I wish we had this in our area. Even our Free Facebook page just went away...there is hardly ever anything on it. We used to have a freecycle page for our area and that went away too. They just seem to dry up.

My daughter has a VERY active group in her area. There is not one near me. I think it's superb. She has gotten all sorts of wonderful things as well as offering great things. Even for a birthday part she was able to borrow items instead of buying or renting. It really is a wonderful thing. As I said it is not in my area but I do use freecycle which is pretty good but I agree that buynothing is the best. Thank you for reminding us and or enlightening us. I will check it again as maybe since I checked, it might be a reality where I am.

I used freecycle all the time when I lived near Chicago. Here in NC it's called Trash Nothing. Same concept but very little activity and what's offered is often pretty sad and what's requested is often so specific as to be a needle in a haystack. I'd love to participate more, but it has to be easy and within a reasonable distance or it's not worth it. That's why it was more successful near an urban area.

Thanks for the link. I joined, but there's been no activity on any of the groups near me for a long time :(

Thank you for the information. Found a group specific to my area and have sent a request to join. Definitely have some things I plan to be getting rid of soon, would love to pass some of these items on to someone who is interested in them rather the Goodwill.

I love this idea. I wish it was active in my area.

I found one in my area, but traffic seems to be very slow (58 members and one post in the last 30 days). I think its interesting that it forbids barters and trades -- the idea is to either offer something, or request something. I suppose there's a purity to that, but I wonder how many people are comfortable saying "I would like to have guitar lessons for my kid" vs. "I would like to have guitar lessons for my kid, and I can offer gardening help in exchange." Perhaps it's just a matter of getting involved and taking baby steps.

jakebedy in my old freecycle group we had the same rules. You could make an offer but it couldn't be attached to your request - silly semantics. Also there were rules about 'back stories' - you weren't allowed to plead your need or give details about why you are desperate for winter jackets for your children since you've been out of work or whatever. Of course, people will often dig deeper when someone local is asking for help and they can help in specific, concrete ways so I always thought it counter productive. But those were the rules and the moderators would re-word things as they saw fit.

I'm a member of Buy Nothing in my town and it has been an easy way for me to gift things I no longer need or want. The philosophy is a good one.

We have Freecycle, and we have a Buy Nothing Facebook page for our town. i use the latter pretty regularly for getting rid of stuff. I gave away several small furniture items before we moved. I’ve got a box of things sitting on my porch right now for someone who was supposed to pick it up yesterday.

I also brought several boxes to the Goodwill truck right before Christmas. I feel like I will have a couple more boxes to donate after I put away my Christmas decorations — I tend to purge a few things each year in an attempt to simplify the holiday decor-clutter.

Thanks for sharing this link. I did join a local group and will see how active they are. I am fortunate to live in a small community that already has a few 'sharing' programs in place. Our library has a 'tool' connection, they have a list of people willing to lend tools and facilitate the transaction. We have a community yard sale facebook group, and we dont have garbage collection so most people go to the transfer stations at which there is a 'take it or leave it' section where you can drop your too good for the trash stuff. Most times what I drop off is taken before I pull out of the parking lot.

We have an active Buy Nothing Facebook page as well as a couple "yard.sale" pages. I have given away a number of items and also sold some things. I sold a Marmot coat that I bought on ebay that never fit me very well. It turned out to be a great deal for the young woman who bought it and I recouped some of my expense without the bother of packing it up and returning it.

I was in BB&B this morning to pick up some cleaning supplies (the only place I can find Granite Gold). I was thinking how I used to walk through there and pick up this and that. Now I am very picky about what I bring into the house. I want to clear out, not accumulate more!

I wish the BN groups were active on Nextdoor instead of FB.

Next-door has a free section and I've given away some stuff through them. Craigslist is not always a good method, I think there are a group of people that write back and say they will take the item, then later that day when they find out you are across town they cancel or no show.

Since I'm still in the process of moving, I've been donating a lot of stuff to Big Brothers Big Sisters donations. Good condition clothing, housewares and the like. Books have gone to the local library sale, or to the cookbook swap at one of the local farmer's markets. I have some actual LPs (record albums) that I will be bringing down next opportunity to a vinyl-centered music shop. (I'll get a few dimes for this one.) I freecycled all my "Magic the Gathering" cards - something I was interested in, in the 90s, because my housemate was. Also, all my aquarium equipment.

Unfortunately, "buy nothing" doesn't always work. Just dropped a bucket of money this morning on a new water tank to hold my well water in the house I'm hoping to sell this coming spring. No, I will NOT be freecycling the house.

Local-I love that your library does that! I wish ours did. My city is too big for something like that I'm afraid. And I do have to use FB a lot for local groups since there is no real other outlet to get information.

I used to do Craigslist but it's got too many flakes. Our Goodwills (we have 4 in town) only keep new or recent season stuff. Other thrift stores are very picky about what they'll take any more-but I can see why, there are only so many things they can take.

Our BN group is very, very active, which is why I posted the link. There are fun games-we had a round of offers that went along the alphabet. Just before Thanksgiving was a one little/one big ask post. That was a great way to share good will. I really like that with our group you get to know the people and it builds community-especially when you live in a large community and don't really get to know your neighbors.

Your group sounds so fun! The closest one to me is in the town just a block away, but you have to be IN that town to belong. That's okay, because we have an active local marketplace and service referral group for MY town (and two others), not to mention the Mom's group. Between them you can always find a place to buy/sell/give/get, including resources to donate. We have a lot of folks very active in philanthropies who can help direct one's time, talents, and stuff.

Bpath- I checked to see if my area has one, and the next town over did but they also specified the boundaries so it's a no go for me. The towns are pretty small so I was disappointed. Maybe someone will start another one that includes 2 towns.

I have heard that the BN stresses the community aspect of it and that is why it seeks to limit the geographic area. The intention is for neighbors to really get a chance to meet each other. Oh well it is a lovely idea. We do have nextdoor, FB and of course freecycle so I can't really complain.

BN does seem to have a community aspect with kind of games and challenges. I've met some lovely people in my town through our FB marketplace that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I did free cycle awhile back but the items weren't great and most was further than I want to travel.

Our local Freecycle died and I'm like some others...I don't facebook. Occasionally, I feel a bit left out. Only occasionally, though.

It's Goodwill for me...

I do not connect with Facebook, either. I looked up the group near me, but it seems to involve a little too much personal contact for me.

I like the idea, though.

I watched M Kondo on her TV series guide people through coming to terms with their excessive stuff and I totally second the notion of "buy nothing". Most people have way too much already.