The Thoughtful Consumer Uses Freecycle

Cynthia Friedlob writes a wonderful blog called The Thoughtful Consumer, and she just wrote a post in praise of Freecycle.

I've mentioned Freecycle before; it's a collection of e-mail lists where people give (and get) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free.

I'm an enthusiastic user of Freecycle, both for my own things whose time has come to move on, and for items from my clients. Some of them would be difficult items to dispose of through traditional channels such as Goodwill and thrift shops; others seem to cry out for just the right new owner.

Here are some of the many things I've successfully listed on Freecycle:

- One of those fabric sample books that decorators have.

- T-shirts with French phrases on them, given to someone from France.

- Printer cartridges for printers no longer owned.

- Books that I've highlighted as I read, which makes them harder to dispose of through other channels.

- 60 pencils.

- A set of 24 inspirational tapes, with five of the tapes in the set missing.

- An old lava lamp, a bit slow to heat up and somewhat sluggish even when heated.

- Used cat scratching posts.

- Sunscreen in a brand I no longer use.

If you'd like to give it a try, go join the Freecycle community closest to you. This is not just a U.S. thing; there are groups in many countries around the world.