uncluttering one day and one thing at a time

I <3 this community.

Somehow the numbers thing is really, really motivating. Right now I'm at a net loss of 33 things; I'm keeping a spreadsheet to track my progress and keep me motivated. (And this is only my second day!)

My family and I call clutter "drek", which is a fancy word for poo. Thus decluttering is known as de-drekking. It's very satisfying to say.

However, that's not the point of this post. I just wanted to let folks know of the wonders of freecycle. To quote from their mission statement thingy:

"The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,954 groups with 8,525,714 members around the world. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers (them's good people). Membership is free."

Sometimes I'm reluctant to let certain things go. That keepsake that used to mean so much could get broken in the Goodwill donation truck. And often what I have won't get taken by Goodwill. That's where freecycle comes in. Today I freecycled a bunch of tourist information pamphlets I picked up on various vacations. I figured it would probably end up in the recycling, but I listed it to see what happened. Someone going to Cape Cod on Saturday took all the Cape Cod pamphlets and was really happy. And my tarot decks have a very loving home. It's sometimes easier to let go when you know your stuff is wanted elsewhere.

How does it work? Once you join the Yahoo group, you send an email with something like "OFFER: small buddha statue", a description of the item, and where you're located. People who want it email you and say when they can pick it up, and then you choose a person and a means of getting it to them. I have a porch, so I just leave it on my porch in a bag with their name on it. Then they take it away! It's like there's a magical Santa fairy who finds good homes for my stuff.

Of course the danger of freecycle is the massive emails you get with lots of cool stuff you might want to get from someone. (It helps if you get them in a 25-email digest version rather than individually; there are sometimes hundreds of posts a day on weekends.) The key is moderation.

So if you're looking for a way to get rid of some treasured keepsakes, half a bottle of shampoo, or fabric scraps, you might want to consider freecycle. (Crafting supplies disappear fast.) You keep things out of landfills and your closet, and you help your neighbors. You might even make a friend that way - I did. ^_^