Freecycling is a way of keeping things that are not yet at the end of their useful life out of landfills. About two months ago I read an article about it in the paper and since then have become hooked on it. There are several sites in the GTA where you can freecycle. I have joined the yahoo groups saugafreecycle site. To date, I’ve given away lots of items that were gathering dust around the house, and have picked up some things which have been useful to me. For example, I had a cat door which we had purchased for our old house and had never installed it. We freecycled it to a woman from the SPCA who fosters cats. I also had a strawberry pot which was in our shed because I could never seem to make the strawberries grow in it, and it was picked up by a woman who lives in a condo where they’ve organized a resident’s garden and she is running a children’s program on gardening. I was able to pick up a set of mini drawers for nails and screws etc., to help with my storage room organization project.

I am mentioning freecycle in this post because it has another side benefit—networking. I’ve met some very nice people through the process of freecycling. Freecyling operates on the same principle of networking—give to get. It also operates on the principle of gifter’s choice—meaning you get to pick who you want to be the recipient of your item. It is a fairly diverse group of people and organizations who freecycle. I have gotten to know several of the regulars, all very nice people. Whether or not you actually meet people in person is dependent upon the circumstances. I’ve often said that it is sometimes the craziest circumstances where a new project comes to be, and who knows, for me it may be because of a freecycle exchange.

If you would like to connect with people in your area and do something to help someone else as well as save the planet, consider freecycling.