students who don’t reside in that place normally. Living in Boston I got so much high end furniture off Japanese and Chinese students who weren’t moving that set or piece back home.
Oh yeah, another great tip!
Fishing is a great way to get out, explore your local waterways and learn about the biodiversity they hold. It’s simple enough to do successfully without much study, but more learning can be beneficial and fun. It’s a cheap and easy way to spend the day outdoors and soak up some sun while getting fresh air and familiarizing yourself with the lands around you.
Playing an instrument, it’s something I think everyone should try to learn to do at some point. It’s mentally stimulating, it’s creative, and it can be a lot of fun. You don’t have to be good at it to be good enough for you to enjoy.
Yeah, and it is also great for developing more plasticity in the brain, great for people that have a history of dementia in their family. Also, why I picked up learning to play the drums during covid. Software such as Melodics can even make it more fun by gamifying it.
Reading while waiting for takeout
