Freecycling, IMHO, is a misnomer. If you’re not familiar with the Freecycle Network, here’s an explanation: Freecycle is a web-based community of sorts that lets you give away stuff you don’t want while getting stuff you do want from your neighbors — all for free. If you wanna get rid of something, you can just send an email to the local Freecycle group offering the item; you’ll then get a bunch of emails back from people who want to take it off your hands. You can also get emails about stuff your neighbors want to give away, so you can nab the stuff you want.

But back to my misnomer bit: The “cycle” part of freecycle hints are recycling, when for the most part, freecycling’s about reusing. Lemme explain why this distinction’s important.

You know the eco-mantra: Reduce, reuse, recycle — in that order. But while reduce is self-explanatory, the line between reuse and recycle often gets blurred. Yet, the reuse part’s so much superior than the recycling part!

Basically, reuse refers to using over and over again the same thing for the same function. For example, refilling a reusable Sigg aluminum water bottle over and over again as your thirst demands is considered reuse. A much inferior alternative to the refilling is buying disposable, one-use water bottles. Sure, you can recycle those dinky plastic blights, but that practice comes at a much higher cost to the environment than does reusing a glass, mug, or aluminum bottle.

This is why I heart Freecycle — because the network’s all about reuse. Got a new TV? Don’t recycle the old one — Give it to someone who can appreciate it!

But let me get back to why I started writing this post in the first place. My point is this: Never underestimate the fact that your trash might be someone else’s treasure.

My case in point: An umbrella case. No — not a useful umbrella. I’m talking about just the case.

I bought an umbrella a long while back — and left it who knows where. But I still had the case! Instead of simply throwing it away, I thought I may as well try my freecycle luck. So I sent out an email — along with a link to a pic of the case — to the freecycle group.

Lo and behold — one D. did want the case! Basically, she had an umbrella about the same size — and wanted a case with a clip so she could easily attach it to her belt or purse or whatever she had on that day.

And in real neighborly freecycling fashion, D. didn’t just pick up the umbrella case when she came by. She said she happened to be making a trip to Goodwill right after this, noted that I’d been putting up a lot of items on freecycle, and asked if I wanted her to take over to Goodwill any of the items that hadn’t yet been claimed.

I was so psyched to not only get rid of the umbrella case, but basically get everything I no longer wanted out of the house with the kind, unsolicited help of a friendly neighbor. I mostly handed over clothes, including a down jacket I hadn’t worn since my undergrad days in Indiana.

Of course, not all freecycling stories are so perfect. Yes, you’ll sometimes run into flaky freecyclers who say they want something but then not show to pick it up, or try to reschedule multiple times. And the “corporate” center of freecycle’s nutso and bizarro and basically antithetical to the spirit of the freecycling movement.

However, as a local freecycler, you won’t have to deal with the corporate bull. And by and large, freecycling’s helped my unwanted stuff get a good reuse life, while bringing me closer to the neighbors around me.

Join your local freecycle group here. And share your happy freecyling stories to encourage the rest of us to reduce and reuse before recycling!

[crossposted on BlogHer]

Update, 5/18/09: Radical uncluttering — How people are getting rid of (almost) all their stuff in search of adventure

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