I recently moved in with my fiancée. Anyone who has moved in with a significant other knows that combining lives isn't easy. First and foremost, we had to agree on neighborhood which, being the environmentalists we are, meant that it had to have easy access to mass transit and a variety of necessary services within walking distance (otherwise known as a good "walking shed"). We also had to discuss the type of housing we wanted, along with a bevy of other things.
To my surprise, one of the hardest pieces of this puzzle to manage was our stuff. Being in our early 30s, we've each accumulated a lot of stuff. Small knickknacks we'd bought in the hopes that they'd give a certain adult style to our single-life abodes, books, music, games, kitchen gear, files and, of course, furnishings to hold it all. Even though we found a pretty good-sized apartment, it was obvious from the start that some of the stuff would have to go.
The first thing we did was to hold a garage sale. Not only is a garage sale a good way to get rid of a lot of stuff with minimal effort, but you generally make some money. It's also a chance to spend the entire day sitting in the sun talking to neighbors - a rarity in our go-go-go, eyes-down, cellphone-up culture.
So we spent the first few weeks in our new place surrounded by boxes of bric-a-brac, sorting through childhood toys and more books than I can shake a stick at. Then, when the appointed day came, we got everything out on the sidewalk, put up a few signs and waited.
Things went well and we made some money. But inevitably, there was still plenty of stuff left over. We couldn't just throw it out; the things we had were still usable, so tossing them with the rest of our garbage was not an option. After all, we try to live making a minimal impact on the planet. Just dumping a truckload of things into a hole in the ground doesn't do much to help with the city's, or the world's, waste problem.
Leaving things out on the sidewalk with free signs didn't seem right either. Doing that may be OK for a few items here and there, but a couple of boxes full of clothes, books and even some furnishings is nothing more than a pile of garbage, and if it rained before it got taken, we'd have ruined a bunch of things that someone could have used but now had to go into a landfill.
So we turned to the Internet and found Freecycle. Freecycle is a community of e-mail groups with more 3.5 million members in 4,041 communities around the world. In Seattle alone there are thousands of members.
All of them exist to further four basic goals: reduce waste, save resources, ease stress on landfills and build stronger communities. It's like instant karma for anyone with an environmental conscience because not only are you reusing items and reducing waste and building community, you're also getting free things in return.
The rules are simple. If you have something you no longer need, post an offered message with a brief description and your general location. If you're looking for something, post a wanted message and your general location. Only tangible items are allowed (no services, no concert tickets, no coupons). When you agree to pick something up or drop it off, do so when you say you will. Finally, above all, everything on Freecycle must be free. No cash may change hands, and no bartering is allowed.
On Freecycle this month, my fiancée and I gave away a small couch, tons of moving boxes and bags of packing peanuts (from wedding presents). All of it was in fine condition, and more than one person told me how grateful they were to get what they were looking for so easily and quickly.
We helped one man complete a computer system for his mother with a set of computer speakers. He said his mom was getting the hang of the Internet and told me the speakers would help her explore YouTube.
Another woman who runs a sustainable-garden service took the couch cover to replace one her dog had ruined. She was so happy to no longer have to look at what I guess was a pretty ugly couch.
My favorite things to get rid of, though, were the hangers.
Between the two of us, my fiancée and I must have had about 50 or 60 extra plastic hangers taking up room in our closets. You know what I'm talking about. They're multicolored made of hard plastic and will never degrade, ever. Well, I posted them on Freecycle, and within minutes I had a slew of e-mails in my inbox asking for them. The woman who took them had just moved in with her father while her family's home was being remodeled. I dropped them off for her, and when she opened the door I knew I'd made a difference. Clothes were everywhere, and she looked at her wit's end. When she saw the stack of hangers I had for her, I thought she might hug me.
Imagine, a stack of hangers changed that woman's world. That's a good feeling.
You can find out more about Freecycle or find a local group at www.freecycle.org
Charles Redell, a Seattle-based freelance writer, welcomes your questions about the environment and lessening your impact on the planet via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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