Lancaster, PA Blog

Local Resolutions Part 4 of 29

This is the fourth in a series of 29 ways to help your local community online in 2010. If you missed it, you may wish to read the introductory post.

In this post, I suggest that giving stuff away on Freecycle is a great way to help others from (mostly) behind the comfort of your keyboard. I have already written about sharing traffic reports, inventing new awards, and responding to questions in Yahoo Answers.

As Amazon made clear early on, the Internet is great for moving tangible goods. Craigslist and eBay underscore that lesson every day.

I know that I’m always astonished (and a little ashamed) any time I take stock of how much stuff I have. A lot of it has outlived its usefulness, but much of it still has a lot of mileage. Sometimes it’s just too much hassle to have a yard sale or to take what you have to a thrift store. Sometimes what you have is of no use to the customers who frequent either one.

That’s where Freecycle comes in. Join up with the Lancaster Freecycle Network online, read the guidelines for posting, and get going.

In many cases exchanges don’t even involve any face-to-face interaction. Just offer what you’ve got, allow someone to claim it, stick it on your porch, and wait for it to be picked up.

I’m sure Freecycle has kept thousands of useful items out of landfills, and that’s a benefit that the Lancaster waste situation could benefit from, don’t you think?