How it works
Find it in the inventory
Pick an item in the inventory below and look for the Available badge. Note the owner and their pickup area.
Browse the inventory →Send the borrow-request form
Send the borrow-request form with the Item ID and the date you need it. Joel confirms your request, logs the loan, and arranges pickup with you. The standard loan is 7 days from pickup — that pickup day + 7 days is your due date.
Open the borrow request form →Return it & check it in
Bring it back clean and complete by the due date and hand it to the owner in person. To check it in, send the same form as a return — Joel logs the return and the item flips back to Available.
Check something in with the form →Services you can request
Some listings aren't things you carry home — they're help a neighbor does for you. Every service works the same three steps:
Send your request or file
A printing request requires a file; a service request requires a description of the service to be provided or help needed.
The owner makes or schedules your service request
Joel takes it from there and confirms the plan with you personally.
Schedule
Arrange pickup, schedule pickup, or schedule service — whatever your request needs.
Services show the status By Request in the inventory instead of Available. See the services in the inventory → or send a service request →
Browse the inventory
Search all 254 listings, or filter by category and what's available now. Tap “Check out / request” on an item — Joel confirms each request personally and arranges pickup.
Last updated: Monday, October 26, 2026 · The Google Sheet is the library's source of truth — if this page and the Sheet ever differ, trust the Sheet.
Nothing matches — yet
No items match that search right now. Try a shorter word or clear the filters. And if it's something a neighbor might own, ask for it — that's how the best items end up listed.
What you can borrow — by category
All 254 listings in 14 categories — the whole block's garage, garden shed, and gear closet. The examples are real items in the inventory right now, and an item filed under more than one category counts under each one. Tap a category to see its items in the inventory.
Hand Tools
97 listings
Carpentry hammer · Japanese pull saw · Socket set — 25-pc · Tape measure — 25 ft
Power Tools
35 listings
Table saw — 10 in. portable · Drill/driver — cordless · Belt sander · Hammer drill
Camping
30 listings
Tent — 4-person · Sleeping bag · Jetboil camp stove · Lantern — LED camping
Automotive
26 listings
Car jack (floor jack) · Jack stands · Jump starter — 2000A · OBD-II scanner
Garden / Yard
20 listings
Spade shovel · Wheelbarrow — large · Snow shovel — spring-assisted · Leaf blower
Other
17 listings
Thermal imaging camera · LED work light · Moving straps — Shoulder Dolly · Bucket — 5 gallon
Electrical
13 listings
Voltage detector · Circuit breaker finder · Fish tape — 100 ft · Extension cord — 50 ft
Home Goods
10 listings
Carpet cleaner — upright · Paint sprayer — HVLP · Pressure washer — 2000 PSI · Utility cart
Crafts
9 listings
Soldering station — 70W · Heat gun — 1500W · Butane torch kit · Jewelry pliers kit
Ladder / Access
6 listings
Extension ladder — 20 ft · Retractable ladder · Step ladder — 2-step · Ladder stabilizer
Sports Equipment
5 listings
Pickleball paddles — set · Spikeball set · Bocce ball set · Volleyball
Cleaning
4 listings
Carpet cleaner — upright · Spot & carpet cleaner — cordless · Floor cleaner — cordless wet/dry
Services / By Request
3 listings
Color printing · 3D printing — by request · Heavy lifting help — by request
Office Equipment
2 listings
4x6 shipping label printer · Label maker
Borrow, return, renew & hold
Borrowing, returns, renewals, and holds all start with the same short form — Joel confirms each request personally and logs it in the Sheet.
Check out Borrowers
- Find the item in the inventory above and check it shows Available.
- Tap Check out / request on its card and send the form.
- Joel confirms personally, logs the loan, and arranges pickup with you.
Check in Returns
- Return it clean, charged, and complete — hand it to the owner, don't just leave it.
- Flag any damage or missing pieces right away, in person.
- Send the check-in form with the return condition — Joel logs the return.
Renew / Extend a loan Need more time?
- Ask the owner before your due date — a quick message is all it takes.
- You get another loan period (typically another 7 days) as long as nobody else is waiting or has a hold on the item.
- Send the renewal through the request form — Joel confirms it and updates the log.
Place a hold Plan ahead
- Check the item's availability in the inventory above.
- Send the request form as a hold, with the dates you need it.
- Joel confirms it personally — once confirmed, the item is held for you for 3 days.
