Lance Hand > Junior > English and Theological Studies > Regent University
There are few things more unsettling than meeting up with a group of friends only to find one of them wearing a missing piece of your wardrobe. An even more difficult situation could arise if the culprit is more of an acquaintance than a friend. It could be that you loaned some books to one of the neighbors in your hall for a summer class only to realize in the fall that they didn’t come back.
Or it could be that you’re the one with that problem. Have you ever decided to go through your closet only to find numerous items that don’t belong to you? Then it hits you that it’s possible that the owners of the items probably don’t think too highly of your lack of respect for their stuff? So how is one to deal with such awkward situations? The website ReturnMyPants.com just might have a solution for your lending and borrowing blues.
Returnmypants.com is a free website that allows members to keep track of their stuff as well as stuff they have borrowed from others. It is an extremely easy to use website that allows you to track multiple items and cuts down on the hassle of trying to keep a mental list of who has what. On the front page of the site, you are asked whether you are borrowing or lending. After you’ve made your decision you are asked to fill out some information regarding the person you are lending to or borrowing from and are asked to list the items being used. Next, you enter the email of the person you are dealing with and are asked whether or not you want to “keep them in the loop.” If you choose yes, they will be sent a friendly reminder when it comes close to the date you have set to receive what was borrowed back. Finally, you enter the length of time you will be lending or borrowing.
The website really “takes the pressure off a lender from remembering what they have loaned to someone else,” says Ryan VanLoon, a grad student at Regent University. There is no doubt that this service gets rid of a lot of guess work when it comes to trying to keep up with your stuff. However, you may want to use a little discretion when it comes to using the site. Beth Lowther, a senior at Valdosta State University says that using the website “could come across as very superficial and impersonal, especially when being used between friends.” It is possible that some friends could take offense to such a disconnected form of interaction. To help with this, let them know personally that by using the website you aren’t prematurely tagging them as a thief and are merely using the site for the benefit of both parties. In all actuality, if you’re that worried that the person you are lending to isn’t going to return your stuff, it may be best to avoid such a situation all together.
