Chicken Wire

Day 7

Have you heard of www.freecycle.org?

Freecycle.org is a nonprofit network where can post items you have to give away as well as post wanted  notices.  Although it’s an international effort, you join your local group.   Here is what they say about themselves:

“By giving freely with no strings attached, members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse. People from all walks of life have joined together to turn trash into treasure.”

Blah, Blah, Blah…Obviously, I like the concept and we have had some great success offloading some of our trash/treasures in the past.

Over the weekend, I realized that I will soon need some chicken wire or netting to put over the strawberry plants to keep the birds out.  The strawberries aren’t ready yet, but I figure it’s better to plan ahead and those stupid birds have already sent avian advance teams to scope out the garden (and mock the dog). So, I figured Freecycle  was the perfect place to start.

Like any community group, I believe there are plenty of good people with good intentions.   Having said that, there is a definite cadre of “ALL KINDA CRAZY” that frequents that site.

Among the legitimate requests here are some of my favorites:

The Picky Requests:

  • WANTED: TV larger than 32 inches, cable ready
  • WANTED: Rowing Machine, three specific kinds (and then they were listed)- Wouldn’t want a substandard FREE rowing machine
  • WANTED:  Melissa and Doug Toys- This is a brand conscience Freecycler.

The Big Requests:

Subtitle: Anything I can sell for drug money

  • WANTED: CAR working
  • WANTED: Fishing Boat and trailer

Generally Weird Requests:

  • WANTED: Portable Oxygen-  Is that even legal to give away?
  • WANTED:  Nutrisystem Food: Can be Current or Expired – Clearly the thinking here is that weight loss can be hastened by a good food borne illness.

There are also some pretty weird offers in my opinion, but you never know, there may be someone that wants a grocery bag of “mostly expired” coupons. (I have a disturbing visual on the collector of those little gems.

In spite of that, I think the site is largely a great service.  You should check it out, particularly if you have some chicken wire you want to get rid of.