On a sunny fall day my family was out cleaning the garage. Once in a while we do this and are amazed at what we find. This time it was a lovely green plastic tractor-trailer, big enough for a five year but too small for my teenagers. We also had a few bicycles they'd outgrown, a street hockey net, you know, the usual stuff.
I called the mother of the only five year old I know close by, my friend Linda. Linda is the owner of Simply Back to Basics, a professional organizing business. Linda and her daughter came by to take a look at the tractor. While Megan test drove it, I complained that I had no idea what to do with the other items since Goodwill wouldn't take them.
"Freecycle!" Linda said. She wrote about this cool organization on her Simply Back to Basics blog …
Freecycle is a great way to de-clutter your home by giving your things a
new life in someone else's arms. Money cannot be exchanged in the
process of freecycling. The benefit is feeling good that you have
cleared your clutter without contributing to the landfill and that you
make someone else very happy. Plus, it's a lot of fun when you get cool
stuff for free. I have met many really neat, generous people in my
short two months of freecycling. I am amazed at what people are sharing
and it seems to be contagious!
Freecycle states: "Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."
What a concept! Like eBay without Paypal. I can't wait to try it out.