List an item Owners
- Open the Add an Item form and tell us what you'd like to offer.
- Fill in the name, the condition, your name + contact, and pickup area — and pick every category that fits; an item can belong to more than one.
- Joel confirms your item and adds it to the inventory.
Send a reminder Owners
- Open the Reminders tab in the Sheet — it's a helper list of loans due within 2 days or overdue, so you can see who needs a note.
- Copy the ready-made reminder message for that loan.
- Send it by text or email. The Sheet builds the list; a person sends the note.
Two little helpers
A due-date calculator and a reminder-message writer.
Due-date calculator
Pick your pickup day and loan length — your due-back date appears instantly.
Reminder message generator
Fill it in, copy it, and send it however you normally reach your neighbor.
Check-out & check-in checklists
Run through these at pickup and return — they prevent almost every mix-up. Tick them off here, or print this page and keep a copy in the garage.
At check-out
Before it leaves the owner's hands:
At check-in
When it comes home:
Printing? Use your browser's Print command — this page prints cleanly, checklists included, with a short summary at the top.
What the status badges mean
Every status is a word, not just a color, so it's clear at a glance.
Ready to borrow — tap “Check out / request” on the item's card.
Out with a neighbor right now. The card shows only its due-back date — never who has it.
Due back within 2 days.
Past its due date and still out.
Set aside for a neighbor with a confirmed hold.
Being repaired or cleaned by the owner — not available right now.
A service the owner does for you when you ask — see Services above. No due date, nothing to return.
Borrowing safely — the neighbor agreement
Plain and simple. This is the deal we all make when we borrow or lend:
The short version
- 18+ for power tools. Power tools are lent to adults only — no exceptions.
- Only borrow what you can use safely. If you're not sure how something works, ask the owner to walk you through it, or skip it.
- Follow the manufacturer's instructions and wear the right PPE — eye protection, gloves, hearing protection — for the job.
- If something breaks, tell the owner right away. Normal wear happens and nobody's in trouble for honesty. Hiding it is the only real problem.
- Lost or badly damaged? The borrower is responsible for repair or replacement — work it out directly and neighborly with the owner.
Questions neighbors ask
The short answers — most point to the section with the full details.
Who can borrow from the 1st Street Tool Library?
Neighbors on and around S. 1st Street in Milwaukee, WI — and the wider Garden District. If you can get to a 1st Street porch or garage to pick up and drop off in person, you're in the neighborhood.
How long can I borrow something?
7 days is the standard loan, counted from pickup — see How it works. If an item's inventory row notes a different loan length, that row wins.
Can I renew / extend my loan?
Yes — ask the owner before your due date, and you'll get another loan period if nobody else is waiting or holding. See Renew / Extend under Borrow, return, renew & hold.
What if I'm late?
It happens, and it's genuinely OK — message the owner as soon as you know, and either set a new return time or renew. Joel / the owner will send friendly reminders along the way (see the note in How it works).
What if something breaks or gets lost?
Tell the owner right away — that's the whole rule. See the neighbor agreement above for how damage and loss are handled.
How do holds work?
Send the request form as a hold and agree on dates with the owner — once confirmed, the item is held for you for 3 days. See Place a hold above.
How do by-request items work — like printing and 3D printing?
See Services you can request — send your request or file, the owner makes or schedules it, then you arrange pickup or the service. No check-out, no due date, nothing to return.
Who supplies blades, bits, sandpaper, and fuel?
The borrower. Consumables — saw blades, drill bits, sandpaper, string-trimmer line, fuel — wear out with your project, so they're yours to supply and yours to keep. The tool itself comes back ready for the next neighbor.
Who can see my contact info?
Only what you put in the Sheet. Owners list a name and a contact method so borrowers can reach them — so only share details you're comfortable with neighbors seeing. Prefer not to list your phone or email publicly? Route requests through the organizer instead and note that on your row.
Don't see what you need?
Ask a neighbor — use the card just below. Plenty of items get listed because someone asked for them.
Don't see it? Ask a neighbor
Looking for something that isn't listed yet — a tile saw, a snow blower, a projector for a block-gathering movie night? Put the word out — asking is often how the best items end up listed on 1st Street.
Check the inventory, then askOwn a tool that sits idle?
Most tools get used a few weekends a year. List yours and it becomes the neighborhood's — offer it through the Add an Item form, and Joel confirms it, adds it to the inventory, and logs every loan.
List your first tool →