- I joined the Nextdoor social network service in 2021.
- It allows you to ask for help finding a missing pet or restaurant recommendations.
- I got a giant cabinet removed by a carpenter and my ice maker fixed by an appliance repairer for free.
Let’s just say that my husband and I didn’t share the same taste as the previous owners of our house.
We particularly objected to a giant-size TV and entertainment center made of dark cherry wood in our family room. We called it “the brown bus” because it looked like a British double-decker had backed into the wall.
The problem was that we couldn’t afford to have it removed for a couple of years because of the cost of buying our home.
Then, in 2022, we decided we couldn’t stand it any longer. We live in an expensive area and got quotes from contractors that were upward of $400.
“It’ll take at least two days to dismantle because it’s not screwed in but glued fast to the wall,” one said.
We could have hired someone with a sledgehammer
But he added that the wood could be recycled. He said he suspected the custom-made furniture may have cost as much as $3,000.
“You could get someone to use a sledgehammer, or you might find a carpenter who wants the wood,” he suggested.
I’d joined Nextdoor, the hyperlocal social networking site, a year earlier. I remembered seeing people asking for recommendations for service providers ranging from babysitters to electricians.
You have to join your neighborhood once in the platform so I was a member of the one that covered our town and nearby areas.
I decided to experiment by “advertising” the cabinet on the group and uploading a photograph. “Someone might want it,” I told my husband. He was skeptical, thinking I was wasting my time.
Courtesy of Jane Ridley
Still, I wrote that it was up for grabs to anyone who could remove it for free. “Just don’t leave a mess,” I said.
I received a few inquiries, but as soon as I explained that the cabinet was attached to the wall with some immoveable form of superglue, they lost interest. I was about to give up hope when a local carpenter took me up on my offer.
It took him three days to painstakingly slice it from the wall and take it apart. Then, he carted the wood to his workshop, looking happy.
Since then, I’ve become slightly addicted to Nextdoor. I enjoy people posting unusual requests. One woman wanted to get rid of wooden shutters from her 100-year-old house. She offered them for free, and an artist who makes custom, decorative birdhouses took the lot.
I got my ice maker fixed for free
Another member asked people to send greeting cards to an older neighbor who rarely received any mail. Then, there was the person who extended a lunch invitation to strangers who were on their own for Thanksgiving.
But the act of kindness that surprised me most happened this fall. The ice maker on our refrigerator hadn’t worked for more than a year. When it first broke, a clueless guy from the store where we’d bought it had charged us a $250 callout fee, only to say it was a lost cause.
Last month, I decided to give it another try. About a dozen Nextdoor members suggested names of appliance repair people, and I picked one at random.
I called him, and he asked for the error code. He said we didn’t need to buy new parts and talked us through the repair on the phone. We eventually got the thing to work.
I asked if I could Venmo some money, but he refused payment. “Happy Holidays,” he said. I couldn’t believe he’d done the job for free. But that’s the spirit of Nextdoor.
