crossposted from
unbossed
Drowning in stuff? Poor but need stuff? Want to step off the capitalist treadmill? Don't buy into the idea that buying stuff is the best way to express your love of country? Want to live more lightly on the earth?
Then consider Freecycle.
I first learned about Freecycle from an amateurish flyer posted on a natural foods store bulletin board. I had just moved and was living amidst mountains of flattened mover's boxes and wrapping paper. There were specialized boxes - ones for hanging garments from closets, making it so much easier to unpack - just hang them up. There were boxes for glassware and breakables.
Very re-usable and not something that should be trashed or even recycled. It costs something to make the boxes, transport the boxes, and either to trash or recycle the cardboard.
Plus there just had to be some people who were moving and needed these very boxes. It would save them time and energy and gas running around to find a box here and a box there. And anyone who is moving knows that time and energy are in short supply.
But how to let them know?
Karma seemed to have intervened with that Freecycle flyer. It was a few days before the recycling would be picked up, so I decided to give it a try by really recycling the boxes and paper.
To cut to the chase, within 1 [one] 1 day they were gone.
Graduating graduate students on their way to their first job took some. Other people with other needs took others. They were thrilled at the nice quality of the boxes, made just for moving and not for vegetables or copier paper. I was thrilled to no longer have the Boxine Mountain Range in my house.
The rule for Freecycle is that everything exchanged must be free.
In the couple weeks since I've joined Freecycle, I get an email about twice a week with things offered or things asked for. An amazing array of things that are getting another life and not going into the trash just now.
It is a national organization with local branches. According to its website, there are 3,721 FreecycleTM Communities and 2,437,841FreecycleTM Members.
But let Freecycle speak for itself:
The Freecycle NetworkTM is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on the region on the left. You may then go directly to your local group by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Can't find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on "Start a Group" for instructions). Have fun!
The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure!
When you want to find a new home for something -- whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door -- you simply send an e-mail offering it to members of the local Freecycle group.
Or, maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to a member's offer, and you just might get it. After that, it's up to the giver to decide who receives the gift and to set up a pickup time for passing on the treasure.
Our main rule: Everything posted must be free, legal, and appropriate for all ages.
Non-profit organizations also benefit from The Freecycle Network. Post the item or items you want to give away and specify that you wish the gift to go to a nonprofit cause. It's entirely your choice! It's a free cycle of giving.
Think globally, recycle locally. The Freecycle Network is open to all communities and to all individuals who want to participate. Freecycle groups are moderated by local volunteers from across the globe who facilitate each local group - grassroots at its best! Tell a friend about FreecycleTM!
And I just did.
If it is that easy to hook up boxes and the people who want them, just consider how useful this is for you to get the "things you are hanging on to because they are too nice to put in the trash but that you do not need" to the people who want and need them.