Freecycle: Sustainability Tool That Rocks!
In the Green Design circles our mantra is reduce, reuse and recycle. There is a deeper meaning to these three words. At times the meaning is obvious, others a little obscure, but never has putting this mantra into practice been easier that with Freecycle, my new obsession. If you have never heard of it, Freecycle is an on-line community where people meet and share things.
- People write postings for things that they are giving away…FREE. That’s right. Everything is free.
- Others looking for cool stuff can get it Free.
There are Freecycle communities set up all around the country and even the world. To use simply log onto http:// www.Freecycle.org, choose your state and then choose your local community. You can choose as many communities as you want. The main rules are even simple.
- Your first listing has to be something you are giving away and everything has to free.
- No Selling
There are some minor little rules that communities have about the syntax of your posts but that is it.
You can post for things you are looking for. For example, say your toaster broke. You go onto Freecycle and post: Wanted: In [My Town] Toaster, and then include a message. It’s so easy!! It’s also a great way to “be green” and help others. Instead of filling landfills or buying more things from foreign countries we can share resources we already have.
The best part is that it feels great to be able to give items to people who really need them. For those of you who think that people only give away their junk…let me tell you, I have received a beautiful piano, from a woman who had it since she was a little girl and cherished it. Also, after posting that I was looking for a guitar for my son, I received a beautiful, mint condition, refurbished, Washburn acoustic guitar from a very generous man, who I later explained to my son, was actually, a real life…Santa.
I have learned from Freecycle that there truly are generous, selfless people in the world, and it makes me want to give and do more for others. If you are wondering to yourself…”what kind of things can I give? I don’t have much”. Here are some more examples… I love to give away my kids toys, which they never play with, of course. I recently posted a mechanical puppy, worth approx $35.00 when I originally bought it. I received a reply from a person who said that their daughter would love to have it, seeing that she always wanted one, but they could never afford it. When the father came to pick it up, he hid it under his shirt until he got to his car, then, he pulled the dog out from under his shirt and revealed his secret to his daughter. Her face lit up with such joy and happiness. She grabbed that puppy and pulled it close to embraced it in a hug. Now, my 13 year old daughter was watching this scene unfold with me and was elated and touched by the little girls’ reaction. Something so simple and insignificant to my life, brought so much joy to someone else. How can you beat that?
I originally started writing this blog to express the “green” advantages of Freecycle. But as I wrote, a more important lesson emerged. Not to say that “reduce, reuse, recycle is not important… it certainly is. But, when we are in an economy where almost everyone is struggling, it is a strong and valuable lesson. We each can do something for someone else.