GREEN Florida Broker – Jeannette Moore

Have you noticed?  Everyone loves getting something for free!  Looks at the lines when free samples of food or gadgets are being given away.  Whether they are logo items for marketing or a bowl of candy in a vendor’s booth people are drawn to freebies.

Have you heard about FreeCycle.org and how it began?  FreeCycle.org was started a few years ago by a self-professed tree hugger, Deron Beal, in Tucson, AZ.  It began as an internet-based, Yahoo-email group seeking to save unwanted items from landfills and has grown into a huge network of web-based groups around the country, managed by a volunteer coordinator.  Although offers to buy the name and company, Beal decided to register the company as a non-profit with the intent of helping our planet.  Waste Management Company has become their national sponsor.  The FreeCycle network is currently made up of 5,022 groups with 8,878,732 members around the world…an astounding number!

Not only does it feel good to declutter and give something that you don’t use anymore to someone who does need it, the gratitude you hear will lift your spirits. Whatever attracts people to join, part of what keeps them involved, Beal says, is something they probably didn’t expect: the moment when someone thanks you backward and forward for giving him something you planned to throw away. “There’s a sort of paradigm shift in your brain: ‘Wow, that feels really good,’ ” Beal says.

Suppose you have an unwanted shed in the backyard that you now find to be an eyesore.  You might not have the time, energy or inclination to disassemble the shed and take it to the front yard for garbage pick-up.  Why not try offering it on FreeCycle.org and possibly have someone disassemble the shed and remove it at no cost to you?  I know I have some file cabinets I can’t move by myself and would like to give to someone who could use them so I will be adding a post to my area’s bulletin board!  Click here to learn more about FreeCycle.org, locations in your area and give something you don’t use to someone who will appreciate it and feel good about it…