I first looked into Freecycle last year. If you haven't heard of Freecycle, it is comparable to a free version of Craigs List. People list items they want to get rid of, other people respond to get them. Initially I was a bit skeptical about it as I wasn't sure I wanted people I didn't know coming to my house to pick up the stuff. Then after I saw how quickly stuff moved on there I knew I wanted to join and have people come get my crap, too!
How to Get Started
First go to www.freecycle.org and type in your city to make sure there is a group near you. Find your area and click on it. Freecycle will give you some disclaimers and point you over to join a Yahoo! group. Membership to each Yahoo! group must be approved to join Freecycle.
Now That You're In...
Once you find out if you have been approved, you can then start checking out what people are offering. With 7,603,875 members out there, you are bound to find something you didn't know you needed! Or even better yet, you can start unloading all the crap from the basement that Aunt Myrtle gave you when she moved into the retirement home.
Posting
When I first joined I like to browse through the post subjects to see what people were listing and wanting. The posts all have subjects such as “OFFER: children's tricycle 43085” or “WANTED: dog crate”. The first example shows that you are wanting to get rid of a tricycle and you live in the 43085 area code. I'll get to the main post descriptions in a bit. The second example shows that you are looking for a dog crate. Freecycle gives specifications on how to post.
After you have decided you are going to get rid of your tricycle, you will want to list a description of it in the main post area. Some posts are very short and to the point. Others seem to get into the reasons why they are getting rid of it, blah blah blah. I try to keep my posts short and direct and fairly descriptive. There is a feature to allow you to post photos, though I have yet to do this. I like to keep my Freecyclin' quick and easy.
I include a few important things in my posts to keep it easy for me. The first thing I include is a request that people respond with the time and date they can pick up the item I am getting offering. That way if I have multiple people responding to my offering, I can pick the one that is the soonest as my goal is to Get Rid of Crap Fast (GRCF).
Another thing I put in my post is that I can't respond to each individual request. Often I will receive multiple responses for each listing and I don't wan to answer each person who says they can pick it up. I state in my post that I will respond to the first person that can pick up the item and if that person cant' make it I will go down the list. I also add that I won't make phone calls. This is all personal preference, but I want to keep it quick! This goes back to GRCF. :)
Ready for Pickup
After you have successfully posted on the message board, next you get to get rid of it! Since I am a fan of lists, here is my list of important things for responding:
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Wait until you receive a few interested people before responding. I like to see if someone is willing to come SOON to get it.
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When responding to the person who is going to come get my stuff, I include my address and where the item will be located for them to pick up.
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On the item I leave for the person, I usually put a note on it indicating it is for Freecycle, and if I have multiple items out, I label what each one is if they are in bags.
I have to admit I am addicted. I am happy to get rid of stuff and find people who want to give it a good home, or at the least just come get it for me. I have yet to post something and not get a response within a few hours. My favorite thing I got rid of was a bag of hair care products. Evidently I went through a phase of trying to find just the right hair mousse and some didn't work out. I indicated in my post that the items were used only once or twice. Somebody responded and was thrilled to try them out and didn't have to pay a penny! Other odds and ends I have gotten rid of include a box of random kitchen gadgets, a bag of mismatched baby/toddler socks, baby food jars, placemats, a broken ride-on kids toy, unused diapers my youngest outgrew years ago, just to name a few.
Let me know if you have any questions on how to get started! Leave a comment for some additional tips you might have!
