Freecycle: The Craigslist of FREE Stuff

I love Craigslist. If bored (which was mostly before baby--I'm never bored now!) I would peruse mostly the kids, pets, and free sections. I love shopping, and it's like shopping from home. In fact, we got a great deal on a Baby Bjorn there. And it's where I got (and got rid of) my hedgie. But here's something even better!

I read about Freecycle on Laura's Blog and have been meaning to post about it ever since. It sounded too good to be true--classifieds for people giving things away. So I joined the mailing list and now receive daily emails listing not only what people are giving away, but what people need. Many cities have them, and you can even join a more localized group within your area.

Reading their mission statement was really interesting. Freecycle isn't just about people getting stuff. Here is their purpose: "Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."

These days, everyone's talking about going green, but often this means buying stuff that's expensive. This is not true for everyone, I know, but being green is very trendy these days, and anything trendy becomes an easy target for people selling you things. This great article that I read on Reston Mom a long time ago, really resonated with me. When I read about Freecylce, the article came back to me. If you consider yourself interested in being "green" (or are tired of hearing that term thrown around like I am) I highly recommend reading!

Whether you simply want free stuff, or want to be a part of the gifting and re-using mission, check out your local Freecycle!