About Freecycle

I've mentioned Freecycle in a couple of posts, so I thought I had some 'splainin' to do for those who've never heard of it. Freecycle is a yahoo group where people post things they're giving away. I've seen washers and dryers, toys, clothing, pets, coupons, books, just about everything given away. When you have an item or items you no longer need, but you'd like to see someone else use, you post it. I get anywhere from five to thirty-five repsonses, depending on the item. You just pick someone and they come get it.

On the other hand, when you see an item posted that you'd really like, you post a request, and they pick someone. I've been gifted filing cabinets, strawberry plants, cala lilies, vintage light fixtures--including an awesome glass chandelier and other cool stuff. The group in my city is over 2,000 members now. I'm in a large city and new members joined after there were announcements in major magazines.

To check and see if there is a Freecycle group in your city, you go to yahoogroups . com (scrunch that) -- if you're not registered at yahoo, you'll have to register with a password and a profile. Then where it says search for a group, you type in Freecycle - leave a space - and type the name of your city. It will bring up local groups, if any. We have suburbs near us which also have groups, and I'm on one of those, too. If you don't want 50 posts a day, set your mail to digest, so a whole day's mail comes in one post. Warning, though, you may miss something good if you're not watching. There are rules, and you'll have to be approved by the list mom. In my city there's a monthly luncheon where members get together, bring stuff to give away, and socialize. I've never had time to do that yet, but I will.

So, that's the skinny on Freecycle. If you are already a Freecycler or if you join, let me know.