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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Reading while waiting for takeout
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.
