|
|
|
|
| The Basics | Dont need that old blender? Recycle it
|
People in 350 communities now can rid themselves of stuff they don't want and find free items they do want -- and no cash changes hands. It's a free service called Freecycle.org.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
Betsy Teutsch of Philadelphia never thought her daughter Nomi, 16, would relinquish any part of her massive doll collection. One day, however, a stranger who was taking in a foster child mentioned that she needed dolls and toys to make the little girl feel at home.
Nomi promptly picked out some beautiful dolls and doll clothes to give to the child. Nomi felt good, Betsy was delighted and a child with a rough start in life received something special.
All this happened as a result of the message board on Freecycle.org.
Never heard of it? Aficionados describe it as a form of recycling that hooks up people who need stuff with people who are willing to give it away and vice versa. Got an old computer or some leftover construction materials that a charity wont take? Or maybe cash is tight, and you need moving boxes, maternity clothes, a television to replace one that died? Log on to a Freecycle message board for your area and see what happens.
Tired of dumping stuff at the dump
Freecyle.org was launched last year by Deron Beal, an environmentally conscious resident of Tucson, Ariz., who hates seeing perfectly usable items wind up at the local dump. He helps run a nonprofit that provides recycling for downtown businesses and was constantly being offered desks, file cabinets and other items that businesses no longer needed.
Beal knew other nonprofits could probably use the stuff. Then, he realized people in general might want to know what was available and have a convenient way to find a home for their own unwanted items. Thus, Freecycle.org was born.
Since the first group was launched in Tucson in May 2003, Freecycle.org groups have sprouted in more than 350 cities with more than 56,000 members in less than a year. Its an all-volunteer organization with one defining rule -- everything offered or requested must be free.
Its fun, said Teutsch, who co-moderates the Philadelphia group. It solves this huge problem when you have stuff that still has utility but you dont want it in your home.
Many members are, like Teutsch and Beal, concerned about the environment, interested in sustainability and looking for ways to reduce their impact on the Earth. Some -- and this also includes Teutsch -- are trying to simplify and de-clutter.
Many of us are middle-aged, and weve lived in our homes for awhile -- Ive lived here for 18 years, Teutsch said. You can use eBay or have a garage sale, but many people (dont have) the time, they dont need the money, and they dont want to just put it out on the curb.
No human remains, please
Members say the concept can be particularly helpful in finding a home for that odd item that most people wouldnt want but that somebody out there really needs. Were talking old crutches, unused disposable diapers, ink cartridges for a specific type of printer.
Occasionally, some offers and requests spin out into the land of the bizarre. One Tucson poster asked for wings, feathers, stuffed armadillos, bones and glue for extreme art purposes. He went on to specify no human remains please and nothing that has been killed specifically for this request.
Other items that have recently found homes:- A box of earthworms.
- Old socks (for craft purposes).
- A five-person hot tub.
- A kitchen sink -- thus disproving Beals assertion that the site offered everything but.
Most of the traffic is far more mundane, of course. In many groups, theres brisk business in old computers and household furnishings.
The good stuff -- dining room sets, furniture -- goes pretty fast, said Linda Spiciarich of Elizaville, N.Y., office manager for Good Advice Press. She joined the Mid-Hudson area board the day after her boss, Nancy Castleman, launched it in March 2004.
Spiciarich listed an old entertainment center that was taking up space in her house. A few days later, she got an e-mail from Gina Martin, a home-schooling mother of two in Athens, N.Y., who needed just such an item. The women arranged a time when Martin could pick up the item. Within a week, it was out of Spiciarichs home and in Martins.
Since joining the group, Martin has listed a non-working 1940s console radio (no takers yet) and given away a CD rack she no longer needed.
I was born in a small town, and this is the kind of thing you would do with your extended family, said Martin. Were creating a kind of Internet family.
Castleman agrees. Although shes given away a huge plastic play set her grandchildren have outgrown and picked up an antique concrete bench for her daughter, her biggest thrill is expanding her circle of like-minded friends.
Getting beyond the mall
It takes the concept of recycling way beyond the typical plastic containers, glass jars, cans, newspapers, said Castleman, co-author of Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets for a Rich Life. It puts you in touch with kindred spirits, people who'd rather re-use than get malled.
Founder Beal is delighted with the notion that Freecycle is helping to create communities around the world. (In addition to numerous cities in the United States and Canada, groups have popped up from London to Singapore.) People who meet while exchanging baby gear have set up play dates with each others kids, while regular posters in some cities get together for social events.
People think, Hey, I can get something for nothing, but its much more than that, Beal said. Getting to know people is an obvious benefit, and, he added, The first time you give something to another human being, you get a real warm fuzzy.
As with every good idea, there are glitches. Every time an article appears in a local paper, or the site gets mentioned on television or radio, local groups get inundated with new members who just dont get the concept -- who try to barter, buy or sell on the boards, or who post Christmas lists of stuff they want.
People ask for pool tables and laptops, Teutsch said. Then, again, sometimes they get what they ask for.
The giving is as important as taking
Some groups have instituted an informal rule that a new members first posting should be an offering of something he or she has to give away. Its a way of driving home the point that the board is about giving as much as -- or more than -- taking.
But moderators say even groups that grow rapidly seem to survive and thrive. Membership in the Dallas-Fort Worth group doubled to 850 within five days after an article about it ran in the local paper, said moderator David Neely. The message board now has more than 1,300 members. Some of the newcomers fall away, but others stay and are converted.
They tell me what a great experience it was, meeting someone they wouldnt have in the ordinary course of things, Neely said. To me, thats the biggest single reason for freecycling.
Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.
|
|
|
|
