Ever Heard of Freecycle?
Posted in Your Money on 03. Sep, 2009
I wish I had discovered freecycle.org a long, long time ago! I just received my daily digest for today’s freecyle, and it occurred to me that perhaps some of you have not yet heard of this great site.
The Freecycle Network is an internet based group that is broken down into different local chapters. The general idea is to “recycle” your used goods among other members. For instance, if I have a bag of baby clothes I won’t use again, I will post this offer on freecycle, among the other posts of the day. Members view their group’s page, and can see the available items that are listed. People will reply to your post, explaining that they’d love to come pick up that bag of baby clothes. This is a GREAT group, since you can both give and receive. Rather than taking a bunch of stuff to Goodwill as one more errand to run, I can just post it on freecycle, sift through the replies, and ultimately leave it on my doorstep for another person to pick up.
I have given away a lot of stuff on Freecycle that I would have otherwise driven over to Goodwill or even thrown away. Giving things away on Freecycle is much more satisfying because (a) you know who is receiving your old stuff, and why they need it, and (b) there is no need to drive your stuff over to Goodwill or waste it by throwing it away – people will swing by and pick something off your porch for you.
In addition to the benefit of conveniently getting rid of your stuff, here are some great finds I’ve personally found (and picked up) from my local Freecycle chapter:
- A crib mattress, in “like new” condition
- Brand new Coach flip flops (a rarity, but hey – I got them!!!)
- Bags and bags of clothes for my kids
- Leftover party supplies for my kids’ birthdays (streamers, signs, balloons)
- Frames for pictures
I encourage you to join your local freecycle group, because as they say, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
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