Anyone have experience with FreeCycle network?

Looks interesting, BBB. Thanks. There is even a group not too far from me.

Now, if only I could convince Mr. P. to get rid of some of the junk that he has...........................

Phoenix


I hope it helps you. I saw a TV conversation on PBS news about FreeCycle and thought it was a great idea. I will let you know my experience, if I have any.

BBB

There was an article on it in the Boston Globe yesterday. I just signed up, poked around a little.

It may prove useful as I move into smaller-sized clothing, just to swap the bigger stuff for smaller stuff although quality, condition and taste are at an issue with clothes.

Jespah
Jespah, I hope FreeCycle works out for you. It's a neat idea.

BBB

Me, too! I've been kinda wondering what I'd do with the bigger clothes. I don't mind giving them to Goodwill, it's more that I don't want to pay too much for stuff in transitional sizes.

I hope it works for you, too, BBB. What are you interested in freecycling?

Getting rid of stuff. My house sold so fast when I moved from California to Albuquerque in 2002, I didn't have time to get rid of stuff I no longer needed so everything, and I mean everything, got packed and moved. My dining room is still filled with packing boxes and stuff. Even my guest room has stuff stashed in it. Getting my 40 boxes of books on shelves was a big job. Plus I did some remodeling, which meant everything had to be moved around again and then put back.

I gave away lots of clothing to an organization that provides office type clothing to women interviewing for jobs, etc. I'm finding I don't really need a lot of the clothes I didn't give away then. I also gave away things removed in the house remodeling, such as kitchen sinks, carpets, etc., that I donated to Habitat for Humanity. I still have an older, large electric scooter that I replaced with a smaller one that fits in my car trunk. I don't need two scooters and I'm sure some disabled person can use it. I still have tons of art work that I don't have a bare wall for on which to hang.

I've gotten to old to be able to clean and maintain my house properly so I have lots of tools and equipment that I no longer need as I have a wonderful house keeper and handyman to do the work now. I even have stuff my two doggies don't need any longer or have outgrown the size.

I worked so hard getting the new house in order, my back finally gave out on me and I had to stop doing the heaving lifting and moving stuff around. So it still sits there, daring me to get rid of it. I don't want a garage sale, don't want to thrown them out. I want to find people who can use my good stuff.

"I got stuff" BBB

Sounds like you're a good candidate. Just talked to my mother and she'll give me some of her smaller old clothes -- after that, though, it's kinda uncharted territory for me when it comes to sizes.

BBB
I received my first e-mail list of stuff being offered on FreeCycle today. Nothing that I was in need of since I need to rid my self of too much staff.

BBB

I joined a Freecycle network in Bristol, UK, when I lived there, and I found that lots of people were offering stuff that was, to put it bluntly, junk. They were doing this, I think, in order to qualify to receive any good stuff that was being offered. (That scheme had a rule that to get stuff, you had to offer stuff). So i was getting tons of emails offering stuff like "1 plastic bucket, cracked", and "1997 calendar, some months missing" etc, and all the decent stuff, the TVs, the computers, and so on was being snapped up within minutes of being offered.

I get most of Jillians clothes from there.

I GIVE most of her clothes there too

We have gotten -
blankets in the winter
food
plates
pots
plants
clothes
toiletries - toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper..etc

Ilove it

Contrex - I traded through freecycle in Bristol (UK) too. I wonder if we were on it at the same time.

I needed and got a garden furniture set, a kitchen table and chairs, a chest freezer, a microwave, a washing machine...none of which were new -granted - but I painted the furniture and it came out awesome...and the appliances all worked and served me well for the entire time I was in England
(I couldn't take or use any of my appliances and I didn't want to buy new ones because I had no idea how long I'd be staying amd I knew that whatever I picked up over there- I'd just be leaving behind when I left).

I thought it was great- made some new friends- got stuff I needed (not only cheap - but FREE) and got rid of stuff that I didn't want or need that someone else could use ( I had all this topsoil I'd had delivered to build some raised beds for a garden and then my landlord sold the house - so I traded the topsoil for the freezer- traded a weight machine for a wardrobe - our house had no closets (that saved me paying to ship hundreds of pounds in weights back to the US).

Freecycle Bristol in England is no longer anything like you described way back. It is a healthy and generous-minded, active subculture with more than 40, 000 members. Obviously the calibre of offers varies a lot, but there is no 'conditional' offer-to-receive ... The prevailing culture is to 'keep things out of landfill' and to happily give things away that are 'clutter', or collecting dust through lack of use. Yes, there is a competitive element who 'snaffle' many items very quickly (for whatever purposes/reasons), but it is re-cycling items that would be thrown away otherwise, meeting the principles of re-cycling. The answer to the competitive element, like so much in Life, is to compete back and then you will be offered 'good stuff'. Because it is a thriving community, 'stuff' that you offer is also likely to be taken away fairly quickly and you can even get a choice of who to 'award' items to if you are so-minded. Charities and not-for-profit organisations are also starting to see the wisdom of Freecycle Bristol, which would seem to be a 'good thing'. I hope my comments are of assistance to someone out there. DID

My experience with Freecycle has been mixed.

Most of my experience with the organization is in the giving away part. But too many flakes have boiled my patience and kept me from continuing with the process with a certain frequency.

I often try to fight an internal "this isn't worth the effort and frustration" in dealing with people promising then reneging and sometimes repromising again and still failing to pick up a given item.