Post by Category : News Articles

PCWorld: Short on Funds? Don’t Buy—Use Online Barter Sites!

Freecycle.org: Though a bare-bones site, Freecycle is efficient, and a perfect way to get rid of unwanted stuff—or to score, for free, something that your neighbor is dying to ditch.

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Phys.Org: Freecycling has viral effect on community spirit and generosity

“We found that being active in online gift-giving communities like Freecycle generates strong feelings of solidarity and identification, which in turn drive people to give more gifts in the system,” said Robb Willer, assistant professor of sociology and psychology at UC Berkeley. “This dynamic may help explain why the membership of sites like Freecycle and Couchsurfing has taken off in recent years.”

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The Augusta Chronicle: Coupon Lady: Organizing your stockpile

Paper products can be bulky. I use a coat closet to store anything that doesn’t fit in a bathroom or kitchen area, but any free space in a closet will do. My kitchen is a challenge because it is a bit smaller. To overcome space issues, I discovered a pantry cabinet on Freecycle. Our canned goods go in it. I also use over-the-door shoe organizers to hold small bags and boxes such as rice, puddings, granola bars and bottles of cleaners. I have one in the pantry and one on the laundry room door.

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Livemint: What’s your gadget update?

Your fashion fix: Find people who love to reuse and recycle like you on The Freecycle Network (www.freecycle.org). The network is a worldwide group of people who give (and get) gadgets for free in their own towns. If you have true junk or e-waste, give it off to an e-waste recycling plant. To check if your city has an e-waste recycling plant, visit WEEE Recycle (www.weeerecycle.in).

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Marketwire:Second Hand Items Save Britons Pounds Says Swinton Home Insurance

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM–(Marketwire – May 15, 2012) – With the double dip recession in full swing, savvy UK homeowners are saving their money by filling their homes with second hand items.

Swinton, the UK’s leading high street retailer of home insurance surveyed 1,000 online customers and found that 27% regularly find second hand bargains to furnish homes.

Where once there was a stigma attached to buying second hand items, this now seems to be disappearing. Charity shops, online auctions sites and website such as Free Cycle were the main places customers go to when looking for bargains for their home.

In fact, nearly a fifth of homeowners (19%) admitted to showing off their best bargains to their friends and family, while only 5% said they were too embarrassed to admit that they had purchased second hand items for their home.

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Washington Times: Living Below the Line: Days 3 & 4 Sustaining and living with less

Mark Boyle, stopped using money in 2008. Like Schwermer, what was initially a 12-month experiment has turned into a way of life. Boyle lives in a camper he got on Freecycle and volunteers at an organic farm.

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North Reading Patch: North Reading Freecycle Group Keeps Items Out of Landfills

Two-year North Reading resident Bruce McArdle started a nonprofit Freecycle group to keep useful items out of landfills. The group has about 400 members in North Reading and surrounding towns.

McArdle, formerly an electrical engineer, now stays at home to care for his four-year-old twins, Jake and Jessica. He was previously a member of a freecycle group in Billerica, and once he made the move to North Reading, he decided to start his own group.

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Iowa State Daily: The value of trash: Experts weigh benefits of Dumpster diving

Freecycle is a free online program where students can enter whatever items they want to throw away.

“The idea is, you put anything on there, not wanting anything in return, and the understanding is that the person will come to you, you don’t have to send or transport it anywhere else and it’s free,” Rankin said.

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ReporterHerald.com: Reduce first, then recycle

By reusing packaging you can utilize what you have purchased. Reuse glass jars to hold leftovers, beans, art supplies, etc. Reuse pet food bags rather than plastic grocery bags to hold your animal’s excrement. Reuse shoe boxes to store items. Put a notice on Freecycle listing items you no longer need or can be reused by others. Save waxed liners from cereal boxes to hold produce at the grocery rather than plastic bags.

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Subversify: Giving Away Stories

I ended up offering up five via Freecycle.org. of which I gave away two. I did make it a point to greet the freecyclers face to face which I don’t normally do when giving other things away like old clothes and plant starts or whatever. It was my first interesting encounter of the day.

Two lovely ladies turned up on my doorstep and were very excited to get books. They also wanted to give me some. Not Book Night books, just books that they had. I didn’t need any of the books they had so they asked me how they could give them away. I did not know I was becoming an expert on book giving, these were my first two.

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