Okay I admit I am a flunky when it comes to garage sales, either having one or attending one. It is too much work. The same with ebay - shipping is a hassle for me. In recent years I have found the solution for our family - freecycling. It really is wonderful and it is expanding throughout the country. To see if you have one in your area visit FreeCycle.
For those who have never heard of it. Freecycling is a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Instead of selling and buying things from garage sales we give them away and receive them for free. It was started to reduce waste going to the landfill and exemplifies the concept of "Your trash is someone else's treasure"
We have benefited from this site over the years and we have helped many people as well. One of the nice things when you are on the giving end is someone comes to pick it up from your house for you and generally things move pretty quickly. When you are on the receiving end it is free.
Some things we have received over the years: fridge, stove, computer desk, double stroller, entertainment center, bunk beds, school desks, montesorri tables, outside play equipment, moving boxes, and many other items.
Some things we have given away: clothes, toys, books, crib, stroller, jogging stroller, changing table, desk, grill, sewing machine, bed linens, towels, videos, dvd player, stereo, and so on.
It is a fantastic program especially for homeschoolers as we can often find treasures that other people do not want or see value in - like our montessori tables, classic old readers used years ago, complete collections of national geographic and so on. Many homeschoolers also have a tendency to hold on to clutter more than we should and this helps us release it. It also helps to know that you are helping someone who truly wants or needs what you have.
Check it out and make good use of it. As an added bonus now is a great time to help families in need for the holidays.
Peace,
Tenn
December 15, 2004
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Hi, Tenniel! Thank you for that last post. :) That made my day.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for sharing FreeCycle. I told Mark about it, and this is something we're definitely going to look into. None in our city, but Baton Rouge has one up with tons of members. Thank you!
While I like freecycle, I also like another service at www.abcfree.com. Both services are all about keeping useful goods out of our landfills, so the
ReplyDeleteearth is the big winner.
I like ABCFree because it allows you to make a "wish list" and you just get contacted when something that you are looking for
comes up in your area. Also, ABC gives a portion of its revenue to schools so kids are also big winners.
abcfreeCheers,
George