Freecycle Review

This is a truly great site, I don't know what I did before Freecycle! It's a great way to give stuff and get stuff within your community. Perfect for re-using and re-purposing your junk or someone else's into a treasure. It's being a good steward to the earth, with benefits! It's a bit safer than Craigslist too, because there are moderators and you have to be a member of a group to participate. This also helps cut down a pretty significant number of "no shows", though they still do occasionally happen. It also helps cut down the internet trolling you'd get on the other site. Anyone rude, demanding or belligerent will almost certainly get kicked off, eventually. You find there are enough "regulars" on the site that there is more of a sense of community sharing what they can. On the giving end, it's easy. You throw something up on the board to offer and eventually get a taker or two (or three!). You choose who you will give it too, sometimes the person most in need of what you're giving away, sometimes to whomever can pick it up the soonest, etc. You set up a time for them to pick it up and leave it on your doorstep, so simple! The freecyclers I've had come to my home to pick up an item have always been respectful of my property, picking up only the item(s) that have been tagged for them. I've given away everything from furniture, to kids' clothes, toys, old buckets and even chunks of concrete. Almost anything can be repurposed, almost anything can be reused by someone who needs it. On the getting end, it's fun. It's like a treasure hunt sometimes. You can browse the offered items and see if there's something you've been looking for or you can request something particular by placing a "wanted" post. Sometime you get it, sometimes you don't, sometimes what you think you're getting isn't what you end up with, lol! I responded to some "high end" living room chairs and ended up with some cane backed, velvet covered 1970's throwbacks! But guess what, I just re-freecycled them and someone wanted them for their retro living room. Toys are great through freecycle, kids get so bored of their own toys so quickly anyway, this is a great way to purge the old toys and occasionally get in something fresh. Overall a great site, though there are still occasionally no shows, as mentioned. Some groups can get really picky about their rules, some will let you post coupons, while others won't. Yard waste is okay with one group (yes, people actually want this for their compost bins and gardens!), but not another. Some sites are very active, so you may get lots of email flooding you inbox (I suggest an entirely separate email address for freecycling activity). If you're on a limited budget, just starting out, needing to purge and wanting to do it in an eco-friendly way, this site is worth exploring.