This is a great resource which I just learned about in our local newspaper: they featured a local man who had built quite a nice greenhouse using mostly materials he had gotten for free from neighbors through this website -- all he had to buy was material for the roof.

http://www.freecycle.org/

Apparently they have local chapters and people post things they want to get rid of and things they want on the local website (many are Yahoo groups). Everything is free -- that's the whole point. It prevents things from ending up in landfills and in some cases can really help people out -- and you can downsize your pile of "stuff" in the meanwhile.

Just thought I'd throw it out there -- looks like they might even have chapters in the UK for all our Brit friends. I'm rather excited about it ... now I know what to do with the extra doors in our garage that the previous owner left behind ... plus other stuff!

Cheers.

I have another system - old furniture and clothes are taken by an acquaintance across the border to Mexico - it's gone from here, and serves a good purpose there.

Well, NG that's a great system too, and good for you for doing so!

I usually donate things to other charities (especially clothes & linens) but I like this idea because it deals with things that are too large to donate (I'm going to look at a workbench tomorrow), illegal to sell reused (i.e., mattresses), too inconsequential to try to sell on Craigslist (someone posted a 1 lb box of Sweet & Low packets) and/or just odd (slightly used breast pump anyone?). Most of these things wouldn't be taken in by Goodwill or other charities.

Personally I like to use wallboard/drywall as a painting surface (for art), so I'll keep an eye out for that ... most people just throw out whats left over. And, since its all local there's a minimum of gas involved in transport.

NG you're idea is great and its so nice you can do that, I'm just putting this out there as another idea to get rid of (or get) things that otherwise might be wasted. Looking at my local contingent, it seems like nothing is too big or small to be put up for grabs ... even someone who had a garage sale posted a notice on there saying it was over and everything left in their driveway was free: over 200 items. People do love free stuff.

Cheers!

Yup I am a member of the local freecycle group, not used it yet, but who knows....

I've used freecycle. I am rarely able to respond quickly enough to get things, though. Especially things like furniture, always go quick. I've gotten a range vent/hood for our stove and a baby gate to use with my puppy. I also post things in the 'free' section on Craigslist. I've gotten rid of broken things this way - I had a broken floor lamp and a broken DVD player, but someone took them. I guess some people know how to fix those things! It's better than throwing it out. In fact if you put anything on your curb, it's likely to be gone the next day. I saw someone taking our old, bent screen door apart - I think they were going to sell the frame as scrap metal. I was like "doh, why didn't I think of doing that??"

~Mal

'across the border to Mexico'!! Wow! You don't know how exotic that sounds to an English girl like me.

I've used freecycle, too. And what's nice is that it has spread to many places now. As a bit of info for all of your freecyclers, it is something that started here, in my town, Tucson, AZ. Pretty cool.