Many are looking for ways to save money and help the environment; Borrowme.com lets people to do both by allowing people to lend, borrow and rent a variety of items at a low cost, and sometimes for free. People can create a profile, add items they are willing to share, create a wish list of items they are looking for and build communities to begin to share, lend and rent items with.

"It was created out of the sense that all of us have such an abundance of possessions in our apartments, home garages and our basements that are unused and idled. During a time where there is an economic downturn it makes so much sense both economically and socially to find some way to tap all that value that is hidden away," said Sean Young founder and CEO of Borrowme.com.

Kray Mitchell, who is in charge of marketing and communication relations for the Web site, stated in an e-mail that besides helping people save money, the Web site also helps the environment.

"Does everybody in your neighborhood require their own canoe, air compressor and hedge trimmer? We can greatly reduce spending as well as the amount of waste headed to the landfill by coming together as a community and sharing our resources," Mitchell said.

Once users build their profile, they are encouraged to build a community to begin the sharing or renting process.

"We encourage people to do one thing. Share just one thing out of all the things that you have. Try to find one thing that you are willing to share," Young said.

Shipping is an option for users, but they are encouraged to go out and meet personally with people they borrowing from.

"We used to be able to go next door and borrow a cup of sugar from our neighbors, we want to bring people together again," Mitchell said.

By going out and meeting others, the company aims to build trust between users so they can help each other find items they are looking for.

"There are really two types of people that come to the site, the ‘greedy’ ones that are looking for something for free, and those who want to build better communities, reduce waste and help our environment," Mitchell said.

"Anybody that has walked into their basement or garage and thought to themselves ‘What am I going to do with all this stuff’ is a prime candidate for resource sharing," Mitchell said.

Recently, the Web site has seen a large number of expectant mothers and college students contribute.

Young would like to see students create more active groups within the community to share and rent textbooks. He thinks this would save students money and reduce the number of trees that are cut down.

Some students from Cal State Fullerton think the Web site has a good idea.

"It's not like throwing away your trash, but letting someone else use things that you don't really need at times. I have bikes at home, I lend them to my friends, but if there is a Web site I would totally use it to lend them to someone else," said Jimmy Romero, 18, a biology major.

“I would use it for textbooks because I don't have money, and I would rather borrow them,” said Cristina Lopez, 18, a liberal studies major.

Young hopes to see his company become an alternative to major companies like eBay.com and Amazon.com.

“There is no standard place where I could go and say I want to go and borrow something because I don't need to buy it I only need it for a day," Young said. “We want to play a role in providing a destination for people who believe there is no need to chew off more resources off the planet.”