How to Budol Responsibly, According to Home Buddies' Mayora

(SPOT.ph) Addressing millions of Home Buddies members, founder Frances Cabatuando thanked the community for recommending an alternative to a disposable plastic kitchen sink mesh she's using for a more sustainable budol find: a reusable, eco-friendly sink strainer. It's metal, she said, so it wouldn't add to the rising amount of plastic waste. 

Cabatuando, or fondly called by Home Buddies members as Mayora, has been the face of budol since 2020 when the pandemic struck and she created the group for Filipinos who were forced to stay at home with nothing to do but home improvements. The Facebook community isn't just about Mayora and her tanods' budol; it's also about other members' home hacks too, she said.

"I like this community because I learn a lot. I like that people know the difference between teaching and shaming. I appreciate that I am called out when I am wrong, because I hold influence that affects the [lives] of others," she said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, February 15. 

Also read: Why is Home Buddies on Facebook a Hit? We Asked the 'Mayora'

Tips on How to Budol Responsibly, According to Home Buddies' Mayora

It's been three years since Cabatuando founded Home Buddies from her 38-square-meter condo unit at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, the community grew to more than 3.1 million and now has a sister group, Hangout Buddies, for kapitbahays looking for travel hacks and tips now that the pandemic has eased. Topics have also evolved from interior designs and DIYs to repair hacks and selling pre-loved items.

Mayora's influence is evident in thousands of #TeamPuti/#TeamKahoy homes where air fryers, inverter aircon, DIY mirrors from SM, and Irish Spring soap bars are tied to the aircon units as an affordable alternative to home fragrances. This doesn't make her an influencer; she's a community manager who takes the best practices of Home Buddies members and shares them with the rest of the group, she told SPOT.ph.

"Lagi kong sinasabi na budol responsibly para at the end of the day, if we recommend in Home Buddies, I still tell them na do your own research kasi all recommendations naman ay personal recommendations pa rin. It's not one-size-fits-all even if it's an aircon, even if it's an electric fan, even the smallest kutsilyo."

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Here are some of Mayora's tips on how to be smarter with budol:

Be mindful of your budget

"Make a list of ano lang ba talaga ang kailangan and find the best one that your money can afford from the list," she said.

Avoid cheap budol

Think twice before you add-to-cart another cheap budol as it could cost you more in the long run if its quality is substandard and you'll have to buy a new one to replace it.

Purchase quality products

It can be more expensive but if your budget permits, do buy quality products that last longer than cheap finds especially if it's essential to your home.

"Meron kasi talagang quality na feeling mo disposable. Cute lang pero parang hindi siya 'yung perfect fit so ako, if you have money, choose few appliances; you don't have to buy everything."

Avoid buying multiple appliances with the same purpose

So your friends are urging you to get that air fryer, but do you really need it? Maybe it depends on what you need to prepare but if you have an oven toaster or range oven at home which basically does what an air fryer can do, you can skip this purchase, Cabatuando said.

"If your money only allows you to buy an oven, just buy an oven. Don't buy an air fryer. Kung gusto mo talaga ng air fryer, then buy just one na maganda then get rid na of the oven toaster, the waffle maker, [and] everything else. Even with pans, you don't need all pans. Just get one pan that is multi-purpose."

How the Mayora Creates a Safe Space for Virtual Neighbors

Managing Home Buddies—one of, if not the biggest community of Filipino home enthusiasts on Facebook where members are posting "not to brag, but to inspire"—can sometimes be challenging for Cabatuando. Behind a well-maintained group are posts that need thoughtful screening, kinda like how Nadine Lustre does it in the movie Deleter, she said.

On one hand, she is balancing the sentiments of members. Declined posts are sometimes met with hostility, even personal attacks. House rules are there for a reason, and violations meant posts wouldn't be approved.

"Minsan may threats in my inbox 'Mayora, balang araw may makakatapat ka rin' or basta, minimura ako, sasabihan ako na ang damot ko, ang sakim ko raw, feeling ko raw maganda ako. Minsan physical attacks. Parang, ano'ng ginawa ko sa inyo?" she said.

On the other, she's also dealing with the expectations of brands that want to tap into its millions of followers. "When brands support me, they're not just supporting one post. They're supporting the ecosystem of Home Buddies."

The group has grown from being a budol page to a virtual community, she said. Here, members who share the love of home improvements trust others enough to discuss family matters and celebrate successes in life, said Cabatuando.

"You also get a lot of relationship questions and stories kasi parang feel nila, belong na belong sila sa community. They don't see it as just a Facebook group e, kasi we have established na magkakapitbahay so that's why people also share their love stories."

"There's more emotion, there's more trust in people, mag-o-open up ako even legal problems nila, even kapitbahay problems nila, parang mas open sila to those," she said.

Just recently, two mag-kapitbahays announced they found love in Home Buddies. And like a supportive Filipino community, Home Buddies members, including Mayora, celebrated their love story.

"As long as there is something that extends outside social media, I will keep doing Home Buddies."