Mommy Greenest
The Civilized Way to Dumpster Dive
What would you spend on a 25" TV with SurroundSound? How does zero dollars sound?
That was the price we paid on Sunday when we picked it up via our local Freecycle group. An older couple was downsizing just a few blocks from our home, and no longer needed the rec-room TV. Twenty minutes after emailing to say we would take it, it was in the back of our car.
The TV (It Works!)
Freecycle is a worldwide phenomenon with local online chapters where people unload what they no longer need or want to the scavengers within driving distance of their front porch. One man's trash often turns out to be someone else's desperately needed twin mattress, printer-fax-copier, hot wheels racetrack or garbage bag of girl's winter clothing.
We initially discovered Freecycle when we were moving. We had a big sofabed that we literally could not give away. After months of trying to give it to relatives, friends and charities, three hours on Freecycle gave us a taker.
Within days of arriving in the Garden State, we found the local Freecycle to rid ourselves of the dining room sidebar, cribs, changing table, children's clothing, household items and bookshelves that would not fit in our new smaller quarters.
Months later, a friend mentioned that her husband checks it constantly, just browsing for some treasure. I thought to myself: "What a loser." Then I needed a few things and had a budget of zero dollars.
The beauty of Freecycling is that you feel virtuous for essentially dumpster diving. Your neighbors don't see you skulk off with their collection of Rosamunde Pilcher novels, and you feel earthy and highly tech-savvy because you are using the Internet to keep a consumer item from the nearest landfill.
Dumpster diving has the same impact, but you can't do it online. Yet.
© The Green Guide, 2008
Discuss this blog
posted by charis on 2008-03-19 15:02:21
no kidding on the needing a few things and having zero dollars to work with. so far in the last TWO WEEKS we've picked up a 'new' california king mattress (my back thanks the giver of that one) in fantastic shape, and a beautiful daybed and twin mattress for our coming on two daughter who is definitely ready for a 'big girl' bed. between those two items we saved probably in the area of *four thousand dollars* and kept these perfectly serviceable items out of the dump.
however, it's good to be ware of trash collectors - you know, the folks who never throw anything away. sometimes what ends up on freecycle belongs in the dumpster. case in point: we picked up a rocking chair recently with the intention to fix the split seat and refinish it to match the rest of the wood in the house. upon closer inspection, however, we realized how rotted through the wood was and that this rocking chair had been left outside. by the state of the home we picked it up from, we could tell that these folks prefer not to throw anything away and sometimes junk is junk and belongs in the trash.
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