Household items, furniture, and miscellaneous (sporting gear, etc.): Big Brother Big Sister, Epilepsy Foundation and Salvation Army will all pick up by appointment. Consider donating your item to someone else who may really appreciate it via Freecycle.org, Craigslist.org, Throwplace.com or Freepeats.org (baby, kid and maternity items).
You could join a local Freecycle group online. “It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills,” according to www.freecycle.org. There are about 5 million members around the world and active New Hampshire groups. There are rules and etiquette to abide by, but basically once you are approved to join the group, you can send out e-mails about items you have to offer. The concept is kind of like putting things on the side of the road with a sign that says “free,” but it’s more organized and the stuff won’t get rained on.
● Good for mom, good for Mother Nature: You have no job and you’re broke, so give to mom and Mother Nature for free. Check out freecycle.org — a Web site that hosts various community groups who are trading, giving and getting stuff instead of filling landfills with it — all for free. (Utica has 2,207 active members.)
The Huron Valley Green Team would like to thank all of the individuals, families, businesses and organizations that came together to make the second annual Huron Valley Earth Day Festival a success. More than 1,500 people attended this year’s festival, which hosted more than 50 vendors promoting green practices, all-ages workshops, activities, 7 musical acts and dozens of giveaways. More than 1,000 White Pine (Michigan’s State Tree) seedlings were distributed and our programs were printed on plantable paper that bloom wild flowers.
Hundreds of people made green pledges for 2008, saying they would recycle more or use energy efficient light bulbs. Others said they would stop using plastic bags. Still others committed to using less energy and unplugging computers, appliances and electronics when not in use. Some pledged to eat more local and organic foods while others pledged to eat less meat and more green.
Hanover - Several years ago, my husband pulled into our driveway with his pickup truck and said, “Honey, you’ve got to come with me to this yard sale. They’re giving everything away for free!”
We drove up the street, following the signs to the “Yard Free.” A family was moving out of state and downsizing from a large Colonial home to a condo. Rather than try to sell the items they didn’t need anymore, they were just giving them away. They probably figured that they could get rid of a lot more stuff that way. And I’m sure they did. We took home a patio umbrella, a lounge chair, a set of bowling balls in their own custom bag, a set of four outdoor chairs, and plenty more that I can’t recall at this point.
Thanks are due to Heather Cass, who in her “Good Morning” column, offered easy steps for reducing carbon footprints (Erie Times-News, April 14).
Some of these suggestions are new to me, and I will be following her advice. I also have a tip to share. The local branch of Freecycle, a national organization, encourages passing on old or unwanted items to anyone who has a use for them.
MILAN - From campers to bearded dragons, a former Milan couple has been making it easy for local residents to find good homes for their prized possessions.
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Just over four years ago, Nancy Castleman and Marc Eisenson started the Hudson Valley Freecycle Network. The first large item they gave away from their Milan home was an outdoor playset their grandchildren had used.
Laura Zurowski is one of the moderators of the Dutchess chapter of Freecycle, an online exchange of free used merchandise.
She said if there is a little life in an electronic item, people could try to pass it along to someone else rather than sending it to a recycling facility.
She said about a quarter of the messages offering merchandise for reuse deal with computers, monitors, printers, faxes, DVD player and TVs.
“Some people people use Freecycle to look for parts for computers,” Zurowski said in an e-mail message.
“It’s not as convenient as simply dropping the item off at a recycling center,” she said, “but I think there’s a greater satisfaction knowing that your equipment is being used and enjoyed by another person.”
Karen Letrendre treats every day like Earth Day. She’s a regular participant in several conservation programs and supports web sites that offer a free exchange of unwanted items like www.freecycle.org.
She gets frustrated seeing garbage all over Taunton. “It’s just loaded with trash,” Letrendre said.
Ellen Hansen was also one of several volunteers unhappy with other people’s tolerance for public trash. She said the excuse: “Somebody else is always going to do it,” is too prevalent when it comes to litter.
“I don’t think people realize how much one cup, two cups adds up,” she said.
Freecycle expounded on the theory by using the Internet to offer at no cost (if someone is simply willing to come and get it) things you have too much of, things that you are tired of and just don’t want anymore, things that might help someone else (since you’re giving things away as opposed to selling them) or, perhaps the greenest motive of all, things you want to keep out of a landfill by giving them another life.
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