Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with freecycle

Alles frei!

molecicco — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:45:10 -0800

FreeCycle equivalents in Berlin? Inspired by this FPP, I joined Berlin's FreeCycle group - but it looks like it gets offers posted about once a week. Any Berlin/Germany-residing MeFites know about a more happening group doing the same thing?

New situation regarding used stuff

lgandme0717 — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:55:34 -0800

Please give me your tips for conducting a swap meet! This is for children's books, toys, and clothing only... I'm helping to organize a swap meet for children's stuff (books, toys, and clothing) at my son's school. (I've previously asked another PTA question here). I have never done anything like this before and want to ensure it's as positive an experience as possible for the families.

We plan to set aside all of next week (Dec. 1-5) to accept contributions at the school, then use Dec. 8th and 9th to organize everything -- assess the quality, array clothing by size/gender, etc.). On the 10th, we will open the doors to all the families involved with the school to take what they'd like. We are not requiring that families drop off items in order to be able to shop for themselves. Also, right now we're not planning on limiting how much anyone can take -- is this incredibly naive, to not anticipate that someone may just come in and take off with half the inventory?

The social workers at the school do work closely with the families in greatest financial need, so I am anticipating that we will receive a number of wish lists from them for the neediest families that we can fulfill during the organizing period, before everything goes up for grabs. I have already personally gotten one request to set aside specific kinds items from a mom who knew she wouldn't be able to make it, and I am sure I will get more too.

I should add that this is being publicized as a social event, not a charitable one. But it is an opportunity to assist the school community's families most in need (above and beyond the school's own early childhood services) while letting everyone declutter a bit.

I have listed the categories we're looking for, but are there any limits I should put out there? Are used stuffed animals OK? What about underwear? (I was amazed to find dozens of takers when I listed my son's used underwear on Freecycle after he was toilet-trained and was no longer wetting multiple pairs a day...)

Also, what suggestions do you have for how long to make the event? I am pretty worried about not having collecting enough items to fulfill the demand. I would feel terrible if, say, people rushed over after work only to find empty tables. We would like to open this up in the mid-afternoon -- say, starting around the time that parents who pick up their kids come to the school anyway. But many of the children have bus service, and I anticipate many parents will not be able to come to the school until 6 at the earliest because of their work schedules. Keeping the swap meet open for more than a couple of hours makes me think we'll run into that empty-table scenario, though. If we collect great amounts of stuff, is it best to hold some in reserve at the launch and then replenish the tables and racks once they start to empty?

In other PTA news, we had a very low-cost bake sale that was supposed to run all day, and were cleaned out within 3 hours. We also had a potluck dinner with great turnout that only ran for one-and-a-half hours, and that felt like the perfect length of time to me.

I recently attended a FreeMeet for the first time for ideas, but it was very loosely organized (very few signs, nothing organized by size, etc.). I'm planning on making many signs, providing snacks, and a crafts activity to keep the kids entertained while mom/dad/grandma shops. What else do I need to know? Thank you all so much!

Who might appreciate all these quality mags?

Flashman — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:26:40 -0800

Where can I donate 4 years' worth of Harper's & New Yorkers, in London? I'm having to leave the UK in a couple of weeks and am trying to liquidate all that I've accumulated during 4 years here. And I'd hate to just dump all of these magazines - a basically unbroken collection of Harper's, some with wear & tear due to beach reading etc., and quite a few New Yorkers. Also a bunch of glossy architecture mags, but somehow I'm not so sentimental about those.
Does anybody know of a school or organisation that could make use of them? Perhaps some sort of American Studies program or club (I mean, what better way to understand the true soul of America than through the musings of Lewis Lapham)?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I can deliver them.

Anyone had regrets about a massive decluttering of their lives?

studentbaker — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:16:03 -0800

Anyone had regrets about a massive decluttering of their lives? I want to seriously declutter my life in terms of the items I have in storage and those that sit unused around my home.

I have a lot of stuff. Electronics, iPods, comic books, books, DVDs, clothes, doodads, doohickeys, baubles, etc. all of which are unused in storage or just taking up space in my home. I’d like to declutter. I’ve researched it quite a bit and considered it for a while now.

I plan to do this through Goodwill, Freecycle and a good old-fashioned Yard Sale.

