A valuable sharing resource local to thousands of communities, is freecycle.org, which is moderated locally by volunteers. I have enjoyed this service as both a giver and receiver. ”Freecycle performs many wonderful functions: building bonds and community, keeping material items from the landfills, and redeeming the clutter that consumes by moving it forward to a new, productive life.” I’ve been amazed by the specific items posted and gratefully taken – the old one person’s trash is another’s treasure thing. But items of value are also offered, maybe because the transaction feels better, cleaner, than attaching a price and posting it on Craigslist. It’s generosity among neighbors in the larger sense.

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Ten years ago, I brought Deron Beal’s Freecycle (freecycle.org) group’s method of giving and getting usable items to Vacaville. This year, I’ve created a group to share plants within Solano and Yolo counties.

How many times have we, as homeowners and renters, filled our green bins with plants that we’ve pulled from our garden just because we don’t know anyone who would want them?

How many seeds have we seen ready to harvest, only to ignore? After failing to give away my extra iris bulbs, it dawned on me. “There is a need here,” just as there had been for Freecycle.

With the ease of social networking, a seed-sharing movement is evolving. In fact, I recently read about a seed-sharing library in Vallejo. With further research, I discovered many towns around the world are holding seed-sharing events.

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One person is looking for a rocking chair for a newborn baby.

Another, a tote bag to carry a pet guinea pig. One person offers up a nearly new yoga mat; another, a “large-ish cardboard box” that is “not sturdy enough for shipping but great for summer fun with kids.”

Welcome to Freecycle, a grassroots “cyber curbside” where people can drop off unused items and others can pick them up — for free.

As an environmentally motivated, volunteer-based nonprofit, Freecycle sets itself apart from other similar websites, such as Craigslist, said the organization’s founder, Deron Beal.

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