Freecycle ROCKS

Freecycle.

What is it?
Think about it. It's a combination of the words 'free' and 'recycle.'

I don't know who started it, or when, or where (Google it if you want to know). But, I do know that I love it.

The entire premise of Freecycle is that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

The goal is to decrease the amount of items going into landfills each year.

The other day I saw a TV by the trash cans of one of my neighbor's homes. I knocked on their door and asked if it worked. They said it did. They had been trying to give it away but no one wanted it (it's not a flat screen you see). So I asked if I could take it and 'Freecycle' it. After explaining what the heck Freecycle was, they said YES.

I posted the TV on Freecycle and 24 hours later someone came and picked it up from outside my garage. I posted an email that it was available, someone replied. They said they'd pick it up today at 11. So at 10am I put it outside my garage. And by 11:30 it was gone. I didn't even have to talk to the person face-to-face (although you could if you wanted).

This week I also Freecycled a bag of women's clothing, a bag of men's clothing, a box of kitchen items, and a bag of penny coin rolls.

My husband was skeptical of this whole thing when I wanted to Freecycle a box of his old shoes. He was embarrassed to offer anyone his 'junk.' I convinced him to let me try to Freecycle them. They were claimed and picked up. A few days later I received an email of thanks from an older farmer who owned a small local farm. He said that the shoes were perfect. That he went through shoes quickly working on the farm and needed junk shoes to work in the mud. He was so grateful. I read this email to my husband and he's been a Freecycle lover ever since.

I urge you to start Freecycling too.

Search for Freecycle in your city. Join and read the rules (you have to post things in a certain format) and start making this earth a better place for tomorrow.