You know that old bicycle that’s been sitting in the corner of the garage gathering dust for the past few months? The one you just can’t bring yourself to drag to the curb for the garbage guys because it’s still in pretty good shape and isn’t really garbage at all?
Instead of putting it out, you can “Freecycle” it.
Freecycling is a concept that’s catching on across the globe, especially with the Internet generation.
I was introduced to it by my 22-year-old “green” daughter Chelsea, who suggested its use when we were doing the periodic purge of household items that aren’t used anymore. Instead of pitching them out, why not put a notice on the Internet and see if anybody else wants them, she suggested.
First you join the local freecycle group at www.freecycle.org. There are almost 1,000 Mississauga members now.
They post directly to the freecycle site. Members can choose to check the site or receive automatic e-mails telling them what’s available.
Then they make private arrangements for exchange, which must be free.
If you need something, you can also see if other members might have what you’re looking for.
So far, Chelsea has given away a poster of the group Slipknot and a toy sewing machine that made some youngster very happy on Christmas morning. A roll-away bed that was taking up space in our basement is now used by a family who houses exchange students.
Even my wife’s unwieldy chrome shelves, a vestige of her first apartment in the 60s, found a new home.
Although it’s called Freecycling it’s actually reuse, which is even better than recycling.
Just a word of advice, guys: if you want to keep those old Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues you think she doesn’t know about, don’t try to freecycle her Harlequin romances.