I’m not quite sure what I did before I discovered Freecycle and its offshoot groups, like “Recycle It.” Wait, yes I do–when I had stuff to get rid of and which I couldn’t donate to charity, I either threw it out or tried in vain to sell it on eBay. When I needed something, I never thought outside of the Big Box store–I just went shopping and bought more stuff.

But along the way to this green-and-frugal lifestyle, someone told me about Freecycle, and I decided to give it a try.

At first I was a bit nervous about joining my local Freecycle list–what kind of freaks would I be dealing with when giving away or getting items? But quickly I realized that, like most groups, there were some off-beat personalities, but overall mostly everyone I’ve dealt with has been super nice, friendly and generous.

If you’re not familiar with Freecycle, here’s the basic concept: since many people want to keep their unwanted items out of the waste stream, they choose to recycle them (really reuse or repurpose them) by giving them away for free to others. Freecycle works both ways–people can post when they’re giving away items, and people can post when they want items. I wrote a piece a few months ago about Freecycle etiquette, which can help people become familiar with the protocol involved.

Just this week I put Freecycle to good use–for getting rid of something I no longer needed and acquiring something I did.

What was I getting rid of? A half-used bag of dry dog food, a brand that my vet recommended but which my dog rejected. Rather than toss the remaining food (which was not cheap, thank you very much), I decided to put an offer up on Freecycle. The first person to respond was a women who fosters dogs. Perfect.

And what did I need? Ribbons, all kinds of ribbons. As I was thinking ahead towards the holidays, I realized that I was going to need a lot of ribbons and string and yarn for various projects around the house, including decorating and wrapping presents. I thought I’d give a “wanted” shout out to my local group to see if anyone had any ribbon I could take off their hands. Turns out a women who works about 20 minutes away had three big shoeboxes filled with spools of ribbon that she’d been holding on to for years. She was more than happy to give them to me for free. Terrific.

In addition to these two examples, here are other things I’ve given away and gotten via Freecycle:

* Moving boxes (gave away)
* Bubble wrap (gave away)
* Computer desks (gave away)
* Plants for my garden (received)

For anyone who is budget- and/or eco-conscious, Freecycle is the way to go. That’s why this week I’m giving the Suddenly Frugal Seal of Approval to Freecycle. (FYI, this link will tell you how you can find a Freecycle group that’s nearest to you.)