my food site is weber_cam

September 9, 2006

Composting is very in these days

Freecycle.org is a site where you can get rid of things you no longer need but don't want to pitch. You must give them away for free though. It's a clever set-up. You check the site to see if a chapter exists in your area and the transactions are done via a Yahoo! group (Columbus). You have to apply to the group and it's moderated, so don't try to palm off your inflatable dolls or anything. It's a serious effort to get rid of stuff that would otherwise go into a landfill.

Friday morning I took a shot at getting rid of our compost bin before we move. I posted it and within 10 minutes had about 20 interested parties and by the end of the day, over 30! After I chose someone (not a brief exercise), I instructed them (by personal email) to pick up the bin outside my garage. They came, it went, gone. No tax write-off but at least it was used by someone who appreciated it and it didn't get pitched. I was then obliged to post the same item as "Taken" and delete the original "Offer".

Give it a shot sometime, tons of stuff to get too (your first post, however, must be an "Offer" of something rather than a "Wanted"). But remember, it's members only and totally worth the short wait for approval of membership; that's to keep things a bit safer. The transaction of giving something away is done at a residence, so an additional layer of screening is prudent.

It's very cool.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, Freecycle is very cool!! But just try getting something... It's no easy task, I tell you!! Glad you got rid of your compost bin, and sooooo sorry that it wasn't me picking it up!! :-)

Anonymous said...

I'm on the verge of getting rid of some tires too! I'm so hooked. I found the more obscure the object, the easier it is to give away. I'm now going to try to find a loft bed for my little girl on it. Wish me luck.

CJ said...

We're on a toddler bed search! I love freecycle! Who doesn't love free stuff?!?! And it's SO much easier than Ebay!!

Anonymous said...

That's funny, we've been trying to hunt down a loft bed. Nothing yet. I have given away a good chunk of our garage holdings though. A mom just picked up some tires I was trying to get rid of for her son. What a mom.