This week I used Freecycle for the first time and was delighted with the results. First of all I was amazed that the place I live even had Freecycle and secondly I was pleased that it gives me an outlet for items that would otherwise be difficult to find homes for. Let me explain…
I listed three items, two if which were a box of baseball cards and a guitar amplifier that doesn’t work. As you can see neither of these items is suitable to send to a charity because they only want stuff in working condition and baseball cards would be a bit obscure to say the least for an Australian thrift shop to off load (baseball isn’t that popular here). I didn’t think these two items would float on ebay either so I put them on Freecycle along with a CD/DVD rack that didn’t sell on ebay.
I was expecting that the CD/DVD rack would be the most popular item but lo and behold the first thing to be claimed was the baseball cards and there was more than one person dare I say excited at the prospect. The amplifier which I listed as “for parts only does not work” was the next item to go and once again more than one person was willing. Then finally the lady who is picking up the baseball cards emailed and asked if she could also have the DVD rack if it was still available.
I am so pleased that I have now an outlet to find new purpose for items that are too good to throw away but not suitable for other methods of disposal. Just because something doesn’t work doesn’t mean it’s parts can’t be salvaged and just because something is a little obscure doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there who would love to have it. I love Freecycle and will utilise it again in the future I am sure.
ITEM 156 OF 365 LESS THINGS
This is the CD/DVD rack that went to a new home today thanks to Freecycle
I love Freecycle — have been using it for about a year. It is even more convenient than donating to thrift shops because people will come to your house to pick up unwanted items. I also love that you can choose who to give items to — someone may be in real need of whatever you have to offer. Also, I like to choose people in my neighborhood when possible to cut down on the amount of driving people have to do (thus lowering the “carbon footprint”). Good luck!
Hi Ashley,
I generally use the first in best dressed approach but you have a point about the cardon footprint I will keep that in mind in the future. You are right about it being very convenient for people to come to you to take your clutter away.
Thanks for an inspiring blog – I’ve now started documenting what we’re getting rid out of the house!
I used to use freecycle but found it difficult to manage when you’re giving away a popular item (lots of emails!). Have you tried yoink.com? It was recently developed in Canberra. I’ve given away quite a few things on there. I think my record has been about 20 minutes – someone yoinked two of my items within 20 minutes, which is great 🙂
Hi Ruth,
thanks for your comment. I haven’t had a lot of experience with freecycle yet but the three item I did list I only received 3 responses for each so I wasn’t inundated, thank goodness. I must admit two of them were quite obscure though. I had a quick look at yoink and it looks like another great alternative so I have bookmarked it for future reference. thanks for the tip.
I have a lot of experience with freecycle but with my time there I found a few things that I didn’t really like so I stopped using the site. My friend told me about the site http://www.freetreasure.com.au and it has actually been really usefull for me to give my free stuff away. It takes about 30 seconds to post an item online and usually within minutes i’ve got offers for it so i can choose a time and date that suits me to get rid of it. Suggest you all check it out.
Thank you for that suggestion John, I did have a bit of a look but it doesn’t seem to be very popular yet. It won’t get that way though if people don’t know about it so I will link to it this Friday. I will keep watching it and perhaps list something myself to get the ball rolling in my area.