If you have unused items in your home (and who doesn't?), a wonderful way to get rid of them is to use Freecycle. Freecycle is a form of recycling, using the Internet. Freecycle groups are formed by geographical location, and there are more every day, so chances are good that there is one near you.
To find a Freecycle group near you, go to http://groups.yahoo.comThere, in the middle of the page, under "Join A Group", is a Search box. In that box, type Freecycle and the name of your state (for example, Freecycle Michigan).
You will then get a list of all the Freecycle groups in your state. If you live in or near a reasonably large town (20,000 and up), enter BOTH the name of your state and the name of your town, and you will be able to restrict your search results to your local area and cut down on the number of results.
The list of Freecycle groups in your state will tell you the total number of groups (at the top and bottom), and will have a clickable link to each group. Select a group to see exactly what geographic area it covers.
Once you have determined the appropriate group, all you need to do is to click on that group's link and join the group, using the big button named, surprisingly enough, "Join This Group!" Click on that button, and you will be given instructions for joining. You can opt to have the group's emails sent to your email account, or you can read the email on the web site.
This is a terrific way to have people come to your house and take away your unwanted items. No hassle with a garage sale or hauling the items to the dump.
By Darren M.
I gave up on it. In this area at least more people were begging for stuff or selling stuff rather than giving stuff away. (11/27/2004)
By Anna
There is actually a group called Freecycle and they have a web site. I think the Yahoo groups stem off this organization and I'm not sure if everywhere worldwide. Freecycle Network group has a Yahoo group. It is now in 1,841 cities with 673,506 members. If you go to their site and click on the "Start a Group" button, you will be able to search for existing groups and can see if there is one in your area.
Happy freecycling.
Kathy
(11/27/2004)
It's great. It has really helped us. We started one out here in our small town, too. I also see a post before mine where someone was "selling" and "buying"? They should be banned. Read the rules. Everything is "free". Have a fun and cheap day.
~OOO~ (11/27/2004)
By Bill
I want to give some wood away--How do I do that?
Editor's Note: Go to freecycle.org and look for a group in your area. I think you can search by zip code. Sign up for a Freecycle account in your area. Offer it as a free wood and give a description. Wait for emails to come in, usually they do fairly quickly. You can pick and choose from those emails who you would like to receive it. Sometimes charitable organizations will contact you or someone who really needs wood. Another thing you can do is look for someone who is needing wood and respond to them. (07/21/2007)
By Beve
If you like the idea of Freecycle, but don't want to join a group and have to monitor emails to see what's available, check out this site:hammydown.org
It's Freecycle, with search and geographic info. It's brand new, so please check it out, add some items, and leave some feedback. Thanks. (01/07/2009)
By Mike V
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