15 Comments

  1. Kristin

    Is this a local thing? Or do you need to ship the stuff?

    I just moved and there’s a bunch of stuff I’m finding just doesn’t work for the new place, and probably needs to go.

    • You sign up based on your neighborhood or city. You can be in multiple groups if you want. I might join a few neighboring towns just to cover more ground. Then, when you get a message that someone is interested, you arrange for a pick up or meet up. So far, I’ve just had people come by for porch pick ups.

  2. You’re making my minimalist heart so happy! I’ve never actually used Freecycle but have used other apps like Kijiji to give stuff away for free. I think it’s the best of both worlds if you have stuff that won’t necessarily fetch you a lot of money but you don’t want to send it off to Goodwill or Value Village.

    The only thing that surprised me about what you got rid of were the essential oils. I have about 10 oils I use for different things, so I’d almost certainly find a use for them. But, they aren’t MLM oils lol they’re just from my days of working in a health food store.

  3. You’re making my minimalist heart so happy! I’ve never actually used Freecycle but have used other apps like Kijiji to give stuff away for free. I think it’s the best of both worlds if you have stuff that won’t necessarily fetch you a lot of money but you don’t want to send it off to Goodwill or Value Village.

    The only thing that surprised me about what you got rid of were the essential oils. I have about 10 oils I use for different things, so I’d almost certainly find a use for them. But, they aren’t MLM oils lol they’re just from my days of working in a health food store.

    • I figured I would send them off to someone who appreciated them. We don’t even own a diffuser, and all of the cautions on the back of the bottle made me feel like they were better off in the hands of someone who knew how to use them!

  4. This sounds like something I need too try ASAP! I have two perfectly fine windows to get rid of from a recent renovation. The idea that there is someone out there who actually wants baby hangers and stained clothes proves that I should try harder to pass these things along rather than toss them!

    • I honestly still can’t wrap my head around the hangers. I was looking at them and looking at them, and then I realized that I had seen hanger tabs for sale at Buy Buy Baby that were just little pieces of plastic to mark sizes. I thought, well, if people buy those, maybe someone wants these. THEY DO!

      Good luck with the windows. If Freecycle isn’t very active in your area, I’ve heard lots of good things about FB Marketplace!

  5. I’m going to have to try this out! I’ve rounded up a bunch of things to give away, but was thinking twice about taking them to Goodwill. Thank you for recommending this!

  6. I’ve heard of Freecycle but never used it. I’m so glad you listed your successfully rehomed items. They make me feel better about the hodge-podge of stuff I could add to the cause. I’ll have to give this a try!

  7. Joslyn

    I love this! Freecycle isn’t so active in my neighborhood anymore but I’m part of two Buy Nothing Project groups on facebook that I use constantly. One is specifically for families with young children so there’s a lot of kids clothes, toys, shoes and maternity stuff too. I’ve given and received so much and saved what I’m guessing is hundreds of dollars by joining these groups. I now hate selling things and much prefer to give away because of the more immediate gratification of GETTING RID OF STUFF.

  8. I haven’t looked into Freecycle yet. Our local Buy Nothing groups all overlap such that our particular area is totally left out. *grump* But I’m not energetic enough to start something on my own.

    What I can’t sell, I try to donate to the Dept of CA Veterans, to the local homeless shelter, to the animal shelter, etc. I felt bad handing down clothes with paint stains on them but now I think I should poll Twitter and see if people are happy to accept them after all.

  9. I’ve got a growing pile of things in my room that I’m getting rid of but the actual getting rid of part (especially if it doesn’t involve Goodwill) is absolutely overwhelming to think about. I’ll have to give Freecycle a try!

  10. I’ve definitely used Freecycle in the past. As long as you are honest about the condition (with photos), you will be surprised what things people want. Even broken electronics. I suspect some folks are using the parts to fix other things and/or they are artists seeking materials.

    I love that you are spreading the word about goodwill and submininum wage for employees with disabilities. So many people aren’t yet aware.

    • You taught me! I honestly could not believe how easy it was to find that information. They don’t even do anything to counter it (not that you could, but I figured maybe some PR person somewhere would have SEO-ed a warm fuzzies piece or something). NADA!

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