Freecycle - has anyone used it?

The last item I had advertised on Freecycle was a large floor rug. I gave the dimensions but when the girl came to pick it up she decided it was too heavy and unwieldy to carry to the local bus stop and board a bus- not that the driver would have allowed her on!

I had not long had major surgery and was using crutches so I could not help. In the end she found a willing mini cab driver and by some miracle it fitted.

I thought it obvious one person could not cope and would need transport.

I have picked up items stating why I want/need them and I always turn up on time. I do not say "I want".

The one strange item I Freecycled was the shelves removed from my airing cupboard when I had solar power installed. A perfect fit for the couple who picked them up.

Freecycle has its origins in the USA. Our own, homegrown version is Freegle so do look for your local group under that name, too. It all depends how badly you want to get rid of stuff. There will be (undeclared) dealers on both free giving sites, who want your stuff to sell on eBay. It's hard to tell who's genuinely in need from who's selling on. If you're OK with that, crack on and declutter your space! Some of the charity shops offer a collection service for large items. The British Heart Foundation took my washing machine and dishwasher when I had my kitchen done about five years ago. Free giving sites are collection only and some people simply don't turn up. Be prepared for that. Some will ask you to deliver.... No payment of any kind is meant to be the rule and that includes no chocolates and wine! I used to run our local Freecycle group, which became Freegle when they broke away from the American group.

Excellent site. Have given and received many items from plants to fishtanks!

Yes many times and I collect baby stuff if it’s still going after a few days for the baby bank

I've often used it.
However, I have a friend who's nervous of giving out her address and she arranges to meet in our asda car-park to show them the item and hand it over (or not). She always meets them in daylight and takes her daughter or a friend with her.
I have to say she's a very nervous person and I feel she's rather over anxious.
Having said that, I personally am a real fan.

I have given many things to Freegle, children's car seats, travel cots (which I first obtained from Freegle), two single beds etc. I always give a good description and say why I'm getting rid of the article, and this seems to work. I've only had one "no-show". I'm happy that someone can use them, and don't care if they sell.

ExDancer

I've often used it.
However, I have a friend who's nervous of giving out her address and she arranges to meet in our asda car-park to show them the item and hand it over (or not). She always meets them in daylight and takes her daughter or a friend with her.
I have to say she's a very nervous person and I feel she's rather over anxious.
Having said that, I personally am a real fan.

Anyone who is reluctant to open their front door to the collector can always leave it outside just before the allotted time. This depends on various things of course, so might not be suitable for everyone.

On the same note, again depending on where you live, it might be possible to simply leave stuff outside. Within a day or so someone might have taken it!

Yes they are great - helps you and helps another person / family …it’s a win win!

Offered a T V unit- lady said yes she would like it. Would I deliver it to her address!!

We also have a site on Nextdoor for free stuff, and a Repair Cafe once a month for almost anything be it bikes, electrical or clothes. and I've found Gumtree a good resource..

i use it on a regular basis as well as trash nothing. its been great for getting toys etc to use at mine for the grandchildren, i even got their beds and baby equipment when they were younger. i regularly have items to give, especially jam jars in the summer months for jams and pickling and it was brilliant for getting rid of my old washing machine, saved having to pay to have it taken away.

pascal30

We also have a site on Nextdoor for free stuff, and a Repair Cafe once a month for almost anything be it bikes, electrical or clothes. and I've found Gumtree a good resource..

Where is the repair Café Pascal? thanks

I tend to use a local Facebook group to gift free things and you can often find things on there as well that others are gifting

Have used Freecycle and Freegle many times pre-covid but not recently. So easy, apart from a few time-wasters.
Have given away such things as clean jam jars when it's jam-making season, baby items and furniture. Also acquired a shower seat when my mother was living with us, very useful!

Yes, I belong to two nearby groups. I don't like waste and sending perfectly good stuff to landfill. We got rid of a large, old tv - with a very good picture, but heavy/bulky, not flat screen. It was snapped up by a sports club - as not likely to ever be stolen!

Beds, cots, storage furniture, a garden swing set, saucepans, even an old washbasin were promptly collected by appreciative people. Whether they are kept and used - or sold on, I don't care, as I'm rid of them, my problem's solved, without the guilt of taking them to the tip.

I have given away but also acquired many things over decades on Freecycle and later on Gumtree freebies.

I have a harmonium broken if anyone would like it!

In my town whe have a very well functioning freecycle group on facebook. The group has good administration and practical rules. One of these is that you can't message the person offering or asking for something unless this person invites you to do so. Works very well!

Fleurpepper

pascal30

We also have a site on Nextdoor for free stuff, and a Repair Cafe once a month for almost anything be it bikes, electrical or clothes. and I've found Gumtree a good resource..

Where is the repair Café Pascal? thanks

It is in St George's Hall, Moulsecomb Brighton but if you look at the repair cafe site on google you might find others..

Thanks pascal, brilliant.

I used Freecycle in the past and found it mixed. You can either have loads of responses clogging up your email, be ignored or have people wanting you to take stuff to them
More recently I have used Facebook marketplace as at least the response is just in my FB messenger, not mixed with other emails.
I couldn't workout setting up Olio as it seemed to insist I used my phone, not my laptop.

I have used freecycle over several years both in the London Borough in which I used to live and now down in the Somerset town where I currently live.

Often electrical items, not selling them, so no problems. I always show photos of items, give clear measurements and full details where possible original instruction booklet.

I started to get very speedy replies asking if 'item was still for sale?' and then asking for measurements (which had all been given in advert. These are nearly always time wasters, they have this response set up to ALL new adverts. I stopped even relying to any of these, deleting them. They are traders looking for items they can sell on, having got it for free!!!!

Over the years all sorts of items have gone from me, beds bookcases, kitchen items, white goods, etc, etc, They always have to colect at a convenient time for me and pay in cash.

I free cycled a cooker when I got a new one. My daughter used it a lot when the children were little.

We use a local re use re cycle group where selling is not allowed. It works for us as a way of getting rid of clutter that a charity shop wouldn,t want such as an old folding chair. Items are usually left outside the door for collection .

I have also sold things and sometimes if you put a price on something it attracts more interest.

The jamjars resonates
I posted willow cuttings and horseradish. Not only did several people come, they dug up the horseradish and pruned the willow and posted photos of the dens and fences they had made.

I'm leaning on my IKEA kitchen table which came from Freecycle. An IKEA settee with a new cover is in the granny flat.
I don't like spending money and buying new if I can find things free or very cheap.

Now I am trying to declutter and it is slow work.

It has been a good site whenever I’ve used it. Also one I found called I Collect Clothes. They pick up from your home, sell them, keep part of profits and rest to a charity that you nominate. I’m happy for enterprising people to make some money out of stuff I no longer need. Keeps it out of landfill, too.