Introducing Freecycle!

Hey, I haven't mentioned freecycle before, but I should introduce you to it. It's that great organization (rather loosely-knit) that aims to keep things out of landfills by encouraging people to give them away. OK, to be more concise: if I have something I no longer need, but is still in good shape, I list it on the local freecycle site, which then sends an email around to all members telling them my item is available. If anyone wants it, they send me a message expressing interest. I then write to one of the respondents and arrange pickup. The recipient then picks up the item and it's then theirs. No money changes hands, and everyone benefits (me, because I got the thing out of my house, and them, because they got something they needed/wanted for free!). It's a win-win propostion. Of course you need to be careful, and I am. I don't use my name, only an "alias," and although I do usually have pickup at my house, I always mention my very large dog and that although he's barking inside the window, as long as the front door is shut they should be fine. (Did I mention that my dog is a 100-lb Newf mix, who (although loveable to the core), has a VERY intimidating bark?).

Anyway, I love freecycle 'cause you can rid yourself of sooo much stuff, like clothes, toys, furniture, household stuff, and even food (!). Some folks have recently posted things like unused baby formula mix (the dry stuff) and diet food from those companies that help you lose weight (that one made me wonder why the person didn't want/need it anymore? did they fail to reach their goal and gave up? did they meet their goal and now eat other stuff? did they buy it and decide they couldn't eat it for some reason? oh the possibilities make my mind spin...).

When you post an "offer," the responses you receive are often interesting. Most people tell you why they want the thing you're offering, and that's what intrigues me. Why exactly do you want my bucket of old baseballs? Or my custom-made curtains that may not fit anything other than my window? Why do you want my son's old school shoes? Do you really give my kids' old books to your pre-school class in an Abbott District? Will your kids really fix our dead basketballs and use them in your yard? And what about those slate tiles from my yard? Will you really use them to finish your backyard project? I do wonder sometimes...

And often people post "wanted" messages, and those can be fun too. The usual requests are things like "kids clothes size xxx," and "computer, any operating system as long as it works," but sometimes you see really odd ones, like "cell phone charger for Nokia phone model xxx," or "car or truck, recent," (!) or "flat screen tv (recent)." That one shocked me. The whole idea you'd ask for something as specific - and as recent and as expensive - as a flat-screen tv just floors me. That is NOT what freecycle is about, in my book. It's one thing to give that away, but it seems rather... I don't know... selfish? to ask for one for free. Maybe I'm wrong there...

Anyway, if you're interested in clearing out some stuff and want to get it to people who'll use and appreciate it, try our local freecycle chapter at yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeholdNJFreecycle/ You have to become a yahoo member and then "request" membership, but that's all easy.

One proviso about freecycle: you can NOT sell the stuff you get. The purpose of the organization is to keep useable stuff from ending up in landfills, and part of the rules is your acknowledgement that you won't sell the stuff you receive. I understand it's happened before, and it was not taken well by the members of the group. Everyone is very nice and civil, but they are that way because there's a certain level of trust among the members, and as such they expect everyone to obey the rules. Don't, and everyone will know really fast...

Give it a shot! You'll be surprised at what you can get rid of (and what you can get!!!).

PS Most fun thing I've gotten from freecycle: a couple of Commodore 64 computers with all the peripherals (power cords, printers, etc). Who would have thought that anyone would have kept them this long? What are they, maybe 25 years old? 30? That's why I loooooooove freecycle!