Borrowing: The New Buying

Whose got room for six extra folding chairs, a ladder or a full set of tools? If you're a renter, probably not you. But every now and then you've got to hang a picture or have 12 friends over for dinner. Now, instead of heading to Target or Idea and adding to your clutter, a few new sites are leading a recession-friendly lifestyle trend: Live small but have a big roledex. The sites are encouraging less consumption, by enabling borrowing from neighbors or renting luxury fashion a la Netflix. Who says the recession's keeping us down? Here's how they work.