Trade Business Equipment and More with Freecycle

Getting rid of stuff you no longer need or want is increasingly a problem. Recently, Rick told us about nine ways to trade your old gadgets for cash, but his single-minded focus on cold, hard coin led him to miss an awesome recycle option that thrives on giving back to the community. Freecycle is a grassroots movement in which people give and get used stuff for free.

After you join the Freecycle group in your local community (there are almost 5,000 groups around the world, including one right in the little town I live in), you can monitor posts on your Yahoo Group to trade stuff. People post offers for everything from rugs to office equipment to televisions (I saw a local post for a 53-inch TV in need of "minor repair") as well as requests for things they need (one "wanted" post that was quickly satisfied: a laser printer for a home office).

Freecycle looks like a win to me: It keeps stuff out of landfills and helps us think of our neighbors as partners in a community.