When Free is Really Free

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Right? Usually any offer that says "free" is just a gimmick. It isn't really free. You jump through a bunch of hoops only to find out that the registration was free and now you only need to pay $xx.xx to complete the deal. Sound familiar?

I recently learned about one way to actually get free stuff! Real deal, no jokes, no hidden fees, free stuff! Intrigued yet?

Freecycle.org is a grassroots, members only, movement that is divided into local groups where a few members are charged with monitoring and maintaining the local lists. There are more than 5000 groups and 9 million members who list items they no longer need but want to keep out of landfills. If you have an item that would be too much trouble to sell (or you just want to be generous), you can list it in your local Freecycle group and others can contact you via email if they want what you have. On the other hand, if you want or need an item that others are likely to have laying around the house, you can place a wanted ad and people who have that item can email you.

On Freecycle.org, free really means free! You have to be a member to participate, but membership is free. The rules are simple: the item or items offered must be local, available immediately, and free.

Ready to get started? I was! Just click on over to http://www.freecycle.org/ and type in your city and state in the box at the top of the page. It will look like the picture below. Once I got signed up and clicked the link to go to my local group's listings, I found browsing somewhat confusing. Then I noticed a link that said "advanced" search. Being an avid fan of eBay, I clicked immediately and suddenly browsing these listings was going to be much easier! I found ads for everything from kittens to televisions, all free! And the best part? All of it was right here in my hometown!

The only downside I discovered to Freecycle is that there seem to be far more want ads than offer ads. I decided maybe all that was needed to change that was a few more members like me... people who hate to throw away anything that somebody could use for something! So why don't you join me on Freecycle and lets clean up and clean out without sending the stuff to to the landfill? Share this idea with friends and you may end up seeing each other's posts and swapping junk! After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure, right?