I’m in the midst of clearing stuff from my room and in the process, have found stuff I don’t have any use for anymore. You’ll probably find yourself in the same situation at some point or another, and one way to get rid of those things is to give your stuff away on Freecycle.
For those who don’t know, Freecycle is “a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills” (as quoted from The Freecycle Network website). Singapore has her own Freecycle network and I joined the SgFreecycle yahoogroup a few years ago after I read of this movement online.
I think it’s a fantastic initiative in our bid to be more environmentally friendly and reduce waste. When you have something to give, all you do is send an “OFFER” email to the group and state what you have to give and ask interested parties to contact you to arrange for pick-up. If you need something, you post a “WANTED” email stating what it is that you’re after and hope that somebody has something to get rid of that will benefit you.
A few months ago, someone wanted a computer LCD monitor and I had one to give so the guy came to my place to pick it up. He even very nicely sms-ed later to say that I had the sunniest smiles among all the SgFreecyclers that he had met. Awww. So sweet. And now I have four unused reference books on nutrition to give away. I put up the “OFFER” ad yesterday and I have had about 10 people emailing me about the books. Well, fastest fingers first. But I’ve decided to divide the books among different people so more people can benefit.
So the next time you’re thinking of throwing something out, try Freecycle instead and don’t be too quick to send the stuff to the dumps!