Please, sir, may I deposit a minute of your time?

Another bright idea featured in Sunset Magazine, timebanks are popping up around the country. Basically, members sign up and pay a small fee and then contribute time doing something they're good at or enjoy doing (or, ideally, both). That time is recorded into the member's account so that the member can withdraw it as hours of work being done for him or her. In other words, if I spend 4 fours weeding your garden, I can then ask for 4 hours of window washing from someone else.

The website has a directory of timebanks, but none have been set up in the Long Beach area yet. There's a start-up kit for $65. Maybe something to talk about at the block-wide yard sale next week. Next week! I better start with the price tags!