Freecycle.org

[pegkerr]

I found out about this at poor_skills (which is a pretty neat community by the way). Go to Freecycle.org and check to see if there's a group in your area. Members post notices if they have something that they want to give away. For free. You'll be amazed at the stuff people are getting rid of. Couches, TVs, exercise equipment, garden stuff, kids toys and clothes, camping stuff, dishwashers, computers, musical instruments, stereos. The only requirement is that it has to be free. No bartering allowed. And at least in my local group, you can post a request for something you want, as long as you do it no more often than every two weeks. If you have kids about to leave for college, it's a great way for them to outfit a new apartment or dorm room.

I wish I'd known about this group when I spent so much time and effort trying to get rid of that stroller. It would have been snapped up immediately.

The purpose of the group is to help people out and keep stuff out of landfills. A terrific idea, and one I'm glad to promote.

Edited to add: For those of you in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, a friend e-mailed me to let me know about another organization, www.twincitiesfreemarket.org. Different group, same idea. He said that he's used it very successfully in the past.

Comments

[althea_valara]

Oh, excellent! My financial life has been rough these past two years, so this could really help. I will definitely be checking the site out. Thanks!

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

Freecycle is fabulous. We've given away everything from a bag of 1950s sewing magazines to an entire storage unit full of stained glass supplies. You can find some really cool offers on there, too.

WOW.

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for posting this!!

Re: WOW.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I added to my original entry: apparently there's another group in the Twin cities, too: www.twincitiesfreemarket.org, which another friend also recommended.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is fantastic, and there's a big group here in Anchorage, too. Thanks!

[kokopoko.livejournal.com]

I've use the group here in Sioux Falls to get rid of bikes, toddler beds, etc.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I find it inexplicable that the Twin Cities Freecycle group is a yahoogroups mailing list with a locked archive. This means that users not only have to join the mailing list, they also have to establish a yahoogroups ID in order to read past posts. Could they make it any harder to use?

www.twincitiesfreemarket.org wants people to register before allowing access to the posts about stuff to give away.

Whatever is the point of making people jump through hoops in order to have access to this gift economy?

K.

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I just joined my local.