Freecycle? NO way.........

[RICHARD]

Today I was feeling the urge to move stuff.

I had two chairs, two end tables, a phone table and coffee table.

I was looking thru the web for places that would pick them up.

I decided that I'd try to put them out on the curb with a FREE sign on them.

I put the chairs and phone table out first.

The chairs went in 5 minutes, a woman up the street took the rest.

Total curb time? 20 minutes.


LOL, I even had a couple come and look at the end tables and the split. when they came back, I had already given the other stuff away!


LOL, Take that Internet!!!:);)

[Freedom]

;)

I put stuff at the curb, posted it on freecycle, and on craigslist under the free section.

Either way, it seems to MOVE!

[Karen]

There's a pretty large, ugly vase, complete with sticks that are supposed to be artistic, that's been on our neighbor's curb for a couple days now. Our street doesn't get that much traffic, so I wonder how long it will sit!

Freecycle is great for stuff you don't want to leave out in the elements (yes, Richard, I know you don't get as much "weather" as us) or that most people might not be interested in. I could not believe how many responses I got for a busted cheap lawn mower ... people were competing for it!

[RICHARD]

There's a pretty large, ugly vase, complete with sticks that are supposed to be artistic, that's been on our neighbor's curb for a couple days now. Our street doesn't get that much traffic, so I wonder how long it will sit!



I was prepared to lug it all back in in the afternoon, I never thought it would go THAT fast.:eek:

The house is kinda on a main drag, but I never expected it would be gone in minutes. pretty amazing!

[moosmom]

It's amazing how quickly stuff goes when it's left by the curb. Blows me away!

[kokopup]

Reminds me of my old Navy days when we were doing compartment cleaning. We had a hug steel desk that we had to get rid of. The problem, we were on the 07 level of an Aircraft carrier and it would have to be disassembled before we could move it down to the hanger deck. Since it was to big to go through the small hatches that separated the passageways, we put it outside in the passageway thinking we would do the desk break down tomorrow. Procastination was something we did real well. Next morning, it appears, someone had been real busy during the night because the desk was gone.:D

Comparing our passageway to streets, you could say we were way off the beaten track.

[RICHARD]

Procastination was something we did real well. Next morning, it appears, someone had been real busy during the night because the desk was gone.:D

Comparing our passageway to streets, you could say we were way off the beaten track.

That's funny.

We used to practice the Art of Aquisition at my old job, too.

If it sat in one spot for a while we acquired it, otherwise we bartered.;)

[anna_66]

Glad someone took it:D

I remember years ago my parents had given us some old carpet because it was still in good shape. We used it for years then finally when we were able to purchase some new we sat the old outside and were going to haul it away. Like your stuff, it probably sat out there 15-20 min and was gone! We were really glad we didn't have to bother with it:D

[Catlady711]

I've listed some things on Freecycle in the past, and just plain set stuff out by the curb. In either case it all went to homes where it was usefull again, I'm assuming.

I've been on both sides of the curb, so to speak.

I can't resist checking out people's stuff setting at the curb. I've gotten a perfect condition metal tub for my fire pit ashes, and a nearly perfect condition mini igloo cooler for my fishing worms from someone's curb. Saved me from having to buy them at the store.

I've put stuff out to the curb that didn't last 20 minutes that were surprising that dissapeared; stretched out waterbed mattress, kinked garden hose, half working stereo, broken pole lamp, and a couple mostly bald tires. :confused:

Hey I truely believe in 'one person's trash is another person's treasure'

[cassiesmom]

It's amazing how quickly stuff goes when it's left by the curb. Blows me away!

My sister's (upper middle class) neighborhood is like that too! Folks cruise the streets on Sunday nights because people put their trash on the curb for Monday collection day.

We have a spot in my building, it's a little table in the lobby, where you can place things you would like to give away. We also place magazines there after we've read them, because one of my neighbors takes them to the V.A. when we are done with them.

When my grandmother passed away and we needed to clear out her whole house, my mom found an organization that came and picked up her dining table and chairs, some pots and pans and a set of dishes. They set up apartments for refugee families and we thought that was a great place for my grandmother's stuff to go.


Today I was feeling the urge to move stuff.
Could you please forward the urge to me? I have a LOT of stuff that needs moved o-u-t.

[RICHARD]

Yesterday I called the city to come pick up a matress, ottoman, Computer crt and a the sofa.

I called at about 12:30 p.m. to arrange a pickup and they were here at 7:30 a.m.

Someone did pick up the CRT and the ottoman during the night, so it was that much LESS for the city to pick up!:D

[Cookiebaker]

A few years ago, we renovated our kitchen and upgraded our 1950's electric stove/oven. We did a little research and found out that we were going to have to pay to throw it away (I don't remember the exact price but I'm thinking it was like $40 or $50). That stove was soo gross. There was no way to open the top of it, and there was 50 years of crumbs under the range -- you could vaccuum out some of it, but anything out of reach of the vaccuum was stuck there. So we put it out at the curb. Unfortunately, it rained that night (we covered it with a tarp) and I was convinced that we were going to have to suck it up and pay to get rid of it. But the next morning, it was GONE! :) Saved us a lot of time and energy and money! :) I love putting stuff out for free! :)

[gini]

I can't tell you how many times I have put things at the curb and in less than ten minutes IT WAS GONE!!

I am starting to think that someone sits up the street and just watches our house because it was picked up so fast.............

But they say - your junk is someone elses treasure.

[Medusa]

I think the funniest for me is a couple of weeks ago I put out an old cardboard box that was nearly crushed but was too big to put in the trash can. Someone took it before the trash collector even came! :p

[Catlady711]

Could you please forward the urge to me? I have a LOT of stuff that needs moved o-u-t.


The best thing that helped me (a confirmed life long packrat) was a series of books by Don Aslett (http://housekeeping.about.com/od/booksandmagazine/a/donaslettinterv.htm); Clutter's Last Stand (http://www.amazon.com/Clutters-Last-Stand-Time-Junk/dp/0898791375), Not For Packrats Only (http://www.amazon.com/Not-Packrats-Only-Don-Aslett/dp/0452265932/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287186499&sr=1-1), and How To Lose 200 LBS This Weekend (http://www.amazon.com/Lose-200-Lbs-This-Weekend/dp/0937750239/ref=pd_sim_b_5).

Aside from the humorous way he writes and the cute cartoons in the margins, his books are full of helpful advice to declutter your home, even for die hard packrats like me.

After I read his books in 2006 I started working on decluttering my own home (which was bad, let me tell you). I finally had my last garage sale this summer. In total I think I pitched about 18 garbage bags of stuff, donated 6-8 boxes of stuff plus some furniture, and sold about 10 pickup trucks full of stuff!!:eek: And honestly I don't miss hardly a thing. It was all so buried around here that I couldn't even enjoy what I had. Now it's being enjoyed, and USED by someone else, or it's finally had the burial it deserved years ago.

Thanks to the advice in the book, the super sentimental stuff I took pictures of before getting rid of it, so now I can look at it any time I want without spending 3 hours digging in the basement for it, or worrying how to store it.

It also changed what I buy and bring into my home now. While I wish I could say I have empty shelves abound, I do have an occasional empty shelf here and there, and no longer get attacked by things opening cupboards and closet doors, and I can find most stuff again without hiring an excavation team!:D

I figure it it helped a packrat like me, those books will help anybody. I highly recommend getting them, or at least checking them out at the library.