Update on Freecycle

Lookee here for yesterday's post on Freecycle.

So today I released three of my clunky possessions to the wind that is one Ms. R.L., who had responded last night to my Freecycle post. And now I have one experience with Freecycle! Here is what I think.

• I'm definitely glad that the Yahoo group has rules set down and tips for your freecycling needs. They're very concerned about your safety, which is great, considering that things are picked up from you by strangers and it's all done through the Internet up to that point. In fact, I felt a little relieved when R.L. e-mailed, because I recognized her last name as that of someone who currently goes to my old high school.


• The community is the perfect size. There are about 5,000 members in my area, the East San Francisco Bay Area, so that's just enough to get a solid number of responses, but not too many that it's not overwhelming. I think I got a total of 6 or 7 offers to take the ab machine off my hands, and 2 for the pillows. Perfect! Also, I got absolutely no unsolicited e-mails from anyone about stupid, irrelevant things. I can't say the same for Craigslist, where I posted my resume the other day. :(


• I expected the worst: a) R.L would be late/not show up; b) she would not be R.L. at all but a homicidal maniac who had been planning to kidnap me for months and was finally going to succeed; or c) some other bad thing. So I made sure to keep in contact with her (she was an hour late) over the phone (we only exchanged numbers over e-mail when the deal was confirmed), saying that I wanted to reschedule if she was going to be by after dark. Luckily, she arrived around 6:15, and it was not dark. Of course, it was smoky, but certainly light.
       She was a little weird, with a van packed full of clutter (see point below), some of which she had just bought. Her demeanor was friendly but definitely odd, and she struck up a conversation with me about her need to exercise, and whether I, since I'm "small" (I'm not), liked this little black PJ top she had just gotten. I scurried away and thanked her for taking the stuff off my hands. o.o


• When I was telling my friend (tommykat39) about the site and deal this morning, she thought it wasn't a good idea because it essentially meant that clutter was just being passed around and around. I said that it wasn't the offerers' problem, just the takers' problem. Interesting that I got a fellow clutterer my first time. What do you think? Should transactions be better screened so that hoarders don't do themselves worse? Or is it solely their problem for indulging in more clutter?