The hundred tools you only need once
Owning a home means a constant stream of small projects, most of which need a specific tool you'll use once or twice. FriendsWithTools lets you borrow from neighbors instead of stockpiling, keeping costs low and your garage usable.
Your first year owns you, not the other way around
The first year of homeownership is famously expensive: closing costs, surprise repairs, the realization that your house came with zero working light bulbs. Tools quietly account for a big chunk of it: a steady stream of single-use purchases, most of them things that sit in the garage for the next decade.
Borrowing from neighbors changes the math. The drill you'd buy for one weekend of curtain rod installs? You don't need it. The pressure washer? Borrow it from the neighbor who already owns one.
The projects every new owner faces
Move-in fixes
Mounting TVs, hanging curtain rods, adjusting cabinet doors, building IKEA furniture. A borrowed drill and stud finder cover most of it.
Yard setup
New mower? Maybe. New leaf blower, edger, hedge trimmer, tiller? Probably borrow them, at least for the first year while you see what you actually need.
Painting & refinishing
Roller pans, extension poles, sander, drop cloths. A neighbor who painted last summer has the whole kit ready to lend.
Seasonal one-offs
Snow blower in February, pressure washer in spring, leaf vac in fall. Each used a handful of times a year, perfect for sharing.
You don't need a big group to start saving
Even a group of 3–5 households gets you a lot of coverage. Invite the family you bought the house from (if they're local), the neighbors who introduced themselves, the friend who helped you move in. Start small, add as you go.
When you join, you'll see what the group already has. As you collect tools yourself, list the ones you're willing to lend. The group grows together.
Running a tool-sharing group for your organization?
Community plans add member applications, announcements, and admin tools, with room for up to 500 members. Every new community group starts with a free 30-day Community Starter trial, no credit card required. Plans from $29/month, with discounted pricing for verified nonprofits.
See Community PlansThe New Homeowner's Tool-Borrowing Checklist
Most of the tools a house demands, you'll use once. Here's how to tell the keepers from the clutter.
Worth owning: you'll reach for these constantly
- Cordless drill/driver: the day-one, every-weekend tool.
- A 25-foot tape measure (buy two; you'll lose one).
- A real screwdriver set, not the four-in-one from a drawer.
- An adjustable wrench and a basic socket set.
- A utility knife and a pack of spare blades.
- A two-foot level.
- A stud finder.
- A folding six-foot step ladder.
Borrow these: pricey, occasional, a pain to store
- Pressure washer: rents $49–$104 a day; you need it twice a year.
- The tall extension ladder (own the step ladder, borrow the 24-footer).
- Wet/dry shop vac for the one flooded-basement weekend.
- Tile saw: the bathroom-reno tool you'll never touch again.
- Miter saw: borrow for the trim job, decide later.
- Post-hole digger or auger: for the fence you build once.
- Carpet cleaner: a Saturday, not a purchase.
Borrow first, then decide
- Circular saw, orbital sander, impact driver. Ask to borrow the same one three times and that's your sign to buy it. Until then, don't.
The rule of thumb: own what you touch monthly, borrow what you touch once a season, and rent only when you're stuck and nobody you know has it.
Built for new homeowners. Free to start.
Create a group in five minutes, invite the first few members, and start sharing what you already have.