On a crisp, sunny day in early November, Arlingtonians gathered in Thompson Elementary School in East Arlington. Some walked in empty-handed or toting shopping bags, while others brought in broken bicycles, torn clothing, or dysfunctional toasters.

Everyone was there for a joint event put on by Zero Waste Arlington (ZWA) and Sustainable Arlington in conjunction with other local waste-reduction organizations. The school gym was stacked with donated clothes for a clothing swap organized by Everything is Free Arlington (EIF Arlington). Across the hallway in the cafeteria, Fixit Clinic had set up a space for people to repair their broken belongings.

EIF Arlington is a Facebook group, one of a set of Everything is Free groups originally started by Medford resident Amanda Sulham to make it easier for Medford moms to swap items and parenting information. A post by Veronika McDonald King, one of the moderators, describes EIF Arlington’s goal: “[T]o build a better Arlington with a stronger community through giving, sharing, and caring.”

EIF Arlington primarily operates through individual listings, where a group member will make a post saying they have items to give away or that they’re looking for a specific item. But the group has also collected donations of clothes, shoes, and accessories to host several clothing swaps where anyone, group member or not, can come by and take things for free. It’s a great way to get rid of unwanted clutter without throwing things way and to update one’s wardrobe without the stress of sticking to a budget or the guilt of buying new.

The other entities at the event were also promoting ways to cut down on waste and give potential trash a new life. Zero Waste Arlington, a town government committee that, as the name suggests, is seeking to shift Arlington’s waste production closer to zero, had a table set up with information about how Arlingtonians can reduce, reuse, and recycle…as well as refuse (buy fewer items in disposable packaging), and rot (compost food scraps).

ZWA coordinated with Fixit Clinic, an organization that stages “pop-ups” where volunteers known as Fixit Coaches help people fix stuff they would otherwise throw away.

Ray Pfau, who organizes events through Fixit Clinic and Repair Cafe (a similar organization) out of Bolton, Massachusetts, was there with a small squad of these coaches. They set up stations at Thompson’s cafeteria tables, with supplies for everything from woodworking and soldering to jewelry repair and bicycle tune-ups.

Amos, one of the Fixit Coaches, said that specialized technical knowledge is not a requirement to volunteer, hence “coaches” rather than “repairpeople”.

“It’s more about the willingness to try taking something apart,” Amos said. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? If the item was destined for the trash anyway, failing to fix it isn’t such a big deal.

This event saved hundreds of clothing items and dozens of household items from winding up in a landfill. Locals interested in attending similar events in the future can look for updates on ZWA’s Facebook page and Bolton Local’s website.