Freegle

At one time nobody ever threw stuff out. My grandfather was an astonishing hoarder with a garage and loft filled with ancient toys, half mended furniture and even an old home guard uniform and supplies (well, you never know). If ever there was anything that was no longer required it would be offered around the local neighbourhood or the church would be more than happy to find a deserving cause - an elderly widow or a young couple trying to set up their first home.

Times change and we now live in a throw-away consumerist culture. Perfectly good items are tossed in the nearest skip and the God of the heavens has been forsaken for the gods the shopping malls. Even if we know our nearest neighbours (which many don't) most people would be too embarrassed to ask them if they would like our cast-offs for fear of offending that they may not be able to worship at the alter of Mammon.

And it's a pity. Whilst I would not want to create a loft born fire hazard as my grandfather did I hate to throw anything out if it may serve some useful purpose. And this is where Freegle comes in. Freegle is the UK off-shoot of the American grass-roots movement Freecycle. Quite simply, if you have any unwanted goods - or if you want to check if someone may have an unwanted item that you need - simply post a message to your local group and see if anyone is interested. The aim is not so much to save money but to save on landfill waste.

I've just tried it for the first time tonight as we had a small dining table set that we no longer used. It was a little old and had been repaired by me at least once so it wasn't really worth doing the small ads but it was still functional and too good to take down to the tip. A quick advert on Freegle and someone came round and took it away. They were quite delighted with their free find and I've managed to clear an old item with little effort and prevented another needless bit of landfill.

If you fancy giving it a go the website is here: www.ilovefreegle.org