Our son was ecstatic when he called to tell me that instead of going out and buying a new circular saw for his latest home improvement project he just went to the Minnesota Tool Library and checked one out for a week! Membership only cost him $55… and he gets to pick check out all the tools he needs for up to a week at a time for a whole year… at no additional cost!
This lending library for tools is a real treasure if you are a new homeowner who hasn’t built up a supply of tools but wants to work on fixing up your new home. It makes it possible to spend your money on the supplies you need… not the tools necessary to do the work. It is also a great resource for those of you who already have most of the tools you need but don’t want to buy a specialty tool you will rarely use.
In their own words…
“The Minnesota Tool Library offers the community access over ownership. This means we don’t need to own costly tools for a one-time use, but instead allows consistent, low-cost access to the tools we need, when we need them.”
The Minnesota Tool Library offers not only access to 2,400 tools, but workshop space, classes, and community in two locations… Northeast Minneapolis (Thorp Building, 1620 Central Ave NE, Suite #126, Minneapolis, MN 55413 – 612-440-8665) and St. Paul Midway (755 Prior Ave N, St. Paul, MN 55104 – 651-644-1882). If you go, be sure to check hours… as I write this they are only open on the weekends, Friday evening and Sat-Sun during the day. As a non-profit organization, volunteers are an essential part of making this work. Check out how you can get involved if this is of interest to you.
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