Cleaning out the Junk

I have always been such the pack rat, but I’ve done some serious cleaning this week. What’s more, I’ve been giving away things on Freecycle versus trying to sell them. As much as I need money, there is really a peacefulness and good feeling that comes from giving things away, even if that person just resales it.

That’s a good idea. I’ve never used Freecycle, but I’ve heard good things about it.

My grandmother volunteers with a nonprofit called the Assistance League, and I donate pretty much all of my old stuff there. Most of it gets sold in the thrift store and the money from that funds programs for children in extreme need. (One program provides dental care, for example, and another provides school clothes.)

I admire my grandmother– she puts a lot of time and effort into this nonprofit and has been doing it for over 25 years. I wish I had more time to volunteer.

She deserves a round of applause. I’m for anything like that. Anything that helps others is a plus in my book.

Orry and allgreen those are both wonderful things! I love to hear such stories. When I have yard sales I often find myself giving away more than I sell. Last time, I gave away every baby girl item I had after learning about a young girl that just had a baby. Supposedly, she had no help from her family and had not a thing for the baby. I set her up with clothes, toys, shoes and even sippy cups. It is a great feeling to help others.

Yes, I really admire my grandmother. She puts a lot of time and energy into her volunteer work.

That’s great natureelf! I would have done the same thing if I could have. I agree, it’s a great feeling to help others.

There were two freecyclers that stuck out in my latest giveaway. One is a teacher in a low income school looking for prizes to give to her students, and the other is one who likes to show old electronics and things to her students who have no clue that things were different than they are now. It’s amazing how some of my ‘junk’ helped them, and it did make me feel good.

That is really cool Orry. It is also neat that one of those teachers was teaching the kids about older electronics.
I guess the saying, “ones mans junk is another mans treasure” ,holds true here.

I have always liked freecycle but our local ones have become a bit bureaucratic and difficult to use, sadly this defeats the object as it puts people off.

Funny you should say that Justontime. I was a great fan of Freecycle but lately it has become really officious and difficult to use. I thought that someone in my local group had gone power mad, but maybe it is a more general problem.

Just, the main one in my area is what I call anal. They just are too red tape and it defeats the whole purpose, not to mention the joy of giving. The others are much better.

It is nice to know that some of them are OK. I think it depends on the people who run them.

Definitely. The bad one is totally moderated, too, so all this mail comes in spurts and half the time something is gone before you get the offer.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. That sort of control puts people off and they stop using the group, so it no longer achieves its objectives.

Yes Freecycle works best with a very light touch in terms of moderation. If it is over controlled it puts people off.

It sure does take the fun of out it and the bad part here is that it is the biggest and most centric list. I think the owners like the power.