Before I have an adult meltdown, a single rogue cell in my brain stops and says, “hey you know this is about to happen right?” And then it puts on tiny glasses and takes out a tiny clipboard and begins to list the rational reasons I’m about to have a temper tantrum:
hasn’t eaten since breakfast
didn’t drink any water after playing tennis
worried about that one email you keep ignoring
feeling guilty about not calling your parents enough
It clears its tiny throat and says: “Solving even one of these issues would prevent your meltdown.”
And then all the other, stupider brain cells hip check this guy into the corner and proceed to, in this case, go full Rambo on my overgrown front yard — weedwacking the hell out of the tall grass, unstoppable ivy, and hidden rabbit poop.
Thankfully, before I could actually do much damage the weedwacker string hit a root and exploded into a thousand pieces of orange plastic. Much like I was about to do.
And that’s how I found myself on the tool library website.
the face that launched a thousand ships
There’s this thing called a Tool Library
The Cville Tool Library is exactly what it sounds like: A building where you can check out home and gardening tools like you would a library book. It’s volunteer run and has over 900 tools that members can rent weekly.
A lot of towns around the US are starting to adopt tool libraries (the Guardian estimates around 80 around the country). They help foster community, save residents money on DIY projects (no need to buy a power washer just to use it every 5 years), and they prevent outdated leaf blowers and hedge trimmers from ending up in landfills.
Many hours after my late-afternoon meltdown in the front yard, my wife and I curled up on the couch and registered to become members (sliding scale $30-60 annually). Then we got to do the fun part: picking out what to borrow. It turned out to be the same dopamine hit I get from “adding to cart” on Amazon, just without the price shock at the end.
What we rented: an electric hedge trimmer, shovel, spade, tiller, and most importantly, an electric weedwacker made in this decade.
How much money we saved: a quick spin through Home Depot’s mid-range items clocks us at around $245 total. Minus the $60 membership fee and we still save $185. Plus everything we rent for the next year is totally free.
The only thing difficult about the whole process was the actual gardening part.
After 3 hours digging around the most obstinate azalea bush you’ll ever meet, I smashed my hand on the shovel, cut my knuckle open, and, after trying to wash off the blood, passed out on the kitchen floor.
But the tools. The tools were great!
How you can get in on the action
Sign up for a Cville membership here
Check out their shop on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings (pairs great with a trip to the IX Farmers Market).
Donate your old tools, donate money, or volunteer to keep the library running in ship shape. The whole thing is 100%-volunteer led.
If you’re not near Charlottesville, search Local Tools to see if your town or neighborhood has its own tool library. Or start your own.
Got any other tool recs or ideas? Reply to this email to share.
🗡 The Cville Tool Shed is hosting a guide to tool sharpening so you can extend the life of your gear. Presumably there will be lots of jokes about sharpest tools in sheds. Prepare accordingly.
🍷 Ethos Wine and Tea just opened downtown, and you can sit on the patio and watch the Northeast Regional go by. There’s also a “bar takeover” night this Saturday featuring local vineyard Patois.
🌲 The VA Forestry’s seedling store is open for the season. When I looked, there were still 10,075 dogwoods in stock online, but PawPaws were already sold out.
🚲 🏃 🚶 The annual Loop De Ville is back on, after a rainout last weekend. Run, walk, or bike the full trail (or a portion) around Cville this Sunday.
🥬 We missed it. National Kale Day was on Wednesday and you probably had arugula in your teeth the whole time. Remedy the sitch with these pre-made leafy bowls.
