Category Archives: From the web

Freecycle is a wonderful system for giving away stuff without leaving it sitting on the nature strip exposed to the weather. Occasionally it’s exploited by secondhand dealers (which I realised after the same person had taken four large pieces of furniture off our hands – I will no longer respond to her emails), and people do post requests for things that may be hanging around unused in other people’s houses –baby clothes, car seats, etc. A Freecycle member named Chris seems to have had some kind of crisis induced by the optimism of some of these requests, and struck back today with this lovely bit of outrageousness. I especially like the opening sentence, a nice reference to the kinds of notes that often accompany requests and offers:

Subject: [freecycle_sc] Wanted :  Lamborghini preferably 2009 model

Only genuine offerers need reply to this email I really don’t want anyone to waste my time.

If you have one up on blocks in the backyard I would be very interested in re registering it and using it for sporadic trips to the nearest ALDI supermarket for the weekly shopping.

I know that this is a really long shot but if you also have roof racks to suit that would be great as I was hoping someone here in freecycle land has a spare jet ski in their garage that they also don’t use any more that I could place on said racks and transport it at breakneck speed to the nearest waterway when I have the urge to use it.

Thanks in advance and happy freecycling

PS . I don’t want to bug you all but some straps to tie down the jet ski would be awesome. and possibly a few dollars toward the first tank of fuel wouldn’t go astray.

This almost made up for Marion being kicked off Master Chef (though Aaron’s dismay at beating her was one of the sweetest things I’ve seen on the box for a long time).

If you don’t know about Freecycle, you’re missing out on a very good thing. It’s a transnational ‘grassroots movement’ of people giving stuff away (and getting stuff). Instead of putting useful bibs and bobs  you no longer need out on the verge to be collected by canny passers-by, or canvassing friends to see if anyone wants the chair that doesn’t fit in your living room any more, or selling the superseded TV on eBay for a nugatory sum, you advertise them on your local Freecycle list and someone interesting comes and takes them off your hands. It costs nothing, and is remarkably undemanding. When a small business I know was closing down an office, it gave away book cases, a television set, large pieces of furniture, computers, to recipients including a family whose house had burned down and a school that was struggling to  make ends meet. Someone put up a message saying they needed compost: we happily gave them a couple of buckets from our plentiful supply (and the recipient turned out to be someone I last saw when she was two years old, the daughter of a close friend’s partner at the time). The Freecycle website’s catchphrase is, ‘Changing the world, one gift at a time.’

Today must be some kind of landmark case of one person’s junk being another’s treasure. I received an email with the subject line ‘[freecycle_sc] OFFER: Annandale – Live cockroaches.’ He wasn’t kidding:

Anyone who keeps a pet lizard knows that roaches are expensive to buy at petshops, and that many you might catch yourself are likely to be contaminated with insecticide and harm your reptile.
My house has not had insecticides used in it for at least a dozen years, and my roaches are healthy and safe. I’m offering to catch them on a weekly basis and have them available for collection.
best phone to catch me on is xxxx xxxx Thurs Friday or Monday.

See, you don’t know what you’re missing.