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

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.