~Freecycle~

Do you have some things to get rid of before the holiday season? You know, to make room for company? or perhaps you have a whole bunch of toys and you know that your child's grandparents will give them a whole bunch more for Christmas? Perhaps you might sell them in a yard sale, but you really don't want to wait all the way to next summer?

May I suggest Freecyle? I belong to our area's Freecycle group. The way Freecyle works is quite simple. To learn more about it, just click on the link, to see if there is a group in your area. Their rules are quite easy: everything must be free. If you offer something, it has to be free. You can't buy, sell, barter, or trade. It has to be honest-to-goodness free.

We have used Freecycle to our best advantage: by giving. I rarely look through and see what is being offered. It has been an easy way to get rid of things that would otherwise cost us money to take to the dump. Some examples of things we've given away: the sandbox that "came" with our house (thankyouverymuch), wire closet shelving (I can't tell you how many people begged for one section of closet shelving!), an old set of encyclopedias, fabric scraps, miscellaneous craft supplies, curtains, and a few other odds and ends. Chances are, if you want to get rid of it, someone will want it! Our most recent give-away was the couch and loveseat set that I had such a hard time with.

If you have a lot of things to give away, you might consider donating to a thrift store, because it does take a bit of time to sort through the e-mails and decide who to give your item to, and then arrange for them to pick it up.

Anyhow, Freecycle is a great tool to use! It has worked very well for getting clutter out of our house, and giving the items to someone who will (hopefully) put them to good use!