Freecycling

Being Pilipino-American, it's in my genes that I swoop on anything I can get for free. If possible, I'm taking two. On a similar token, I'm also not one to waste things. Just because someone no longer wants something doesn't mean it's condemned as rubbish. If something is still usable, whether in its current condition or if some repair is necessary, I'm all for it.

That's why I'm so glad there are places like Craigslist's free section and Freecycle, amongst others. These sites really apply the adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." I know of people who were not working at the time (my roommate included), and would scour the Craigslist Free section for gems whose cost would be the gasoline and time used to go pick those items up, and possibly any repair the item may need. Perhaps the only thing that stopped me from doing this int he 6 weeks I was unemployed was the fact I holed myself up in my room trying to knit like crazy.

What's also interesting is the type of people who frequent these things. Craigslist is typically known to draw an interesting mix of people, and for Freecycle, each region is moderated by something like a Yahoo! Group, so one would have to subscribe to the service, and therefore have more reliable postings/responders.

I was put in charge of getting rid of some old props out of my work's storage unit, so I posted ads in both places. I made the mistake to post the phone number to the office in the Craigslist ad, and after one call, I immediately removed it. Thanks to the fact all of Freecycle's posts are reviewed by moderators, so that was removed from my posting. It wasn't long before people were responding, and it's really interesting the stories people have when asking for free things. People also have some strange requests at all. I'm very glad that I did find someone who wanted everything, compared to the people who were picking and choosing, looking for the cleanest, not too big, best-looking ONE item when I wanted to rid of them all, and it was going to a good cause. BONUS was that they had a truck and were located closer than I was to the storage unit.

I'm glad that I've finally taken the initiative to sign myself up for Freecycle, as I used to rely on my former co-worker telling me of interesting offers in the group. Of course, when my co-worker left my old job, I never got to know of great offers. My roommate was great in telling me of some choice Craigslist postings. The other day, someone posted he was getting rid of basically an entire darkroom, including the enlarger, trays, and from the image, it looked like he had the easels I REALLY LOVE USING (and are moderately pricey). Sadly, she found the post 2.5 hours after its posting, and when I called to leave a voicemail, I never got a response. I figured something like that wouldn't be around for too long. :(

I'm also very happy that I changed my subscription to Freecycle from my work email to my personal address, and that I'm getting individual emails that are posted as soon as its okay'd rather getting a delayed, daily digest. When checking my email this morning, I saw that someone is getting rid of their busted, old Schwinn. Seeing it was posted within the hour, I responded, and was the first person to respond and now I'm an owner of an old bike! All I need to do now is to pick it up and get it repaired at one of many places I can go. I'm stoked, as getting a bike has been something that's been on my mind for a long time, especially now when my roommate got herself a cute, classic bike, and my family's been biking a lot more themselves.

What really matters at this point is that I fully utilize my new acquisition. Maybe I can take it to run small errands, or taco runs...perhaps take it to a bike path and cruise for a day. It sounds like that would be really fun, especially if going on a nice, scenic path :)

UPDATE EDIT:
I think Freecycle is going to be a great source for entertainment. Even though it's generally discouraged, people can create postings for things they want/need. Of course, one never knows what others have that they may want.

I just received another batch of postings. Granted, this one user is offering a brand-new, still-in-box wireless router, this person also posted a string of wanted posts, asking for a car, a laptop and an aquarium. No details provided on these objects, I suppose any kind of the above listed will do fine. Or maybe I'm just some dork who finds that amusing.