Building Community through a Sharing Economy with Ruckify

This year has been a strange one. It has tested us all in ways that no one could expect and changed the way we go about our daily lives, how we interact with each other, how we work, how we play, and how we show love- and to be honest adapting hasn’t exactly been the easiest. But even as we’ve been forced apart by illness and ideologies, there has been a shining silver lining- our division has created a resurgence in understanding the importance of community.

It has been beautiful to watch the way that strangers have come together to help out their neighbors, their online friends, their families. I’ve seen hoards of people drop what they were doing to help a local farmer harvest their crop after a loss in the family, I’ve seen thousands pool donations, one dollar at a time, to create safety nets for struggling families, and I’ve seen little acts of kindness in abundance- paying a grocery bill, shoveling a sidewalk, and offering lifts to the polling station just because.

We’ve come back to community in times of hardship because community is what makes humans great- the ability to work together, to pool resources, and to share knowledge. We are better together than we are apart and I love to support people and companies who not only acknowledge this, but create ways to streamline and facilitate the ability to make fostering community easy and productive. Enter Ruckify.

What Exactly Is Ruckify?

Ruckify came into my life in the most community-based way possible. A friend of mine, a nurse who I worked with in the prenatal yoga world, reached out via direct message on Instagram saying that a friend of *hers* was working for an awesome company that was completely up my alley. Intrigued, I asked what it was and it was Ruckify. And that right there is what makes it so great. Ruckify is a peer-to-peer rental marketplace that makes it easy for communities to share resources. Essentially it is a platform that you can access from any device and in any North American city! You can find things to rent from the smallest tool to a full-on RV! And you can rent out your items in the same way!

The Sharing Economy and Sustainability

So we know that Ruckify is a peer-to-peer rental marketplace, but why does that matter?

Sharing Economy. Noun. An Economic System in which assets or services are shared between private individuals either free or for a fee, typically by means of the internet.
Oxford Languages

As capitalism rose and the ideas of community sharing gave way to consumerism and ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses,’ the sharing economy and sustainability aspects of community fell to the wayside. Now, as we remember the strengths of community-based society, sharing economies are popping back up which is GREAT! With this pandemic I went from the ‘weird chicken lady’ in the neighborhood for trading eggs for tomatoes from my neighbor’s garden, and in my mind that is the way it should be! Now when it comes to harder to find items, like a snowmobile for a day in the mountains or a dehydrator (like the one I used to make this holiday wreath with Ruckify!) it makes sense to head to a platform like Ruckify to find what you need. You have access to SO many more resources than just popping your head over the fence and spotting a garden full of ripe tomatoes!

And on top of having a huge selection of items to use and rent at your fingertips, you’re also choosing to take the most eco-friendly route! Every item you rent means one fewer item needs to be created, purchased, and eventually ending up in a landfill. Here are a few quick facts from Ecologist Joep Meijer who studied Ruckify’s potential impact on the planet:

Renting 1000 paddle boards saves the same amount of energy it would take to drive to the moon.
Renting one RV instead of buying on saves the amount of energy that it would take to drive around the plants.
If the average household plants 25 trees, they would be net neutral energy for an entire year.

Now those first two are mind blowing but the third seems so achievable! And Ruckify based their Billion Tree Ruckify TreeProject on that! For every sign-up, transaction, and review, crucify plants a tree on your behalf through Eden Reforestation Projects! So not only are you being eco friendly and sustainable by not purchasing new, you’re actively planting trees- you can even track how many trees you’ve planted on your Ruckify profile!

You’re helping to bring your community closer and making positive change for the planet based on the way you shop- Ruckify makes choosing sustainability easy!

How Ruckify Works

So now that you’re all in because of how eco-friendly and helpful a sharing economy can be, let us get started! First, go ahead and sign up for an account on Ruckify- the great thing about even just signing up? Ruckify will plant a tree as part of their 1 Billion Trees, TreeProject! And don’t forget to use my code: modernhippiehabits for $35 in RuckBucks to spend on the platform! After you create a profile, which is a super simple process with step by step instructions, there are two things you can do.

Renting on Ruckify

Most people start out by renting something they are looking for. Ruckify has a wonderful marketplace for browsing by rental category or if you know exactly what you’re looking for you can type it directly into the search bar and see what comes up for you nearby! When you find an item you’re interested in you can click on it to see which dates and times it is available to be rented, the price, and request to rent the item right there on the website! Easy as pie.

And don’t worry- all renters are authenticated by security checks and you have the option to choose RuckifyExpress, a touchless and cashless delivery to keep you safe and healthy.

Renting Out on Ruckify

Renting items you have on hand but don’t need is also a really simple process! Renting out things from your own personal collection can be a great side hustle- there’s no overhead because you already own the item, there’s an infinite ROI (return on investment) because you rent your item out as many times as you’d like, and its a wonderful way to help out your community while making some extra cash!

To rent an item you own you create a post on Ruckify by snapping a photo of your item and fill in some information like its name, category, subcategory, and address (this stays private) then follow up with some logistical questions like transport, cancellation policies, and then you set your own price! Post your item for rent and you can manage the requests to rent your item right there on your profile. Side hustle, sorted.

Buy Nothing Day with Ruckify

Platforms like Ruckify make me so happy because the align with so many things I’ve been saying here on Habits of a Modern Hippie for years- that transitioning to a more holistic, sustainable lifestyle doesn’t need to feel like you are ‘giving up’ anything, especially on days like Buy Nothing Day (in place of Black Friday!) Living an eco-friendly life won’t hold you back from doing things that you love, experiencing life in the ways that makes you happy, and it makes your life easier! With Ruckify you can rent whatever you’d like without having to fork out the money for a brand new object, without having to wonder where you’ll store it, and with the knowledge that you’re building a stronger community with each item that you rent or put up for rent! It is a win-win all around!

This post was sponsored by Ruckify. Some links are referral links. All opinions are my own.