Do you Freecycle?

The drama of the December ice storm is still playing out here with the latest chapter being the impending demo of our basement walls. Our insurance agent pulled back some paneling, and the mold is everywhere. We've decided it all has to go due to Jason and Ben's allergies and the health problems that are possible because of mold. Some rooms will have sections of the walls spared, and others will be stripped down to the studs. Sounds simple until you look around at all the stuff.

Like any basement, ours is full of stuff. Some stuff we use, other stuff we don't. Jason and I are on a crusade to purge, de-clutter and simplify. I went and got a 2009 sticker for the dump in anticipation. But what about the stuff that we've just outgrown? The toys, the old VCR, the kids' highchair that I thought would be so useful to keep? The answer is Freecycle. Freecycle began in 2003 in Tucson as a way to gift and receive items that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Have a working VCR you don't need in your basement? You create a post offering it to anyone who wants it, and you'll start receiving emails from people who would be happy to come by your house and take that VCR off your hands. Someone offering something you could use? Send an email, and you just may be the person chosen to receive it.

I've given a lot more than I've received through Freecycle, but that's ok. I think it's easier to get the stuff out of here instead of saving it all for a nightmare of a yard sale some day down the road. Yes, these people are strangers, and they are coming to your house, but I usually just leave the item on my front step and rarely even have a conversation with someone. Freecycle critics say that people pick up free stuff and then re-sell it. Well, more power to them I say. If you have the energy to clean up this bucket of toys and sell them on ebay, good luck.

Yesterday I finally posted something I have thought about posting for some time... our Rescue Hero collection. Noah wanted to be Billy Blazes when he was five years old. One of his birthday parties was a massive Rescue Heroes obstacle course covering the entire front yard. Every time I thought about passing them on, I'd discover the kids playing with them again. A friend of mine was going to take them over two years ago, but we never got around to getting together to make the exchange (sorry Christine!). But Billy Blazes and friends have sat untouched for well over a year now. I had Noah pick some of his favorites to keep, and the rest were offered. The mom who picked them up had two little boys who couldn't wait to get their hands on them. She told Jason she had just had some of her stuff picked up that afternoon so she had plenty of room for this new treasure. That's what Freecycle is all about, passing the good stuff around.