Saturday, April 05, 2008

Freecycling

Do you know about this? I discovered it some time ago and have been enamored of the idea since. Just the other day I discovered that there is a local group of Freecyclers so I signed up.

Freecycle Network is a not for profit movement designed to keep stuff out of landfills. It's about reusing things that still have good use. It is totally free to join.

I have a number of baby oriented items that I need to move on now that the children are older. They aren't worth listing on Trade Me (my ambivalent feelings about that site aside) and yet somebody could use them. Most of the folks I know no longer need the items in question so I can't pass them on to a friend like I normally would.

So last week I put on an old LL Bean backpack we were given. It was worn, faded and hardly flash, but I had lots of interest in it. I also offered a baby recliner/rocker thing that we'd had for 4 years. Again - heaps of interest. It gave me a good feeling to choose someone to give these items to, and know that they would be used rather than go into landfill. Haven't managed to pas on my pile of maternity sewing patterns yet :-)

Why not see if there is a freecycling group in your area?

The types of things being offered are varied. So far I've seen fejoas, desks, laptops, fridges, freezers, plastic containers, wooden blinds, Kodak Camera dock and net curtains.
You can also ask for things. So far the wanted items have been varied too! Clothes, fridges, freezers, modems, fejoas for wine making, old copper hot water cylinder...

Give it a go!

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:27 pm

    Thanks for putting me on to Freecycle. I have just aplied to join my local group. I think should be fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous1:42 pm

    I have recently heard of this too, and it does sound like a great concept. With the increase postage prices and exorbitant Trade Me fees, it really isn't worth selling used baby clothes on there (in my opinion) so this is a good way to pass on things to people who need them AND get something out of it yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cool huh, i signed up to ours awhile ago and love seeing the different things finding new beginnings :)
    Gorgeous pages BTW, i have yet to try crackle paint...behind the times i know :-O

    ReplyDelete
  4. hmmm, nothing for Queenstown.

    bought some crackle paint last weekend :-) must use it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GREAT idea and resource! Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete