Freecyle matches one person’s trash to another’s treasures while at the same time saving our landfills. It is set up by geography so that one can easily come to your place to pick up the item(s) you want to give away. These communities are all over the United States; if you want to know if there is a community near you, click here. Once you sign up as a user in your local community, you can post online something you want to give away or something you need. You might think, “This is complicated. I will just go to Goodwill.” First, some things are not appropriate for Goodwill. Second, you usually won’t have to leave your home to get rid of the goods. Additionally, once you enter your first post on Freecycle, I am confident you will be an avid user.
Daily, I receive an email from my Freecycle community with posts of things people need for themselves or want to give away to others, and I have found both have been quite useful. For example, I had a cat bed and a dozen first-class airline bags to give away. I posted them on Freecycle, and within minutes, I received emails from people who wanted these items. Another time, I decided to review what others might need and found a woman who wanted shopping bags for her business. I was thrilled! These bags – you know, the ones from Banana Republic, The Container Store, etc. – are not necessarily recyclable, but they pile up quickly and take up space. I responded to her email and within a few days, she picked them up.
Check out Freecycle.org in your local community. It’s for a good cause, and they truly stand by their mission of reducing waste and freeing up landfills!
Second Tuesday 