Green Living Blog: The Freecycle Economy

Green Living Blog: The Freecycle Economy

I love to share whatever waste-free thing is going on in our lives. Recently I have been using a Freecycle group on Facebook. If you aren't part of one of these groups yet-you might want to be.

A Freecycle site or group is a place for individuals to post items that they are looking to re-home for free. It can be on Facebook or Kijiji and I'm sure other platforms too, but those are the ones I've used. 

In the last couple of months I have found enthusiastic homes for things that needed to go. Items that didn't have large monetary value, but I knew that someone could use them. For example a large home-built wooden drawer unit left behind at our acreage, a home-built fish tank we no longer needed,  and a set of large empty pickle jars.

By keeping an eye on what people were posting I've gotten some great finds: like plant pots for starting plants indoors, and my favourite - a stuffed dolphin. 

My daughter woke up from a dream one night INSISTANT that she owned a stuffed dolphin. We didn't. I was not going to buy her one. Then, wouldn't you know it - someone posted a stuffed dolphin to give away. We did a contactless pick up, washed it, and now she is laying in bed with said dolphin. Unreal.

I really like the Saskatoon Freecycle group on Facebook because it doesn't allow endless In-search-of posts. It could quickly become an endless stream of asks. Instead they create one post on Friday, and you can comment with something you are looking for. If a benevolent soul combs through the comments and has what your looking for and is willing to give it away, they can message you. 

I've used this feature to ask for small things that I would love to find used, rather than buy. I have found a piece of downspout that I needed, and someone else didn't. I got a flag for using with my horses, and didn't have to buy a new one. 

If you haven't dipped your toe in the water yet with Freecycling, I highly recommend it.  It's a great outlet for items that aren't a good fit for thrift stores. You can search Facebook to find a group near you, or use the Kijiji free section much the same way. Have you already tried it out? What has your experience been? Comment below!