The Surrey Advertiser heard of the Coley Avenue care home’s plight when an advert was posted on the website Freecycle.
A family member of one of the home’s residents posted on the site: “Sorry for trying again but we are still looking for 4ft-plus artificial Christmas trees to give to a Woking care home that have had to destroy all their Xmas decorations due to a leaking roof and asbestos.
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Second-hand books
The internet is full of places to buy second-hand books with Amazon being the most obvious source. This is a good way to get books at a cheaper price and it’s also worth checking out Gumtree and Freecycle for collecting old books.
Your local charity shop should also be visited if you’re after a second-hand book as it’s likely to have a few although you can’t guarantee what will be on offer.
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The Corner Shop” at Swansea’s Llansamlet recycling centre.
Take your rubbish to the tip, and whatever is remotely usable drop in at the shop. Whilst you’re there, see if there is anything you fancy for £1. Proceeds go to charity. I just hope that they check for hidden gems before they put items on the shelves.
It saves half decent stuff going to landfill, or maybe saves the person who brings stuff a separate journey to donate elsewhere.
Maybe more of these will start up once the news gets around.
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Finally, check websites like freecycle.com to find replacement frames and furniture or even new items for your living room. They often have great finds and everything on the site is free!
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One site to try is Justfortheloveofit.org. Simply register your location and anything you have to offer. Or if you need something on a more permanent basis, try Freecycle.com, an online community that matches people who have items they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Not only kind on the environment by reducing landfill, Freecycle is great for the pocket, too.
As one of the main rules of Freecycle is a “pick up yourself” policy, your local group is a handy way of getting rid of large items you would normally have to pay to have removed, such as garden furniture and sheds.
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Q – I have just moved into my new home and managed to get an Ikea Klippan sofa for nothing from the Freecycle website. However, the cover needs to be replaced. Do Ikea still sell replacements or do you have any other ideas on how I could make it as good as new?
Stephen Lam, Woking, Surrey
ZENA SAYS: Lucky you! And you’ll be pleased to hear you can still get a replacement from Ikea. Covers cost from £24.99 and they have some funky designs as well as plain colours. If you want something completely different, take a look at www.bemz.com where you can buy covers for all Ikea furniture. Klippan covers start at £95. Alternatively, if it’s not too badly worn you could dye your existing cover or hide it with a throw and cushions.
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Source any equipment you need for free through Freecycle (freecycle.org), a community website on which people can recycle unwanted items, or the freebie section of listings sites such as Gumtree (gumtree.com) and Craigslist (craigslist.co.uk). Right now, for example, someone is offering a free office table in London and free catering equipment in Edgbaston.
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TIP When discarding old cutlery (or anything for that matter) consider “FreeCycle” (look it up on the internet).
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I thought there would be no harm in posting a couple of items we no longer needed on eBay and, given our thrifty peasant nature, it made sense to sign up with the local Freecycle group to sniff around for items being given away in our area. There might be something useful to help us in our bid for greater self-sufficiency, so it all seemed very practical.
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Alternatively, you could join up to a Freecycle group – you can find free laptops, TVs, bicycles and more. Look to ‘Freecycle’ everywhere in your life: text books, mobiles – ask friends, ask strangers, post on noticeboards. You’ll be amazed what people will give you that they don’t want anymore.
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