Kathy Ann Purdy of Beverly used to be a yard-sale devotee; now she's a Freecycle fiend. Purdy was working on a house renovation a few years ago when she heard about the website - "a place to give or receive what you have and don't need or what you need and don't have," according to the site. She went online and scooped up free beds, furniture, new carpet, and a stove, among other things.
Today Purdy, 44, checks the site daily. "It's addictive," she says.
She and her husband, Michael, have also found a five-piece cherry wood bedroom set, a snowblower, patio furniture, a sink and toilet, even seashells that became wedding favors. They've also contributed items, such as an antique writer's desk and a gothic-style bed.
When Purdy heard about a young Beverly couple who lost everything in a fire, she posted their plight on Freecycle, and they got almost everything they needed. "It makes you feel like you've done something great for a neighbor," Purdy says.
It's also a way to do something great for the environment. According to founder Deron Beal of Tucson, Ariz., Freecycle keeps about 400 tons of trash out of landfills every day. Beal started the site in 2003 when he was working for a nonprofit group helping people who were down on their luck. The group accumulated a lot of excess stuff as it collected donations, and one day Beal e-mailed about 40 friends to help him find a home for it. Word got around, and the network of 40 became 800. Today, he says, "We have 10,000 local volunteers, including 500 leadership coordinators, 4.5 million users, and one staffer - me."
As Beal knows all too well, "The mass of waste in our culture is mind-boggling." So the next time you're thinking of hauling a chair or TV out to the curb, consider adding it to the free cycle instead.
[Harriet Blake]
GREEN TIPS: Send questions and ideas to hlblake@aol.com.
