Keeping things out of landfill and money in your bank account!
another eco-post
Freecycle is a simple service. It puts people who have stuff they don't want, in touch with, people who want stuff they don't have. I joined a little over a year ago, mainly because I love free stuff but trolling the free section on Craigslist was getting boring. You may have heard of them before, but chances are you have a few questions.
Is there one near you? There are literally hundreds of Freecycle groups mostly in the US but there are a few abroad as well. They function using yahoo! groups. You sign up for your local group and select if you will receive individual emails or a digest. I highly suggest getting individual emails, they aren't long and if you can have them sent to your work account you can delete most of them just by reading the title of the email.
What are these emails like? The emails are titled starting with their function; Offer (if it is an item up for grabs), Wanted (if it is an item being requested), PPU or Promised (when and item has been set aside for someone but not yet received, Taken (if an item previously up for grabs has been picked up). For Offer emails the title ends with the location of the item. Usually the body of the email is no more than a few lines. The reason I suggest individual emails is that thing can go fast! Sometimes the Offer and Promised emails for an item are only separated by a few minutes.
So, what is up for grabs? Well it has been a bit slow the past two days: a baby seat cover, a dresser (I missed out on that one), egg crate foam, a Mountain Bike (I didn't miss out on that one), a day planner, Zatchbell the card battle game, Hardcover books, a Bike Rack, a Crib, a high chair, a desk with hutch, coloring book, children's bike, x-box games, a shelf with pegs and more. The offers are different every day. A few consistent things tend to be children's items, clothing, toys and the like.
What have I gotten from Freecycle? Polaroid film, 3 pieces of wicker lawn furniture, a 5 foot by 3 foot mirror, a Mountain bike for Tim, a bread maker, a circular saw and a few other things. Not everything is going to be in perfect condition. Since the idea is to keep thing out of the landfills often people will offer things that can be easily fixed. The Bike I got for Tim needs the tires patched and possibly a new chain but definitely a tune up and some WD40 on the kick stand, but hey... it's free! Even if it needs new tires and a new chain it will stil cost less than a new bike.
Can you list anything? Well, yes, within reason. If you are offering something broken you are asked to include a desciption of the item and it's major malfunction. Someone posted a broken TV today saying it used to need to warm up, but now if you shake it you can hear glass jingling inside.
How do you sign up? Here is a link to the Framingham Freecycle group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/framinghamMAfreecycle/
you can also go to Yahoo.com, click on groups and search for a Freecycle group in your area.