Tikkabik

The Freecycle Network is one of the best ideas I've seen on the Intarweb in a while.

The concept is simple: You have stuff sitting in your house you no longer need or want, and for whatever reason you're not motivated to either have a yard sale, try to sell it using a classified ad in the local paper or haul it away to the dump. So what do you do?

In Freecycle's case, the idea is to put people in touch with each other (using Yahoo discussion groups manned by volunteer moderators) who might make use of it. It's broken up regionally, and there's a specific group for Freecyclers on Cape Cod, where we live. The only rule is that whatever you're getting rid of has to be free. You can also post to the list with requests if you have specific things you'd like but can't find or can't afford to buy.

Freecycle got started in 2003. It's the brainchild of a non-profit group in Tuscon, Ariz. whose mandate is to reduce waste and landfill sprawl. Since then it's spread out to all regions of the U.S., as well as Canada and other international points. The Web site says that more than 482,000 people are now participating in more than 1,300 cities.

So far Bonnie and I have used Freecycle to give away some old chairs, books, videos, kid's stuff and more, and we've even used it to pick up a handy corner cabinet we're using in our living room. Jim D. points out that I better be careful or Bonnie might try to give me away too.