For those already initiated in the ways of freecycling, you'll know what a marvellous thing it is. For the freecycle-virgins (like me till last week) let me enlighten you.The Freecycle Network spans the globe and consists of groups of people who want to give something away for free and receive somebody's unwanted thing gratis. Noel Edmonds' swap shop without Noel Edmonds. According to their website (www.freecycle.org) there are more than four and a half thousand groups and nearly six million members worldwide! That's a whole lotta stuff being swapped instead of being binned or sold for commercial gain.
Here's how it works:
Log on to the website and search for a group near you. Register, agree to their rules (fair stuff like you won't ask for lots of items without giving away stuff too and that you won't sell for money) and away you go! I joined my local group and posted a message offering a sofa. Within 24 hours a nice couple came round to the house to take it away. They were pleased to have a free sofa in relatively good nick for their daughter and we were happy to get rid of a surplus sofa that wasn't ready for the scrapheap.
Next, I put an unwanted, but barely used, computer desk on the message board. Now, I hear you say, why don't I sell it and make some money? I could. I could put a note in a newsagent's window, wait for enquiries, haggle over the price, and then eventually say goodbye to the computer desk. Or, I could put it on eBay, let a bidding war start, or not, and wait for it to be collected, or not. But instead, I put it on Freecycle and within a couple of days waved it off to the good home of a local hospice. Admittedly, I made no money, but now I have more space in the shed and a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Give it a go, you might like it!
