IN the midst of the stainless steel cookware, fridges, dining room tables, chairs and beds Jennefer Pascoe’s home has become a jungle of pre-loved goods. Owner of Freecycle Mackay, Ms Pascoe had been inundated with unwanted furniture and appliances which she had been giving to flood victims.

Freecycle Mackay is an online, non-profit organisation. Mackay is one of the 3500 Freecycle communities in the world and there are currently more than 470 Mackay members. Members have been logging on to the website and donating their unwanted furniture, clothes, white goods and small appliances.

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Meanwhile, I’m looking into freecycle, where people give away unwanted goods to keep them out of landfill. Journo Julian Lee has just published a fascinating book about living an environmentally friendly lifestyle called How Good Are You? In it he tells of 27-year-old Kate Pears, a Melbourne “fashion activist” who runs clothing exchanges that have become popular social events. People bring clothes they “value but no longer use”, which are then rearranged on racks by volunteers. At the end of the evening, everyone picks out the clothes they like and takes them home, for free. It would be great to see similar exchanges for kids’ clothes.

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A poster to the eco-australia blog has put together a helpful guide for maximising your recycling mojo and reducing the amount you put into landfill.

Local resources for rehoming your old stuff include Freecycle Today and e-Cycled. The Australian Giving Centre lists organisations that will accept donated blankets, clothes, computers, mobile phones, furniture, bikes and more.

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Consider donating unwanted presents to charity, take them to your local opportunity shop. You could also post the item on freecycle.org.au, a website that finds good homes for unwanted stuff.

Freecycle and op shops are also the perfect destination for used items that have been superseded by gifts. If it’s still in good condition, there’s every chance someone out there will want your old TV or saucepan set.

Freecycle recipients usually collect donations and charities such as the Salvos can pick up bulky goods (though for practical, hygiene reasons, some items such as mattresses aren’t accepted).

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First up, you may be able to extend the life of your computer by upgrading some of its components, or you could repurpose it (or bits of it) as a home server. Or you could give it to a friend or relative (make sure it’s powerful enough/stable enough to meet their computing needs or you’re not really being that helpful).

If you can’t repurpose the computer, recycling’s the next option. Extreme Tech’s just posted a helpful article on ways to recycle your hardware, which suggests googling “computer recycling” and your city to see what options come up. Freecycle is another option - a well established email list in which members can give away their unwanted stuff, or see what others are giving away.

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Saturday Extra (Australia) with Geraldine Doogue & Deron Beal