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Home » Planning

Freecycling My Way to Freedom

Published: Oct 13, 2007 by Dave Lee |

Ever since Laura mentioned Freecycling in her comments on my Reserve Storage Space post last week, I've been posting several items per day, and to my surprise, offloading them within 24-48 hours! It's yet another social network I'm glad to have joined. The primary motivation of its members is environmental - to ensure items stay out of landfills. As the instructions indicate, nothing is too small to post.

In less than a week, I've given away:

  • a plant
  • watch (with dead battery)
  • swimming goggles
  • meditation tapes
  • books
  • pictures
  • scale
  • clock

Each person has been friendly, grateful, and dependable. I've had a dad and his kids stop by, a young guy just getting started, a guy who works for Amtrak, and some older women. Some people grab and go, while a few have chatted for a bit.

It is a nice, new way to connect with others in the community, as well as meet the people who intend to use my stuff (as opposed to dropping it all off at the Salvation Army as I've done until now). It's working so well, my apartment is starting to feel increasingly empty.

Welcome! The Freecycle Networkâ„¢ is made up of 4,138 groups with 3,948,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on " Browse Groups"? above the search box. Have fun!

Find your community through the Freecycle Network today, and start giving (or taking, if you're in that mode)!

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About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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