Post by Category : News Articles

Foster’s Daily Democrat: In Dover: Online yard sale blossoms into Christmas goodwill

That sentiment is what’s fueled inspiration for others who have overwhelmingly responded to a post Pare listed on Freecycle.org saying she wished to adopt a family this Christmas. She had dozens of responses from families needing help and even requests on behalf of others, she said.

She expected some response from families affected by Hurricane Irene in August, but she found that there were also a lot of people who unexpectedly found themselves unemployed recently, too.

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Elmundo.es: Del reciclaje al ‘freeciclaje’

El sofá en el que está sentado Deron Beal lo consiguió gratis, después de donar su propia cama de soltero. El intercambio se produjo hace ocho años, cuando 30 amigos de Tucson (Arizona) decidieron crear un grupo de trueque en Yahoo. La voz del “quiero y ofrezco” se ha propagado desde entonces como un generoso virus: los miembros Freecycle superan ya los 9 millones, distribuidos por 5.000 grupos y en 75 países.

“Todo el mundo tiene algo que ofrecer y algo que necesita”, sostiene Beal, el padre del ‘freeciclaje’. “En estos tiempos que corren, ¿qué mejor regalo podemos hacer a nuestra comunidad y al planeta que donar lo que nos sobra y evitar que acabe en un vertedero?”.

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Reading Eagle: Organize This! column by Vali G. Heist: Don’t just trash your clutter

Freecycle.com: Free, local online ads to unload what you don’t need at no charge to the receiver. Get what you need for free by going to the website and searching for your item.

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Northfield Patch: Northfield Community Exchange Brings Barter Into the 21st Century

A growing trend

Nationwide, there are 103 transition initiatives in 31 states, according to Transition United States, and there are nearly 400 initiatives in 13 languages across the world.

The Northfield group is now planning a community gathering to launch the service and have subscribers meet face to face as they introduce the potential benefits to the community.

The buzz is already building—not surprising for a community known for its volunteer culture, its penchant for recycling as evidenced by online Northfield Freecycle users, its Clothes Closet and Used-a-Bit shops, and loose trade of talents via community bulletin boards.

“I see it as a way we can build community, where people can give and receive outside of the money system,” says Jenny Gamer, owner of Pivotal Point Oriental Medicine, who is already signed on to the service. “It’s a real win for people with more time than money—the un- or underemployed

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Lots of items sitting on city’s virtual curb

This generosity is not limited to the holiday season. You can pretty much always find a free piano on Craigslist. Some of the other items were offered by members of Rochester’s Freecycle chapter, which is part of an international network that allows people to exchange unwanted items, but no money.

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Lexington Patch: Taking It Personally: I Still Like To Buy Locally

Sometimes a sort of magic happens. For instance, the shutters that used to be on our front windows could not be repaired so they were removed. Just about the time I was figuring out where to buy new shutters, two pairs of them, just the right size, came up on Freecycle, a local online list. A little paint, some hardware, and some hand-forged holdbacks and the house had shutters once more.

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KYTX: Website offers free items for those in need

EAST TEXAS (KYTX) — Maybe you’re living on your own for the first time or lost your clothes and furniture in a disaster.

It can cost thousands of dollars to build up your home furnishings. But did you know there’s a place you can get anything from couches to refrigerators to clothes absolutely free? Right here in East Texas?

It’s easy, if you know where to look.

Seven years ago, Brandee McGuire learned a magic word — free. She got plugged into the non-profit website network Freecycle.org, a place to get rid of items you don’t want anymore, free of charge.

“[We’ve had] several houses, we’ve had boats, we’ve had cars,” she said. “There was one in Neches. It was a brick home that needed a lot of work. They were moving and they didn’t want to deal with it so they were just giving it away.”

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Business Week: Mich. woman scales back on extras, but not holiday

In money-saving moves, Lynne Huff said she has started cutting and coloring her own hair, driving less and burning wood from felled trees on their property to provide heat to their home and keep down the cost of propane. She also has become an avid user of Freecycle.org, where millions share items for free.

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LifeHacker Australia: Top 10 Things To Remember When Moving House

1. Start chucking out unwanted stuff early

If you don’t start packing until the day before you move, you’ll end up panicking and just throwing everything into boxes without consideration. As soon as you know a move is on the cards, start the spring cleaning process. It’s much easier to throw stuff away than shift it, but if you’re trying to get rid of a lot of stuff, you’ll want time — whether that’s to sell it, freecycle it, give it away, or (in the worst case scenario) dump it.

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Crafting A Green World: How-to: DIY Mosaics–No Kits, Just Concrete!

Before you spend money on concrete, it’s worth trying to Freecycle some–people rarely purchase just the right amount of materials for a particular project, and even a quarter of a bag of concrete is going to do you just fine.

To mix the concrete, get out an old bucket, an old cup, and a paint stirrer. Measure out an amount of concrete that will fill your mold (Do you know how to fill a mold with water and then pour it into a measuring cup to find the volume? Science in action!), and just enough tap water, a little at a time, to give the concrete a brownie batter-like consistency. This is actually the only part of the project that’s messy, since concrete mix is dusty, so do this on the porch.

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