ad people tell me that with the granite countertops and solid maple cabinets that kitchen’s worth $20, 000,” said Melanie Carlone.

Carlone got it for free and found it on Freecycle.org.

“I paid for a Uhaul truck and a crew of three guys to go over and pull it out and come and put it in over here. it cost me about 200 bucks”

And deals like this are right at your fingertips. Check out Columbia Freecycle.org. Once you log on, you’ll need to join to get started, but the membership is free as well.

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Consider a local trade
Yorktown resident Carol Masser suggests the Web site freecycle.org. After you join a local chapter, you can list the items that you’re willing to give away and look for items for yourself.

Different from a trading group, two people don’t have to agree on a swap for the transaction to happen. You simply need to offer some of your goods in order to choose from what others in the group have listed.

Locally, there are freecycle groups in Newport News and Williamsburg.

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A quick search on Freecycle revealed that there were numerous people more than happy to have spare apples taken off their hands: “Just so long as they were rewarded with the cider we made from them!” laughs Pete. But it soon became apparent that the trees on London’s highways and parks were also choc-full of delights just waiting to be turned into cider. “We all cycle and we kept seeing trees we thought would be good to raid. Once we’d seen one, we’d make a note and come back to it with all of our paraphernalia.”

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What do you do when times are tight but you still need to replace the wooden legs on your couch? How are you supposed to keep the glaring sunlight out of your eyes so that you can balance the chequebook at your desk? Where can you find bedsheets, cookie jars, and bicycles for free, all while feeling like you’re contributing to a worthy social cause?

There is a new trend in environmental activism that doesn’t cost a thing but helps keep otherwise useful household goods out of landfills. The first Freecycle group started in 2003 when Deron Beal sent an email to a few dozen friends, colleagues and local non-profit agencies near him in Tucson, Arizona. Beal worked for a group that provided recycling services and he noticed perfectly good stuff being thrown away, so he decided to do something about it.

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Myth: “Biodegradable” products that return to their natural state save landfill space.

Reality: Modern landfills are designed to keep out sunlight, air and moisture to prevent air and water pollution, thus inhibiting degradation. The FTC’s definition of a biodegradable product is one that will completely decompose within a reasonably short period of time under customary methods of disposal. Because most landfilled garbage won’t pass that test, you’re better off reducing your contribution to solid waste (according to the EPA, the average American generates almostfive pounds of garbage a day). At the store, look for a claim of “post-consumer recycled” content, then recycle what you can. Also use sites such as Freecycle.org instead of hauling reusable stuff to the dump.

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Yard sales are great for bargains, but they also are great for the fact that we are keeping usable things out of our landfills. Each of us produces 1.2 tons of garbage per year, but that figure doesn’t include the usable goods—such as old furniture, clothes and books—that also wind up in the waste stream.

Tighter belts mean people are more reluctant to throw usable goods away and more likely to fix something broken or exchange it with a friend. More and more people are engaging in the time-honored tradition of “freecycling.” This means giving usable goods to someone else for free instead of wasting it.

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Spokesman Owain Griffiths said: “Rather than sending the clothing to landfill, there are other options for getting rid of school uniforms without impacting on the environment.

“You could donate good-quality clothes to a charity shop, sell them on or register them on Freecycle.co.uk, which is an online community where members give away their unwanted items to others.”

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After Debbie, of Wood Road, Heybridge, put an advert on the website, Freecycle, explaining what had happened and appealing for anyone who had a DS for sale to get in touch, she received an e-mail from a man who told her to go to Maldon police station where there was a gift waiting for her son.

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You can get lots of free goodies for nothing, as well as give away unwanted items instead of filling up the local dump.

One catch though — you have to sign up through Yahoo. Mr. T’s word of advice: Set up a separate e-mail specifically freebie hunting, as you’ll otherwise clog up your inbox.

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