Using Freecycle to Save Money and the Environment

You will find everything from tea cozies to TVs on Freecycle.org. The concept is pleasantly simple: Get rid of stuff that you don’t need, and give it to someone who does. No strings attached, and no cash exchanged.

Although it can be an excellent resource for those in need, The Freecycle Network was not designed as a charity. Freecycle’s mission is:

“…to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.”
– Freecycle.org

The Freecycle Network is a non-profit organization that was founded by Deron Beal of Tucson, Arizona, in May of 2005. Since then, Freecycle membership has soared to over 5.7 million people worldwide, and it has prevented the waste of over 400 million pounds of materials.

Anyone can join Freecycle, but there are basic usage rules in place to prevent abuse of The Freecycle Network. While individual Freecycle groups may have specific rules, rules that all Freecycle members must follow include the following:

• Keep it free, legal, and appropriate for all ages
• Summarize your posting in the subject line
• No politics, spam, money, personal attacks/rudeness; no proselytizing/religion
• No trading
• Responses go only to offerer
• No offering yourself or your children (!)
• Be nice. Keep your word.
• Be safe. Make arrangements to meet members in a public place.

Freecycle is set up by city. From the Freecycle home page, you can search for Freecycle groups in cities near you. For example, if you live in Chicago, Illinois, you would join the Chicago Freecycle Group. You will need to provide some basic information when you register, in order to prove that you are a resident or business owner in the area, and not a re-seller.

Each Freecycle group has a volunteer moderator. Among other things, the moderator approves and/or edits listings as needed, and ensures that the rules of Freecycle are being followed.

One thing you’re guaranteed to get from Freecycle is lots of e-mail. So, set up a folder and have your Freecycle e-mails go directly to that folder, so that your inbox will not be inundated with Freecycle postings.

Once you’ve received a registration confirmation from a Freecyle moderator, you can begin using Freecycle. There are essentially four categories of e-mails that you will receive from Freecycle. Their subject lines will read: wanted, offered, received, or taken. For example, if you are in need of a microwave, you would post a listing indicating the following in your subject line: Wanted: Microwave (Chicago). The body of your e-mail can include further details.

Keep in mind that you will not always necessarily get the things that you are requesting. Also, if you are responding to someone’s offer, you should know that it is up to the owner’s discretion to determine who the recipient will be. This is not necessarily determined by “first come, first serve.” When you make a Freecycle agreement, you and the other individual will need to decide on when and where you’d like to meet.

Remember that the purpose of Freecycle is to not about getting free stuff. Its intended purpose is to keep useful items out of landfills. Freecycle is about “changing the world, one gift at a time.” - Freecycle.org

by Angela Antonelli

Articles at EnvironmentPoint.com cannot be copied or reproduced without express written consent.

Going Back to School Green

If you are a parent who cautiously monitors the lifestyle habits of your family by implementing eco-friendly items and ideas into your household, you are setting the groundwork to instill positive green habits into your child’s life. Your child spends a great deal of their early life in school and it is difficult for them to make green lifestyle choices while they are away from home each day.

There are simple ways in which you can easily implement green living habits into your child’s school year and help the environment without making huge changes to your family’s lifestyle.

Pack a Green Lunch

Cold lunches help protect the environment because they cut down on plastic waste from the cafeteria that needs to be discarded and chemicals in soaps used to wash lunch trays. Purchase an eco-friendly lunch box or bag that holds containers for sandwiches and snacks. A lunch box can be re-used rather than buying paper or plastic bags that have to be disposed of in the environment.

Try to keep the lunch wrapper-free by adding fresh veggies and fruits or using containers made of cloth or metal. The standard juicebox is coated with plastic and has a plastic straw; however, it can be easily eliminated by using a small metal bottle or other container. It may be hard to get your child to eat a cold lunch every day, so try setting an initial goal of two or three times a week.

