Search Results for: blog what are the best freecycle finds

Freecycle Giving Tips

It has been happening a lot lately. I’ve been posting multiple items on Freecycle.org to bless others, to keep things out of the landfill, and to declutter our home. But lately, giving the items away has been a big hassle. Here is what I learned. Hopefully, it can help you to have a better experience. Report No Shows For the longest time, I couldn’t bring myself to report people who claimed an item and then didn’t show up to retrieve it or bother to contact me. I figured that things happen. But reporting people who don’t show up helps the … Continue reading →

Avoid the Pitfalls of Preschool Hand-Me-Downs and Thrift Store Finds

I adore thrift stores. So much so that when I opt to spend less on impulse buys, I have to swear up and down that I will stay out of thrift stores. It’s so tempting. A few dollars, a few more essential items…. That said, most of our toys are second hand. They’re either from Freecycle, from neighbors, from relatives who are all grown up, or from garage sales or thrift stores. I know so many people who feel great guilt about the number of toys that their children have. I don’t. While my daughter gets some new toys at … Continue reading →

What Are the Best Freecycle Finds?

Wherever I go, especially yard sales, I tell people about Freecycle. For example, when we had out lucky dining room set find last weekend, I told the owners who were moving to consider joining freecycle. Over the years I’ve been able to bless others with things in our home that we no longer needed, wanted or loved. And in return, we have been blessed with things that we wanted and needed from others. It is interesting to see all of the different offers and wants on my local freecycle board. Some people ask for expensive items, such as laptops and … Continue reading →

Yard Sale-ing Finds

Did you go yard-sale-ing this weekend? We did. Not only did we get some great bargains, but we learned quite a bit about yard sales. Yesterday was a big day for our family. It was the first time that we went yard sale-ing in our new area. We weren’t sure what to expect, since we were unfamiliar with the towns and communities around our new house. But we took a chance with a community sale not far from home. We found it through signs hung on trees and posts near the main roads. The sale was in effect from 9 … Continue reading →

How to Save on Curtains

I have to confess that we still don’t have curtains on most of our rooms, even having lived here for almost three years. We have curtains in the bedroom and bathrooms for privacy, and the curtains in the dining room that came with the house. Other than that, well, let us just say that since we live in a house set back on a wooded lot, we haven’t really felt a pressing priority. Still, now I am ready to move forward in this. Of course, I want to be as frugal as possible when it comes to purchasing new curtains. … Continue reading →

Great Green Shopping Sites

If you want to go green when you shop, consider the following websites. The first offers some unique opportunities to get the things that you want for free, while the second offer plenty of one-of-a-kind gifts for all of the special people on your list. Chances are that you’ll save the planet and some money, too. FreeCycle.org This grassroots swapping site existed before swapping sites were popular. Its goal is to keep items out of the landfills. Basically, you join your local chapter. Then you can post to a Yahoo group. It works two ways. First, look around at the … Continue reading →

Getting Stuff without “Consuming” It

One of the dilemmas we face in our efforts to live responsibly is what to do about purchasing things that we seem to need. We own a home on two acres of what is mostly wooded property, and even that needs to be maintained. For example, we currently have two trees in our front yard that have fallen, and another that is leaning precariously. They need to be cut and removed, for safety reasons, if for nothing else. Power tools are required. Here is a recent want. I have been establishing a healthier lifestyle for myself, and have been working … Continue reading →

How to Save Money on Carpet

In retrospect, I think we spent far too much on carpet for our family room. In our defense, this was the first time that we ever actually purchased carpet. We did do some research and got a few discounts, but we probably could have done more. Here are some of the things I’ve learned since then. Hopefully, you can use these tips to save money on your own carpet. Know when to buy It pays to know what time of the year is best for buying your carpet. The time period of December to January is probably the time that … Continue reading →

Buying Used Furniture Today

With this economy, there have been some interesting developments regarding the buying and selling of furniture. Read this post so you can take advantage of buying and do the best you can. We had been looking for a new dining room table that would seat all five of us and maybe a couple of guests as needed. We survived using a small game table for two years, because we didn’t want to spend too much. We finally did get a great table along with the matching six chairs. The economy has really affected the used furniture market. Here is how. … Continue reading →

New Uses for Old VHS Cases

We are slowly in the process of getting through our many VHS movies. Over the years, we’ve picked up quite a few of them from thrift stores and yard sales. Friends have given us their VHS tapes when they have upgraded to DVD because they knew that we would use them. We were one of the last hold outs in purchasing a DVD player. Some of the movies are starting to wear out and are so loved that we will have to attain the DVD versions. Others have been watched a few times but are not worthy of precious space … Continue reading →