Freecycle - It's Like A Random Act of Kindness
Well, we did our good deed for the day and gave our trusty old weight bench to someone who will hopefully use it more than we did.
We got some nice feedback from the new owners over on the Freecycle site:
"Thanks soooo much to the couple that gave us the weight bench. It is wonderful and in GREAT condition. We want to express our deepest appreciation. God Bless!"
-Laura and John
Freecycle is the site we used to find a new owner for our weight bench.
What Is Freecycle?
We signed up to view "free stuff" within the Franklin/Columbia Tennessee area ages ago, after hearing about it on the local news.
There's a Freecycle group in virtually every area of the country, so I strongly encourage you to check out the one in your area!
Freecycle makes it possible to Give and Get some pretty neat stuff... for FREE!
How Freecycle Works
"Free" is the key word here... You're not allowed to charge even one penny for your items.
And, believe it or not, most of the stuff that is given away on Freecycle is usually GOOD stuff too! Like bikes, clothes, cars, washing machines, computers, musical equipment, moving boxes & packing supplies, pets ...even scrapbooking stuff.
People are very upfront and honest. If something doesn't work properly, it's stated as such.
The fact of the matter is.... sometimes (for FREE!) people will be delighted to take something off your hands that you're not exactly 100% thrilled with.
What Do You Want?
You can also post specific things you have a need for (that you think SOMEONE might possibly be willing to give away for free).
In a lot of ways it's like reading Santa's wish list... only it's from adults.
An actual post on freecycle:
"want a recliner and 4 bar stools and if possible a excerice bike thank you"
BUT... you can't post a "want" until you've posted at least one "offer". Which is good, cuz it keeps a lot of great offers flowing through the system.
You Never Know Who or What You Might Find!
Since everyone lives right in your little area, the turnaround time is incredibly fast.
Trust me, there's no better way to Spring Clean your house than by giving away your stuff to someone you KNOW wants or needs it.
It's kinda like a "random act of kindness" that is SO easy to do. Try it... Make someone's day.
You never know, you might even end up making a new friend! In the short time that John was at our house disassembling and loading up the weight bench, we learned some interesting things about his line of work, and he learned that we're Predators hockey fans!
What a fun way to meet your neighbors, don't you think?...
At the Circuit City a few weeks ago when we bought our Camcorder, I overheard a customer telling the sales lady all the great things about "this little Freecycle group I'm involved with"!
For the record, this was the first time we had "given something away" using Freecycle. Likewise, it was the first time that John and Laura had "received something" via Freecycle. John said they had given away lots of things using Freecycle though... it makes cleaning house SO much more fun!
Tell him to check Freecycle.org! :o)
In all seriousness, we use it A LOT, and there's one in almost every city. (I checked, and there are 335 people trading stuff in your tiny little town.)
Too bad Mike didn't see your offer first. He was just commenting on how he needs to start exercising and wish he had a bench.