I have seen this online and was wondering if anyone has used this. I went online and cannot find a way to look for areas so whoever I give to is closer and no shipping involved. Anyone have any suggestions or how to's?
Of course for quilting items, like fabric, thread, etc. Sometimes I get way too much to use and want to share.
The nursing home take things but you can never tell if it gets totally used. I like to "Pass it on". Lots of things get passed back to me. It's a challenge. Love to hear from anyone.

Here is the website: http://www.freecycle.org/
It is not the ".com" site. Top center is a search to find a group near you. Many areas have a group, and a local moderator. I use freecycle a lot, and have requested batting for a charity project and gotten some.

I use it, just go to http://www.freecycle.org/ and type in your town and state. Once you find one, you have to sign up for the list. It’s not a searchable list like Craigs List, but rather it’s a mailing list. So everyone posts and you get an email that you can then respond to. It ends up being a lot of emails, so I would suggest creating a filter for them in your email box. But you can really find some great stuff. Unfortunately for me there aren’t a lot of quilters using this list where I am, so I have had no luck finding things (I like to give a home to people’s lonely scraps :)), but I am sure if you post some of your stuff on there you will find many people willing to take it off your hands!

Hope that helps!
Rachel

I've been to this site before and to sign up you have to put alot of info in for Yahoo. I don't have Yahoo. I don't want to change either. It looks like if yo sign up you'll be getting alot of junk emails. Is it worth it??????????? :shock:

I use freecycle. I don't get other mail, only the freecycle postings. Have gotten good stuff and passd on good stuff.
Actually our group does not use freecycle anymore, but has moved on to ReUseIT.

Thats good to know. I'm with Google. Will it change that to Yahoo if I sign up? I'll also check the ReUseIt. Thanks :thumbup:

The list is run through Yahoo Groups, so you do need to sign up with them to use it, but you can have the emails go to any email address. I never check my Yahoo email as I only have the account for their groups. I just have the list send the list emails to my normal email account.

HTH!
Rachel

i am a moderator on our local freecycle board. it works really well..i have gifted all sorts of items myself..to people whio need things.
i would ask that you do "porch pick-ups" whatever you have,with thier name on it. it is safer, and also avoids frustration of No-shows or people getting there late. so YOUR not waiting around to hear the knock on the door.

try to make people reply with a date and time they can pick up.

if your the one picking something up..make sure you are on time!
most city's have group rules..some of ours are:
1 wanted post with max 3 items on the post per week.
no "come and get it,address posted or curbside posting"
(to avoid 20 people showing up to get it, and it be taken already..(saves gas and frustrations!)
we don't allow garage sales posts..only "free for all,left overs from garage sales" with specific times and dates. (or you could call purple heart at the end of a garage sale.

Sounds like fun. I guess I won't be able to do it. I live an hour away from town so I don't think anyone would want to drive that far. I was hoping they had a drop off place or something like that. Oh well. :wink:

I Love freecycle, I put out at WANTED ad for fabrica nd quilting supplies and made out like a bandit. I would reccomend trying it.

I also have my yahoo mail setup to be sent to my gmail account so I don't have to check both. :)

I tried to join one of these 2 weeks ago, but I never got an ok from the moderator, so I guess I won't be able to check these out :cry: Maybe I will hear something soon though.

I just gave my firt thing away on Saturday. And - as a thank you I got some fabric! The woman asked if there was anything I needed or wanted. I said I am very spoiled but a new quilter. She happend to also be so gave some as a thank you.

I am very excited to use it more once I get the basement cleaned out :)

I belong to a freecycle group on Yahoo! There is an option to change individual emails to web only (better to use "special notices only" so you still give emails from the administrator) or a daily digest. Once you have joined, go to the website and look at the top of the page for an "edit your membership" link.

We are rural, but people still come to pick up things. It's definitely worth joining the group and trying; you might be surprised at what people think is useful.

you need to contact the owner/moderator
they may be busy,or not much help moderating. 2 weeks is to long to wait for approval or rejection.
usually they want you to reply with your zip-code in the subject line.
check to see if other cities in your area have freecycle..you can join more than one. (although i don't care for cross-posting) but each group does the organization rules and thier own rules are added.
i have had people come from all over to pick things up from me..and depending on what i am looking for..i will drive a distance also.
it is so nice to be able to help others out that need the help. i see alot of single moms on the board..
we even post broken washing machine and such..because we have a couple people that want the scrap for cash.

we also have a guy that has a used oil heater in his polebarn..so he is post once a month for used car oil.

I just resubmitted, so hopefull I hear something soon.

Thanks Prism I'll go ahead and give it a try.

Thanks for all the info.

Thank you everyone. I will go to the site. I did go to the .com site. Oops. I read all the replies and have wonderful ideas. Appreciate your time in responding. I hope to find many who could use these items. Good idea on the bags with a name on the porch. I do live 19 miles out in the country but the towns around me are small too so we don't think much of the driving. I can also leave bags at the local quilt store in town. She works with me. I have project Linus quilts dropped off there too. Thanks so much

Thanks everyone. I joined the group near me and have already been accepted and ready to post. I am going to watch it a few days to see how it works and read the long message they sent about do's and don'ts and how to's. Appreciate the help.

