A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Recycle/Freecycle

There is a movement across the country called freecycling. Basicly you offer for free items you no longer need to someone who can use them. That way your item does not end up in the landfill and continues to be used by someone who needs it.

I've given away lots of what I thought was junk but someone had a need for it.

In turn I've picked up some neat stuff. My monitor died and someone was getting ready to pitch their old one. I got one for free and saved the landfill. A family moved into a house and had a bunch of black plastic flower pots left by the previous tenant. I got 300 (she said there were 20-30) pots ranging from 6" to 7 gallon for my backyard nursery. Oh I almost forgot, I found a guy who will keep me suppled with rabbit droppings for my plants.

My local freecycle is a yahoo group. Do some searching around and you will find one in your local area.

My motto has always been "if it's free it's for me", but it is nice to put your unwanted/unused items back in to circulation.

Dave G

I belong to my local one and have gotten rid of alot of useful items I didn't need anymore In return I have received things I needed or wanted,plants too!

They have chapters all over the place so there should be one near you.

Freecycle

G-Mom

I really think that is an AWESOME IDEA!!!!
Glad someone came up with it!!!!

Thank~You for sharing that one,
I emailed that site to alot of people this
morning on my email list..

What a great way to help, all the way around!!!

Weezie

I just went to Toronto's group. I can't figure out how to see the messages.

Maybe I have to 'sign up'.

Freecycle is wonderful!! And great to see all the things getting new homes. I got a dog treat dispenser that looks like a bubble gum machine which cost too much for me to BUY for my pups. But FREE it's great.

Found a home for an eagle sized bird feeder my mother gave me when she realized it was too big for her tiny patio. Since it would take huge bags of seed to keep up with it and we don't have a good spot for it, a lovely lady and her children gave it a good home with the other birdfeeders everywhere in her yard.

You do have to sign up to join. If it's an active group, the offers will come fast and furious. I usually like digests for most of my list email, but they don't really work when you have a particular need for there are often numerous requests for the same item. It will be gone long before you even see it on a digest.

Our group had about 30 members when I joined early in the summer and now is over 1500. I've so much stuff already I don't need anything more so I went to a "no-mail" status which allows me to check the offers periodically. Now that I'm planning to garden again, I'll have to start looking for gardening stuff. DH left most of ours when I was transferred here and he stayed to finish the move. Guess he was trying to tell me something.

Hope y'all join and have a wonderful time.

Ann

I joined a few days ago, and just did my first freecycle today! Someone wanted JCPenney 10$ off coupons, of which I had two, so just popped 'em in the mail. It feels great knowing someone's going to get some use out of something even if you won't!

Yep - we do that. Been doing it for years. You end up with a lot of stuff you won't use, but just put it outside 'uncovered' with the garbage and somebody else can pick it up.

We rarely have to buy a monitor when our computers break down - there's always somebody who tossed theirs out when they got a new one.

Jeff strips stuff for parts - small vacumn cleaners, etc.

I'm sure somebody can come up with a creative way to make planters out of the shells of monitors that are just too far gone? I've thought about it.

OK - lemme' think . . . why don't I go completely bananas. I'll round up all the discarded monitors, arrange them in a big circle and put plants that don't mind having no sun in them. Picture it - a circle of plants on t. v. A nice big avocado growing in the centre - ha ha!

There's all those copies of National Geographic too - 10 cents each at yard sales in the summer.

If you actually get a whole Volume together then you've got something to sell someday. My better behalf tosses 'em out on me - ha ha! I just go out to the bin and bring 'em back in.

Same thing with Readers Digest - those hardcovers - everybody has a few of those. My dad used to save them. I don't have room for them and don't read them (don't like that condensed thing much). If I had the room I'd collect them and try for a full collection.

Think of the things that can be collected - Mad Magazines, etc.

I don't like the way computers are replacing people in jobs much but I do like the idea of a paperless world - we're moving toward it now. It's good to have books - real books, I know, and I doubt we'll ever stop lining our shelves with them. But some paper stuff? Piffle - there's no need to send out flyers with nothing on the backs of them.

I often find myself forgetting to take my writing journal along to the workshop on Saturdays - when it comes time to do the writing sessions, I go into the lobby of the library and grab some flyers that tell of events which have expired. There's always room to write on them.

Glad to see that so many people have had positive experiences with Freecycle.

I'm collecting Freecycle success stories for an upcoming TV interview. If you have a story you wouldn't mind sharing with a local Ottawa, Canada TV audience, please send it along to:

freecycle.success.stories@gmail.com

Thanks for your help!