Want to do something cool, green and oh so mum friendly this Mother’s Day? Great! Open Shed have the right stuff for you!

Say bye, bye to the DIY list

Are there little things about the house and garden that could really do with some attention? Or are there nice things like a bird feeder or new home-made planters that would get your Mum suitably pleased?

You can avoid the headache (and the wallet rinsing) associated with a trip to the hardware store with Open Shed. We’ve got lots of tools available for rent including what appears to be a whole shed’s worth with Paul in Pascoe Vale.

Keep the kids entertained

Sometimes the best present you can give any Mum is a day of kids entertained and playing happily together. Nothing stops bored, fighting and plain cranky kids in their tracks like a new activity. That’s why renting this super sized collection of Leggo or a collection of board games could be just the ticket!

Fun for all ages, playing together as a family for the afternoon is bound to put a smile on Mum’s face.

Host a Family BBQ

Bringing the family together for a bit of fresh air and renting a BBQ is a lovely idea. Not only does Mum not have to worry about dinner, it’s a great excuse to get everyone together to have a proper family chat. Nice!

Have a dance

Dancing with the whole family? Why not! Imagine the fun of popping on a belly dancing DVD, or learning to dance a couple of styles, and getting everyone together for a bit of a giggle as you learn how to get your groove on?

The great thing too is that no matter the weather outside, Mum is sure to have a great time- and may even rekindle or discover a new hobby in the process!

Capture Memories

Mum’s have a great memory for the many milestones of their kids lives. Why not enjoy that trip down memory lane as you make a family photo collage?

You can scan those precious photos to make new, digital versions while also making sure they are preserved for all times.

It’s a great way to get both Mum and Dad remembering the fun times the kids may not while creating something together to keep.

When it comes to Mother’s Day, the thought truly does count. Don’t forget too, if you have big plans and need something special to make it happen, you can post a Wanted on Open Shed.

What are you planning to do with your Mum this Mother’s Day? 

One of the best ways to get organised for the year ahead is to do a bit of decluttering and it seems many of you have been busy in January doing just that! I’ve noticed on Facebook and LinkedIn a number of requests for ideas about how to make sure that your no longer needed stuff is going to someone who needs it, or at the very least not to landfill.

So I thought I would share a couple of sites that I know and I hope you will add, in the comments, any services or sites that you can recommend.

Givit: an online matching service that connects you with trusted charities. Charities let Givit know what they need. Givit places it on the Givit List and you can easily see what is needed and by whom.

Dressed for Success: provides free clothing, styling and presentation skills to women wanting to enter or return to the workforce; or needing good clothes to present themselves well at an important life event. Donate your preloved workwear and make a real difference to another woman’s life.

Mattresses, they’re one of those really annoying things to dispose of. I guess that’s why they are the most common item put out for Council collection and why almost 1.25 million end up in Australian landfill each year. So I was really excited to learn about Soft Landing at the NSW Green Globes (they were a finalist) last year. It’s a Mission Australia mattress recycling and refurbishment social enterprise. I can’t help but think its cool that an old mattress could become a boxing bag!

Our friends at Ziilch also do a great job of helping you get your no longer needed stuff to people that have use for it.

If you are in Sydney The Bower also offers a fantastic Reuse Referral Service. They keep a database of over 1000 organisations, charities and institutions who will repair, reuse and resell your unwanted goods, keeping them out of landfill. You can call 9568 6280 Monday - Friday and The Bower staff will help you find a new home for all your no longer needed stuff. Awesome!

And with floods and fires sweeping Australia today its seems a good time to quickly comment on disaster giving. From all that I read donating money is the best way to help out, as the storing and transporting of donated goods is just an added expense for the charities involved. One exception to this that I have found is the Givit Flood Appeal. They are currently running a flood relief program, so you can donate practical items such as sunscreen/repellant, supermarket gift cards, new underwear/socks….

Do you know of a great site or service that distributes or is looking for second hand items? Please share it below.

2012 was a big year for Open Shed. With lots of highs and lows we certainly were on the startup rollercoster

Before 2012 fades away to be replaced by what is going to be an even bigger and busier 2013 for Open Shed, I thought it would useful to do a little recap…

January / February / March We started to the year house sitting in Hervey Bay. Lovely location to worry about the very sloooow start to the year.

On the bright side it was awesome to be the February edition of Choice AND Voyeur (the Virgin inflight Magazine)!

April / May Six weeks housesitting in Melbourne saw us catching up a heap of Melbourne collaborative consumption businesses. Great to meet face to face after so much online interaction.

Lisa headed up to Sydney for The Garage Sale Trail on the village green at the City Quarter complex in Camperdown

And we got to learn so much from our first survey!

June / July

We were very lucky to snag a 6 months house sit in Sydney!

Duncan was kept busy with a major upgrade to the home page and you helped us come up with the new Open Shed tagline - Why buy when you can share?

And we commenced our hectic 3 month incubation with Ignition Labs!

August Lisa maintained her goal of writing a weekly post about Ignition Labs for two weeks! (Week 3 and 4)

The Open Shed team takes a Sunday off to do the City to Surf!

Lisa headed to the CBA Women in Focus Conference in Noosa with 120 awesome business women and shared the Open Shed story as part of the start up panel!

September Open Shed is the WINNER of the Business- Small category at the first Green Lifestyle Magazine’s Green Awards!

Two days before we head off to the US (yes, I am crazy!) Lisa organises the first Australian gathering of Collaborative Consumption businesses and organisations. It was an awesome turn out to hear Rachel Botsman speak and have the opportunity to meet and mingle with so many likeminded people.

October The first two weeks were a blur of activity in the US!

We then needed the rest of the of the month to recover…

November Lisa spoke at her first conference - Thriving Neighbourhoods

We introduced one click listings to help our busy Open Shedders get their stuff listed quickly and easily.

December Honestly it is already a blur of parties, events and catching up with family. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Most popular rental item of the year: Cate’s Badge Maker in Melbourne

Got one of the items below? No need to worry about taking photos or writing a description. Simply list in one click!

Work - Lawn mower, Trailer, Pressure cleaner, Chainsaw, Whipper snipper

Play - Tent, Bike, Kayak, Surfboard, Golf clubs

Live - iPad, Sewing machine, Stroller, Roof box, Trestle table

We know that our Open Shedders are busy people, so we wanted to make listing your idle stuff on Open Shed as quick and easy as possible.

We’ve also done our research and know that these are popular rental items that are regularly searched for. So what are you waiting for, get quick listing now!!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at the Thriving Neighbourhood Conference in Melbourne about collaborative consumption, and why I think it has a role to play in our future thriving neighbourhoods and communities. Here is a little of what I had to say…

As a business model, Collaborative Consumption has the potential to change the way we consume. It represents a fundamental challenge to the prevailing top-down consumption model - there is no merchant or middle man and individual private ownership is no longer the end goal, rather “access” is.

In regards to online peer-to-peer marketplaces the platform does not itself have an inventory, rather its primary role is to optimise what YOU as a member have - be that time, space, skills or tools. If a marketplace is working effectively it can match online what you have, with someone that needs it offline.

…what I see as the ‘secret sauce’ of collaborative consumption businesses, and why I believe they have the potential to play a transformational roles in our communities, is that their very basis is people. And the primary purpose of these platforms (and the hallmark of whether they are a successful business or not) is to connect people so that their needs can be meet in an efficient way. I believe this flows directly into some of the elements that I think are crucial to a thriving community - connectedness and collaboration. …

As a social movement I believe collaborative consumption has the potential to change the way we live offering us greater flexibility, a greater sense of empowerment over our own lives and far more daily connections.