Helpful if you're nesting (freecycle.org)

Member Name: Squiddly450

Product:	freecycle.org
Date:	03/03/09 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free items, community feeling and good for your pocket (and the environment)

Disadvantages: If you don't want kids clothes, you have to really persevere

OH and I have just bought a house together, so very exciting. As we have stretched ourselves somewhat to get our deposit and stamp duty together, I decided to give this freecycle phenomenon a go.

I expect you all know the philosophy behind this site, if you've got something you don't want to or can't sell, you can offer it (for free) to someone who lives locally to you before binning it.

My first step was to sign up, to be perfectly honest, I found this a little complicated and I'm no luddite! I googled freecycle and when the main "freecycle" site came up, I clicked on "UK Groups" and narrowed it down to our area. So far so good.
After this, I had to sign up for a yahoo email account in order to access the listings. I'm a lifetime hotmail user and to be honest, I don't find yahoo as easy to use, nevertheless you need a yahoo login so I got one!

To become a member, you also have to write a short sentence on why you would like to join, I expect this is to reduce the number of chancers who just want free stuff for no effort.

Once you have been accepted, you'll get an email in your yahoo inbox, along with two or three emails telling you the etiquette expected from you. My group is fairly tightly moderated which is good.

Basically, there aren't many rules, but they do ask you to give something before you ask for something-fair enough.
I decided to get rid of a VCR that we no longer want, isn't it dreadful, no one watches videos anymore! (Not many people in any case). So, I checked up on the format and composed an email. This must have a subject heading following the guidelines of: OFFERED-VCR-Squiddlytown.
This is succinct but gives enough information for someone to decide whether they want to open the message or not. Once you have the title, you just put some detail in the main body of the email and send it to the "group". In my group, this goes to one of the Mods and then on to the group. I got the heading wrong first time and the guy sent it back to me and asked me to change it-they run a tight ship!

This is emailed to all the group members and also posted forum style, to be honest I only read the emails and don't check the forum but I suppose it depends on what you find easiest.

Our VCR was snapped up, several people emailed and I just chose the most polite one and we arranged to meet in the pub carpark (nice and easy to find-does sound a bit dodgy though!!). To be perfectly honest, I have asked for a couple of things and not been lucky, I also posted a wanted ad and had no replies.
The main items on there are childrens bits and pieces, understandable as they grow out of things so quickly, not very helpful if you can't have rugrats and you're looking for a wheelbarrow!

I would highly recommend you logging on, particularly if you are having a clear out-things like box files go very quickly- or have just decorated and have old curtain rails or half tins of paint left over, they will be welcomed with open arms. If you've got kids it's definitely worth a look as there are tonnes of clothes and toys offered on there, if you can't afford/don't want to buy new stuff, you'll do well on here.

Freecycle is like a small community, which gives it a nice trusting feeling. Having said that. I would highly recommend not letting people come to your house to pick things up, I know that sounds very sceptical but better safe than sorry, especially as you have probably just advertised the fact that you have two children and you're throwing out your husbands clothes or you've got builders round etc etc.

Summary: Brilliant idea, somewhat limited items on offer