Its Like Recycling but with less hassle!

For this Works for me Wednesday, I will share one of my favorite guilty pleasures -- Freecycle. It is the best thing. If you have something you don't want anymore but could be used by someone else - don't haul it all the way to Goodwill or put it out for the trash - freecycle it! The way it works is - you sign up for your local freecycle listserve. Then people post stuff, and if you want it, you email them back. If you want to get rid of stuff, you post it, and they come to your house and get it! I've gotten some of the best stuff - a train table just before Christmas one year, a rooftop car carrier, lots of scrapbooking supplies, etc. I've also gotten rid of stuff quickly - baby stuff goes fast, but so do old air conditioners and left over corian countertops! You can even post "wanted" ads for something you are looking for.

That's what works for me! For more great ideas go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Home Renovation (part 1 of MANY)

So in about a week we are beginning our home addition project. Well, we aren't -- our contractors are. While we were adept at completing our deck and our basement finishing, a two story addition with deck and porch were quite a bit out of our realm. Anyway, next week the contractors will demolish our existing Great Room. Nevermind that we bought the house largely on the basis of that room; its a goner. In its place should be a Great Room twice the size, and a master bedroom/bathroom above it.

Our existing upstairs has three bedrooms and one bathroom. With three kids, the one bathroom upstairs is just a killer. And while the girls LOVE sharing a room right now, I'm thinking that may not last forever. But the bathroom was definitely the primary motivation.

Anyway, we've been packing up and putting in storage much of what is in our Great Room to prepare to live without one for the next many months. We have also thrown out, freecycled, or donated LOTS of stuff. I would say at least 10 of the large green lawn trash bags worth. Its been very liberating.

I'm am sure the next many posts on this subject will be rants about the hell of renovations. But for now I am relieved to have gotten rid of so much junk, and excited that the work is about to start.

Freecycle Rocks!

I have been using freecycle for about 2 years, and I have to say, I love it. I can't tell you how much stuff I have gotten rid of quickly and easily, AND how much stuff I wanted I got for free! If you don't know what freecycle is - its a website where people in your area list stuff they want to get rid of, and you email them if you want it. You can also post your stuff to get rid of, and even post "Wanted" for items you want that someone may have. It's really great.

I have only posted one "wanted" for a baby bicycle seat to strap to the back of my bike -- and got one within a few days. Other great gets are huge lots of scrapbooking materials, a nice train table, and some maternity clothes. I have also quickly and easily gotten rid of desks, filing cabinets, old Corian counter tops, books, an old garbage disposal, a broken printer, photo albums, picture frames, you name it!

If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!