Save our environment by giving and getting stuff for free
By Pinyo • Sep 13th, 2007 • Category: Frugal LivingSome of you may already know about The Freecycle Network. Over the weekend, my wife and I visited our friends in New Jersey. We discussed how companies make so many products for babies and parents now that it is very easy to overspend. During the conversation, he indicated that many of the baby’s things are hands-me-down, or free stuff from their local Freecycle group.
I did a little research after I came back, and according to The Freecycle Network:
Welcome! The Freecycle Network is made up of 4,111 groups with 3,822,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!
What about other options?
- Trash – Easy. But this is not good for the environment. If it is not picked up by someone before the trash man comes, it is going to the landfill.
- eBay — You have to pay to list the item, monitor the auction, and there is no guarantee that it will sell. Also, shipping is not an option for bulky items like sofas, drawers, and beds
- Craiglist — This is a good option. You buy and sell locally, and usually, there is no shipping involved. Here is Gather Little By Little’s Guide to Craiglist.
- Donation — This is another good option. You can ask local charity to pick up your stuff and you can inexpensively buy stuff from their thrift shops. The total value of donated items is also tax-deductible.
Well, if you have unwanted but usable items, or if you need something and do not want to spend any money, give The Freecycle Network a try. Last time I browsed, I saw bed, drawer, crib, and men’s hybrid bicycle being offered.
What can be more frugal than free?
Carnivals:
- This article was featured in the Festival Of Frugality #92 - Ideas For Saving Money And Increasing Your Income hosted by No Credit Needed. For more information please visit the Festival of Frugality.
All posts by Pinyo
I try to give free stuff away on Craigslist. However recently, I’ve gotten very turned off by it. Alot of people flake out and end up not showing up. It’s really quite rude. I find that if you even charge a minimal cost, people are more responsible…
Dong, that’s very interesting. This is the same reason why many organizations also do not accept free volunteers. They think volunteers are less reliable because there is no money involved. Thanks for adding that comment!
I’m a big fan of giving to the Salvation Army for two reasons: 1, I get a tax break, and 2, they do really good work. I’m with dong - craigslist really creeps me out sometimes. You get some really unpleasant people out of that site sometimes…
@Brip Blap — I give to Salvation Army as well for the same reasons. I agree, we have to be careful with who we deal with on the Net — there are some really shady characters out there.
We love giving away stuff to our Thrift Store, we have many needy families around.