I have never tried it.

I belong to the Group in my county...I think it's a wonderful idea.

I too have used it and received a lot of fabric, unfinished quilts, sewing notions, books. I love it. It is a great idea. I didn't know it existed until I heard about it on this site. Gotta love this site.

Guys and girls. I am trying to start a good stash, so if anyone has stash material they don't need or is downsizing, please pm me and I will pay the shipping. This includes notions, patterns, etc.

i just went yesterday and picked up a bag of scraps to do a scappy quilt and was very surprise there were alot of large amounts of fabric and none of the pieces that were in the bag r small so i was happy i did well on that one which was my first pick up...

i just went yesterday and picked up a bag of scraps to do a scappy quilt and was very surprise there were alot of large amounts of fabric and none of the pieces that were in the bag r small so i was happy i did well on that one which was my first pick up...

I use http//[email protected] the one I use is not a dot org and I get and give lots of things, Especially fabric and batting. Love the site and this one, too.

Ahh look at that cute little puppy.

I am a new freecycle person thanks to Michael's experience, I went and joined up.

I have myself set up on digests so there are several posts in my email up to 25. The only problem I find with it is that I work and it seems some people might just sit in front of their pc all day. All is taken by the time I see it.

I am hoping to find some fabric through it. Craig's List craft posts are more for stampin up than anything fabric related.

What is ReUseIt?

If you have extra fabric etc to donate, you might try the local quilt guild or find a sewing group that is sewing for charity. I am a member of such a group and we can always use donations. Your local fabric shop may be able to give you some direction.

I don't like Freecycle at all. I joined and received tons of emails, which became a real pain, so I dropped it. I like Craigs List much better. But it's a personal preference thing...

What's "purple heart" mean. Never heard that expression. Also, I tried to get on Freecycle a long time ago, I guess tne moderator never accepted me, as I didn't hear back. Any ideas?

In our area, the freecycle moderators suggested we go to ReUseIt when something happened that I don't remember. It is a similar site to freeclcle with similar rules. We are aslo linked up with Missouri Market Place (MMP)for items that you want to sell, or purchase.

Purple heart is like DAV (disabled Vets) Kings Daughters, goodwill. They come to your location and pickup items.

Just reapply. Membership applications to Yahoo! groups automatically expire after 2 weeks if the moderator takes no action. You might have applied while the moderator was on vacation or sick.

If the application asks you to explain why you want to join, be sure to write a line about yourself. I moderate a different type of group that was ruined years ago by spammers. Therefore, I accept members only if they write a line explaining why they want to join the group. I will not accept someone who writes "Please let me join your group." because it's so characteristic of spammers.

I love 'freecycle" someone will always want what you have to offer. & I have also got many good items including fabric!

i used Broomfield free cycle online. met the lady at Block Buster Video near my home and gave her an old t.v.
just never give out your home address. works fine but use an email addy without your name in it too.

I have freecycled for years and love it! I recommend it to everyone I can. What a great and easy way to reuse items and you would be surprised at what you can keep out of your trash can. Just about everything is useful to someone! Egg cartons and planting containers are especially wanted around here. I have also offered volunteer trees from my yard and gotten lots of plants from others. Furniture, clothing, books, coupons, animals, knick knacks, you name it - you will see it. I have never gotten anything other than the freecycle posts. When my son lived in LA, he practically furnished his apartment from freecycle - some of the items were in such great shape I kept them when he moved back! Great site.

I'm with Google also and use Freecycle. You don't have to give up Google to do this.

I just bought something off Craigslist from someone who lives in the county next to ours. I offered to Paypal her the money and pay for shipping so I didn't have to travel 100 miles...might work with Freecycle?

I also haven't had difficulty with lots of junky emails. I'm sorry for those who have those experiences. Maybe it's different in different localities.

Thanks for the suggestions on porch pick up or meeting at a public place. I'm going to do that in the future.

I love freecycle. Most forget that it's purpose is to save things from going into the trash, that is either still usable, fixable, or can be re-purposed. There was a person looking for box springs because he used them in his garden to raise his plants above ground.

To join you go to www.freecycle.org to find your local group, but the emails come from freecycle.com after you sign up, because it is a yahoo group specific to your area. You have to join yahoo and create an account, but you should have emails come to your normal email account so you can see postings in a timely manner.

I have given away tons of stuff on freecycle, cookbooks, bedding, furniture, housewares, craft supplies, wall paint, a rug, some cosmetics, clothing, etc. I have gotten fabric, batting, brand new luggage, Pergo for my bathroom and hall, my patio set, my shelving units and a few other things that have saved me a ton of money. Last month I asked for cotton fabric for quilting and while I got very little fabric, I did get about 30 quilting books!

The most incredible thing I have seen on freecycle was a man was giving away his whole kitchen, cabinets and appliances from a 7 year old home. They had just purchased the house and his wife wanted to redo the whole thing. You just had to provide the labor to remove it.

What is ReUseIt?

Diane

freecycle-great concept. our local group is very, very active. the sheer # got to be too much, so i discontinued. will probably pick it up again in the future