How to Get FREE Stuff & Get Rid of Old Unwanted Stuff Using Freecycle.org

Have you ever heard of freecycle? It’s a completely FREE way to get things you may need or want and get rid of any good usable unwanted stuff you have laying around your place. All for FREE! Does this sound too good to be true? Let me explain to you how this completely FREE program works.

Freecycle.org was developed several years back to keep perfectly good usable items out of landfills. Think about it….. Have you ever driven through a neighborhood and passed by a child’s bike or stroller that is in perfectly good condition and wondered to yourself, ”Why in the world would these people throw that away?” Well freecycle is a site where communities come together and no longer need to throw away perfectly good usable items. I’ve seen everything on freecycle.org from a case of diapers to car tires to kitchen & household appliances.

There are all sorts of reasons that people get rid of things. Here are some of the things I’ve seen on freecycle over the years;

Too many newborn diapers at a baby shower & baby outgrew them too fast
Moved into a home with a swing set in the back yard and you don’t have kids
Remodeling your kitchen & your old appliances still work but you’ve updated and upgraded everything

As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say.” Well that certainly is the case when you’re talking about freecycle.

Ok so you’re probably wondering how this works now. Is this like the lottery and I just need to have some good luck to get what I want? Not exactly. You register for freecycle here, then choose a local community group so you’re dealing with other freecycle members in your local community. Now you’re ready to post. Freecycle has 3 basic ways that you post.

Wanted
Offer
Pending Pick up or Taken

These are super easy and simple to remember since they’re rather self-evident. If you want something then post an offer something like this, “Wanted: mini blinds for a 60X24 window or larger. Overhang with larger blind is fine. Any color works.” If you have something in your home that your spouse has been hounded you to get rid of then post something like this, “Offer: Box of XL Mens T-shirts with different stores logos and designs. All in good shape.”

Now, once you’ve posted your “wanted” or “offer” on freecycle you’ll be contacted by others in your freecycle community via email. If someone is interested in your offer they’ll let you know when they’d like to meet you to pick up the item. Many freecyclers just make arrangements to place things on their porch at an agreed upon time or meet the person at a convenient, predetermined place. Its a brilliantly easy system.

All in all, freecycle is great at doing exactly what it was intended to do – keep good usable items out of landfills and recycle those items in local communities for free.