In August 2014, we moved from the Washington, D.C., area to Somerville. After we unpacked, we gave away the surviving boxes on Freecycle.
Fast-forward to our next move, in December 2015. “Wanted: larger moving boxes” we posted on Freecycle. The next day, we were picking up half a dozen boxes from a nearby porch.
One of them had our handwriting on it: It was a box we’d used to move up here, reused at least twice in the interim. What goes around comes around.
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Here is my advice to you when using Freecycle:
DO-Respond to any emails you receive from the person with the stuff immediately.
DO-Do make sure you are able to pick it up in a timely manner. No one wants to warehouse things.
DO-If possible ask if they can leave in on their porch or entry way for you to retrieve.
Don’t- Don’t waste peoples time.
Don’t-Go back and forth trying to figure out how to retrieve the item. Have your ducks in a row before you ask for the item.
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Heloise Hint: What to do with the items that didn’t sell at your garage sale. Check out www.freecycle.org. This site has lots of members (membership is free). You can let members know that you are giving the items away for free. Those interested will come pick them up.
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The pope is issuing an encyclical about human-caused impacts on the environment. The president tells Coast Guard Academy graduates that climate change is a clear national security issue. Climate Action Brookline chips away at our intransigence. And The Recycling Corner continues to nag.
Solid waste is a big part of the environmental discussion. Thankfully, most residents of Brookline seem to get it, and many do something about it.
In Brookline, this is what “the many” are doing about their old stationary bikes.
Joining the Freecycle network: Freecycle.org is a grassroots movement with almost 9 million members who give away their gently used stuff or get others’ gently used stuff for free — all in an effort to keep the aforementioned gently used stuff out of landfills and waste-to-energy plants. Membership is free. Local volunteers monitor the network. Finally giving up that old but in good condition stationary bicycle? Need a stationary bike to help recover from that knee replacement? Maybe freecycle.org can make the match!
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Before Craigslist, before even Facebook, there was Freecycle.
The grassroots Freecycle movement began 12 years ago – ancient history, in Internet years – with an email. The email was from founder Deron Beal in Arizona to 30 or 40 recipients, announcing the Freecycle Network as a convenient way for people to exchange desired items at no cost. Now the nonprofit organization comprises millions of members in thousands of groups in 85 countries around the world. Freecycle reports keeping 500 tons a day out of landfills.
Long Beach Island recently has its own group on freecycle.org, thanks to Diana Can of North Beach. Just type the Island ZIP code 08008 into the search bar and click the provided link to the LBI group. With 222 members at press time, the site showed one offer for a blue and white striped sectional couch in Beach Haven Terrace, someone in need of a TV stand for a 42-inch Panasonic plasma TV and one asking for a bicycle basket.
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8. Pay It Forward
Freecycle’s mission is to “keep good stuff out of the landfills.” With a few chapters available in Rhode Island, members post what they are offering for free, and what they’re searching for. freecycle.org
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If you’re looking for a way to get rid of that old mattress or couch, the city of Frederick may have a solution for you.
The city has a new plan to help people who have no way of getting large, unwanted items to its next Freecycle Roundup bulk item drop-off event.
Employees of Frederick Community Action Agency’s Green Jobs program have agreed to help out.
The employees will drive around during the next Freecycle Roundup event in April to pick up items from people who preregister for the service, said Nikki Bamonti, executive assistant to Mayor Randy McClement.
“If it works out, it solves every problem we have had with this event,” McClement said.
The next Freecycle Roundup event will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 at Walnut Ridge Park, 1151 Rocky Springs Road. City residents are asked to bring their unwanted bulk items to the park, and nonprofits will be waiting to sort through donated items to see if they can be repurposed.
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Birdsboro>> Spencer Novak knows what it is like to struggle during the holidays to make ends meet.
While she was going through a hard time a few years ago she came across Freecycle sites that helped her make ends meet and even give Christmas presents to her loved ones. Now the 25-year-old Birdsboro resident runs her own Freecycle group which has evolved into a massive toy drive this holiday season.
“I have a Facebook site, Free Help for Everyone, where we collect donations and pick up donations and there were a few families that I knew of having a hard time getting stuff for Christmas,” Novak said. “I thought I would try collecting toys for them, for a few families.”
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Donate rather than discard items. When new gifts replace working but old possessions, donate them to a charitable cause or give them away. Check out the Freecycle network at Freecycle.org..
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If you didn’t get a chance the first time, another Freecycle Roundup event is being held on October 4, 2014.
Frederick City residents will have the opportunity to dispose of their large bulky items they no longer need. Officials will stage the Roundup at 531 Highland Street, known as Area K.
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