ShareSheds

The idea for ShareSheds came from a conversation with my parents. They told me how at one point they had three crock pots - because during certain times in their lives, that was a genuine need. But now? They barely use one.

Coming from poor families, it hurts them to get rid of perfectly good items. There’s that ingrained sense that you might need it again someday, that waste is wrong. But there’s also the reality that these items are just taking up space.

This reminded me of an episode from The Walking Dead set in the Alexandria colony. They had this communal storehouse where people could borrow what they needed. It was practical, efficient, and built trust within the community. Why couldn’t modern neighborhoods work the same way?

Recently in 2025, I visited Zwentendorf, Austria, where they actually had these sheds around town filled with wine, honey, bread, and milk - all available for purchase on a purely honor-based system. It’s probably unlikely to work in major US cities, but it’s admirable. ShareSheds is a step before that level of trust - after all, I don’t know many people jacking 10-year-old crock pots.

ShareSheds is about solving both problems: the guilt of waste and the expense of buying things you’ll rarely use. Your neighborhood already has everything it needs - it’s just spread across different garages and basements.