The World of Freecycle: Perpetual Gifting

Have you experienced the world of Freecycling yet? I am talking about a wonderful, somewhat addictive, free site called www.freecycle.org. As the name indicates, it is a combination of recycling your old items instead of throwing them away to end up in our landfills, and giving away the item for free. It is run through Yahoo Groups and is open to everyone who is sincere about giving their unusable items to people who can really use it. In other words, taking people’s things for resale is against the rules.

As a single parent, I found it to be useful in giving away heavy and large objects that I couldn’t maneuver into my SUV by myself. Case in point, I had a long six-drawer dresser that I no longer needed. I only had to move it to my front yard, post an “offer” on freecycle.com, and like magic it was picked up the same day. It went to a family with many kids who needed more drawer space. Two dilemmas solved in one day. How cool is that?

It goes back to…one person’s junk is another person’s treasure.

I have given many items away on Freecycle, and for the longest time I did not take anything in return. But one day someone offered a set of fireplace tools they no longer needed and it just so happened that my old set was not in the best of shape. So I wrote back saying I was interested and was told that she had chosen me to receive the item. That’s how it works…someone posts, receives emails from interested parties, and makes a selection. 99% of the people who Freecycle put their items out on their front porch so it makes it very easy to swing by and just pick it up (this addresses safety concerns, too). Well, I must say that my fireplace tools look wonderful and match my decor perfectly. In fact, since my older set was replaced, I Freecycled it to someone who had no tools at all!

In the past year I have given many items away, but I have also received the following items from generous souls:

• a set of men’s golf clubs for my son
• a box of sewing patterns (I Freecycled what I couldn’t use)
• a tent case for a tent that my son inherited
• a white bookshelf with 6 shelves for my scrapbooking room
• an Illuminations 6-pillar candleholder with crystals
• a brand new Ralph Lauren pillow top for my guest room mattress
• recycled items used as craft supplies (see Crafts Using Drink Mix Containers)
• a beautiful floral centerpiece for my living room (see photo below)
• and many miscellaneous items that I have used such as vases, candles, cordless drill, clothing, etc.

My personal golden rule using Freecycle is this: For every item I am fortunate enough to receive, I give back one or more items I am not using. This keeps the sense of fairness in check for me, and also eliminates the fact that I could easily end up with a lot of clutter.

There are Freecycle Groups within certain geographic areas, and once you find your local Group you must sign up through Yahoo Groups. Your local moderator will send you an instruction email, but here are the four simple words to remember in the giving and receiving process:

• OFFER (used to describe the item you have available for pick-up)
• WANTED (used to describe the item you are looking for)
• TAKEN (used to let the Group know that your item has been picked up and is no longer available for OFFER)
• RECEIVED (used to let the Group know that someone has given you the item you WANTED)

It's as simple as that!

There are pros and cons to Freecycling, but mostly pros. It feels good to purge things not being used, knowing that someone out there is looking for exactly what you have! And it feels good to acquire something new for your home or personal use that is usable and free! Win-win.

The only cons that seem to occur are 1) people who are a bit greedy and either ask for everything for free or try to take everything (probably for resale which is against the rules); and, 2) those folks that are called "no-shows." These are people who you have requested to receive your items to but never show up to collect. It's really a "mind over matter" requirement to overcome these two downsides and having some patience. Don't sweat the small stuff.  The good that comes of helping families, or possible acquiring new items for yourself, far outweighs these obstacles.

So tell me, do you Freecycle? What was your greatest treasure found?