I think I’m ready.

However, I want to know from those who have gone through an extreme purging of stuff, do you have regrets? Is there stuff you wish that you would have kept? Did you go through a post decluttering depression? Did you turn around a buy more junk?

How should I feel about freecycle?

mockdeep — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:34:22 -0800

I recently came across freecycle.org and now it seems to be popping up everywhere I look. Among what I'm finding are some controversies about the founder taking corporate money and being a little too fussy about who uses the name. Some people think this is against the spirit of the endeavor. These issues don't concern me greatly, I'll probably sign up anyway, but I was curious what the hive thinks about them. I was also thinking of signing up at freesharing.org. Are there any other great sharing sites out there?

Moving a single large item without any car.

Jack Feschuk — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:00:53 -0800

Moving a stove or shelf across a large city without owning or renting a car. Is it possible? I'm getting into freecycle lately and I'd like to take some shelves, a stove, fridge and dishwasher that are on offer. But is it possible to do this without a car or renting one?

Are there services where they drive to a location you choose and pick up your item to move it somewhere for you? Yes I'm aware of movers but would they bother to move just 1 item for me sometimes?

If anyone has any solutions then tell me please. I can't exactly take public transit or bike these things around :)

Please help me fire Yahoo!

mezzanayne — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:35:51 -0800

Are all Freecycle groups run as a Yahoo! group? I'm a moderator for my local Freecycle group and like all Freecycle groups that I've ever known, our group's listserv is provided by Yahoo! groups. But Yahoo! groups is horrible and I want a better interface. I'm a programmer (currently VB but learning PHP), I have hosting, but what I would like to have is an open-source backbone for providing a bulletin-board-type site where members could post their wares (PHPBB?).

I've been to the main Freecycle site where listings for groups all across the country can be found, but so far all of the groups listed appear to be using Yahoo! groups.

Does anyone know of an open-source app that I could modify to meet my needs? PHP is preferred, but ASP would be good as well. Or if you happen to belong to a non-Yahoo!-based Freecycle group, please send me the group's information.

How to give away my 486 laptop w/ docking station?

Clay201 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:23:48 -0800

I have an old 486 Compaq laptop with a docking sation. I need someone to give it a good home. It's a Compaq LTE Elite 4/75C with a SmartStation docking station. Like any proud parent, I've got lots of pictures of both on flickr. The floppy drive and the battery don't work but otherwise this system is in good condition.

It'll run a "lite" version of Windows 98, but I doubt it'll do much more. So for your average 2007 user, it's a paperweight.

I could just list this antique on E-Bay, and I may end up doing that, but the docking station weighs 17 pounds and the laptop would probably bring it up to 20 or more. According to UPS, I can expect to spend forty bucks or more to ship it. (And they want thirty three to pack it for me. Thirty three?? What the hell??). Even if I do the packing myself, I just don't see E-Bayers paying that kind of cash for this thing.

I've tried my local freecycle list, but everyone there is looking for something they can use or sell (damn pragmatists). I've listed it on old-computers.com, but no one's responded yet. I live in Alabama and I've already tried some local folks I know. I need to get rid of this thing in the next week.

I've considered using it as a router, but that's probably just another one of those fantasy projects that I'll never complete. Besides, the other people who live in my home are not going to be too thrilled about having another ginormous piece of equipment to trip over. But it's survived this long, it still works fine, and I can't imagine there are very many like it still in existence. It seems a real shame for it to end up in a dumpster.

So I need someone to take this thing. I'm thinking it'll be someone who likes preserving or fooling around with antiquated technology; someone who looks at old Texas Instruments systems the way most kids today look at the new X-Station-Box-Cube. If this person wants to put money in my pocket, I'm certainly not going to turn it down, but really I'm just expecting him/her to pay the shipping and give the machine a good home.

So... how do I find the type of people I'm looking for? With whom do I network? Where do I post my ads? All suggestions welcome.

Free in DC

brokekid — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 09:26:37 -0800

I'm looking for websites that will lead me to free things to do/see/eat/get specifically in Washington, DC. What sites do you know of and or search techniques I can use? The sites that I've come up with so far is the free section on Craigslist and the Washington, DC Freecycle group and Upcoming.org. Any thoughts?