Taking care of a home can be a challenge, especially when things need repairing – not only when it comes to finding the right tool for the job, but also in knowing how to use it.
SOMA Tool Share demystifies this struggle, helping people learn more about how to take care of their homes – a service that comes in handy in South Orange and Maplewood, where the majority of homes are several decades old with many upwards of 100 years old, said SOMA Tool Share President Janet Villano.
Located in the Community Room at 311 Valley Street in South Orange, SOMA Tool Share is a not-for-profit organization that Villano describes a library-lending model but instead of borrowing novels, individuals can borrow tools to solve issues in their homes, whether that’s a leaking pipe or a loose screw. Members pay a small membership fee to help keep the organization running – covering rent, insurance and maintenance.
“Community is definitely an aspect of it,” Villano said.
The Tool Share’s collection of nearly 1,500 tools is made up of donations, and Villano speculates that approximately 90% of the tools have been donated by community members.
The tool moving crew: Kenny Grossman, Sean Carcich, Angeli Elliot, Marcel Blonk, Dave Helmkamp, Pandora Seitan, Janet Villano, Jeff Tabachnick, Angela Liu. (Photo courtesy of Janet Villano)
“So many people [donated], even before we started lending the tools, we were collecting them. We did a big tool drive, and all these people donated amazing stuff,” Villano recalls.
Eventually, however, they began to see a demand for not only the tools themselves, but for information on how to use them.
This year, SOMA Tool Share offered a variety of educational workshops designed to help community members develop practical home maintenance skills. These included “Homeowning 101” and the “Fix-a-Flat” workshop, both offered free of charge, with the latter also providing participants with a complimentary repair kit. Other classes included “Home Inspection Reports Demystified,” “Hang On! (How to Hang Anything),” “Yard, Lawn, and Garden Basics” and “Plumbing 101.”
SOMA Tool Share also plans to expand its educational offerings with three upcoming workshops: “Home Heating Systems” on Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. at the Baird in South Orange; “Weatherizing Your Home” and “Home Storm Preparation,” with dates to be announced.
“People just have a ton of questions about their own situation that other people are like, ‘I have that, too,’” Villano said.
All classes are taught by volunteers for SOMA Tool Share, who offer their time to help others have a better understanding of how to care for a home, as well as local professionals like Paul Lewis, owner of 2GFN Salvage and Restoration, who enjoy helping the community. Villano describes the teachers as people “really familiar with the houses around here and the issues that come up with them.”
Paul Lewis, owner of 2GFN Salvage and Restoration, teaching Homeowning 101 (Photo courtesy of Janet Villano.)
Sustainability is another core value of the organization, Villano said. “[SOMA Tool Share] is saving so much from landfills and stuff that people shouldn’t have to buy and just sit around collecting dust in their house because most tools do just sit around for 90- 95% of the time.”
Overconsumption is an issue that SOMA Tool Share aims to fix by eliminating the need to buy a huge number of tools, with only a few being used in a lifetime. “It’s very expensive. It wouldn’t be worth buying for one project. You also don’t want to take up your entire garage with tools, which some people end up doing,” said Villona.
With the growing demand for classes at SOMA Tool Share, the organization plans to add more hands-on demonstrations in 2027. Even as the organization continues to grow, its core value of helping others remains the same.
“You’re here solving a problem,” Vilano said. “Bringing these people together; the people who had the tools and the people who need the tools.”
To register for Home Heating Systems on Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. at the Baird in South Orange, visit the SOMA Tool Share website.
Willem Pohl is a 12th grade student at Columbia High School and is working with Village Green as a paid freelancer through a grant from the NJ Civic Information Consortium.
