Why buy the drill when all you want is the hole?

At MIAMI Towers, we've all been enjoying a new book by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers called What's Mine is Yours - How Collaborative Consumption is Changing the Way we Live.

You can read a review of the book on my business blog - I thought it would be worth sharing this with friends and followers of MIAMI too as the book is so close to the principles we espouse ourselves with Make it and Mend it.

It's all about accessing rather than owning - think LoveFilm or StreetCar, about bartering skills, about sharing and swapping - think StreetBank and Landshare. Why buy and accumulate stuff when you can borrow or rent it for the task in hand? Or as Rachel says in the video why buy the drill when all you want is the hole? (Apparently the average power drill gets used for a total of 12 minutes in its entire lifespan).

Check out the review and read the book - or catch Rachel explaining about the concept at TED Sydney in the video below.



Clare Flynn

Green Britain Day

Green Britain Day is an opportunity to get together, have fun, and begin the journey towards a lower carbon future. It's the brainchild of Team Green Britain, whose aim is to encourage us to lead a greener and more sustainable life and to leave a lasting green legacy after The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

And it all kicks off this Friday.

10 July 2009 is the first ever Green Britain Day, an opportunity to get together and do one simple green thing for the team.

Five teams currently make up Team Green Britain (with more on the way) and, once you've signed up, there will be lots of team activities to get involved with. Such as persuading your mates to turn off their TVs and come round to watch yours instead, to grabbing some neighbours and throwing together a great big lunch with local-grown food.

One team that has particuarly taken our fancy at Make it and Mend it is Team Swap.

Team Swap is about swapping your old stuff for someone else’s old stuff. Both of you end up with something you want, you both save money and you cut out the energy it takes to produce something new. At the same time, there’s less pressure on those landfill sites.

Just remember, if it’s usable, it’s swappable. That old coat you haven’t worn for two years may be just the hot ticket item your friend has been looking for. Spare pieces of furniture, unused toys – the stuff you don’t need any more can have a new lease of life.

What can you do to get involved?

Easy really – you could go to a local swap party, or if you can’t find one throw your own. These don’t have to be big affairs, they can be as simple as a coffee morning with your friends or colleagues at work, or a full blown affair at a local village hall. Simply choose a venue and decide what you want to swap and let your friends know.

Or if you don’t feel like going out, you can swap online too, on sites like Swapstyle and Switch in Style.

For more details on swapping and swishing parties go to

>>More tips on swishing and swapping parties

For more details on Green Britain Day visit

>>>>More details on Team Green Britain