This article about rental websites in the Boston Globe came to my attention today. I’m pleased to find out about a few more rental websites, I knew about Rentalic but there are several mentioned that I hadn’t heard about before.
As the article says:
But the biggest challenge may be cultural. Americans are accustomed to having many possessions – it is a sign of status and identity, and we take the convenience of constant access for granted. In the United States, notes Michael Braungart, one of the concept’s pioneers, “You don’t want to use something that someone else used before.”
This is the biggest challenge, and I don’t think things will alter over night, but there are signs that people are considering the alternatives to owning one of everything, even if you rarely use it, and even if it means you can only buy and use a poor quality items.
yours2share is playing a part, enabling people to find like-minded partners for long term sharing arrangements, by owning jointly or renting part time.