Eco-friendly School Supplies

Another small way to help the environment is to outfit your child with green school supplies. Binders, pens, pencils, pencil boxes, and notebooks that are made from recycled materials are a great way to help your child do their best while helping Mother Nature at the same time. There is no need for embarrassment with eco-friendly school supplies as they come in a variety of hip and fashionable designs.

Toss the vinyl backpack for a more eco-friendly hemp backpack or 100% post-consumer recycled rubber pack. When dressing your child, make sure you buy from a company that makes PVC-free shoes and select clothing produced from untreated, uncolored, and pesticide-free organic cotton.

Carpool After-School Activities

 After-school sports and activities are in full force the day the first school bell rings. Running around for football practice, band, or other activities is not only time consuming but is also hard on the environment. Transportation and gas costs typically double in the fall for most parents when school starts up for their kids. Setting up a car pool system with other parents limits the amount of gas you use and the emissions you put in the air.

Organize Gatherings With Other Parents

Organize a green-living group with other parents to share eco-friendly tips and ideas. A green-living group is a great time to ask others about car pooling and alternating pick-up days from school. Host a clothes swap so that items children no longer use can be traded with others; this is a great way to get to know other parents and help cut back on environmental waste in landfills. Get together a group of parents and kids to pick-up litter, help with recycling, or plant some trees.

By implementing small ways to go green in your life, you are one step closer to leading an eco-friendly lifestyle. You are a role-model and reflection of your child, so when you show you care about Mother Nature, your child will too.

Going Green Painlessly

Are you perplexed by the new green movement? Perhaps you genuinely care about the earth, but you fail to see how using biodegradable laundry detergent will change the world in any meaningful way. If someone told you how important your small changes were, and why you should care, you would be all in. Read on, because below are simple ideas that will vastly improve our earth and make your personal shade of green a little, well, greener.

While most people that care about the environment want to take action, they simply do not know where to begin. These simple steps take little effort and can make a measurable impact on our environment.

Conserve Water

Here is an easy one. Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. Most of us turn the water on, run our brush under the water for a moment, then brush away for a minute or two, all the while water is running down the drain. By turning off the water you will save an average of 8 gallons of water per day!

Go Old School

Maybe our parents had it right. Use cloth napkins and real plates instead of paper. This saves a tree, and it may even encourage your family to linger around the table a bit longer.

Our grandparents hung laundry out to dry in the fresh air and sunshine. While this is a nice idea, it isn’t very practical in terms of simplifying our daily life. We can, however, look at how we use the clothes dryer. This appliance uses more energy than any other appliance in the house except the refrigerator. Use the moisture sensor feature if you have it, which only dries clothes until they are just dry.

Go for the Light

This is a fun one because for little effort, you can feel pretty darned good about yourself in terms of saving energy. As your light bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL). Energy saving bulbs use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and can last up to ten times longer.

Ban the Bag

I find it distracting, and mildly annoying really, to be asked every time I am in the store, “paper or plastic?” Pausing while I weigh my options, I ponder over what is more useful to me versus what is politically correct. “Plastic” I say with feigned confidence. I keep my gaze straight ahead to deflect any judgmental eyebrow raising that may be done by my peers in line. Actually, the answer should always be paper, or even better, bring your own bag (BYOB).

It is estimated that one trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide. These bags don’t completely breakdown when discarded. Rather, they become tiny particles that remain in our soil and eventually make it into the food chain.

Be a Turn Off

There used to be a school of thought that it was actually more energy efficient to leave a computer on 24/7. This is clearly not the case as 75% of the power consumed by home electronics takes place while they are turned off but still in standby mode. An easy solution to this is using a power strip for your electronics. When you are done in your office for instance, one flick of the switch turns off everything.

A lot of people resist going green because they feel it is too much work, or will take too much time out of their already packed schedules. However, little changes here and there actually do add up to measurable energy savings. These simple tips can get you started in moving in a decidedly green direction.

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