Portland, OR

Yesterday’s post about shopping for antiques in Portland got me thinking about recycling and all that it encompasses. As such, I wanted to draw your attention to Freecycle, if you haven’t checked it out already. Freecycle groups are popping up in many cities, so even if you are not a Portlander, you can find a freecycle site for your own city. Or you could start one…

A simple google search for “Portland Freecycle” will give you the best starting point for the Portland Freecycle site. I noticed that the freecycle site is also listed on Tribe.net, but once on that site, I had a hard time accessing it. Maybe it’s just me, but as FreeCycle is under the auspices of Yahoo groups, it is probably just best to go to the home page via Yahoo.

Here’s how it works: People enter listings or “offers” for things that they no longer need or want, and if it is something that you can use or want, you simply click on the listing, and there is a handy little “reply” button that you click on to write to the person giving the item away. There are some basic rules. Everything must be free, legal, and all ages-appropriate. Now, that last rule is a little odd, but really all it means is no porn or other “adult” items. Not that I see a big after-market for lovingly used dildoes, but you really never know, do you? This is Portland.

On the flip side, you can also add a “WANTED” listing for something that you are looking for and hope to find. This is a great way to not only get things for free, but also to help someone clean out their closets.

In my own experience on Portland’s Freecycle, I was looking for one of those old-timey push mowers that have the metal blades that turn as you push it. I have a small yard, with two patches of grass, and really, I don’t see the need to use electricity or gas for a yard so small. I put a “wanted” posting on Freecycle, not expecting much, but within the day, I received a very nice email from a woman who had such a mower to get rid of, as she and her husband had taken out all of the grass in their yard and instead put in vegetables (which is a great idea if you are looking to be a little more self-sustainable). And I got a great little mower — for free.

I also got a new home for my little turtle. I must have received five or six offers from very nice people that had aquariums to give away. And Turtle got a very nice ten-gallon aquarium — for free.

So, in my two recent experiences, I got an old-timey push mower and an aquarium. Two rather odd things to expect to get for free, right? Most days on Freecycle, I see listings for moving boxes, furniture, children’s items, that kind of stuff. Although, some listings are for very odd items. Egg incubator, anyone?

Portland, Freecycle, recycling, Yahoo, tribe.net