EL Residents Clear Clutter and Build Community with Freecycling

A new year can be a catalyst for change, and for some families, decluttering and simplifying is a goal. Donating useable items to charity, selling them, or recycling items are options, as is freecycling: offering up for free goods that are no longer wanted.

Ann Siegle, an avid freecycler, said “I have always believed that the things we own have value beyond our use. We use something and then discard it when we don’t need it, which is wasteful. And there are things that other people have that I could use, as well,” she explained. Different networks for freecycling exist, and many East Lansing residents have found freecycling communities that work for their needs.

One of largest area groups is part of Freecycle.org, an international organization dedicated to freecycling. Their web-based lists are open for anyone to sign up and participate. There are presently over 4,000 members, so it is a large community of giving and accepting free items. Facebook is also home to many freecycle communities, including Lansing Area FreeCycle, another group with almost 3,000 members. Craigslist also features a “free” section on its site.

Such large groups have advantages—active giving and receiving, members spread throughout Greater Lansing, inclusive of anyone interested who has an internet connection and email address--but some residents find such groups difficult to navigate or feel uncomfortable engaging with so many strangers, so some people have found other ways to make freecycling more manageable.

A few years ago, East Lansing resident Lindsay Wilkinson started a group which eventually became a large freecycling network. “It wasn’t a group, just a message among a small group of friends. Everyone was tight on money for ‘extras,’ and my hairdryer died. I just knew that somewhere out there someone had a hairdryer they weren’t going to use anymore.” She sent out a message to a group of friends, and gradually more and more people joined the conversation. The group message eventually turned into a Facebook group, called Greater Lansing Freecycling Families. The joys of freecycling were immediately apparent to her. “It is really heartwarming to see people helping each other out so much. So much community and generosity; much more than I see on most days.”

Heather Hagan sought a way to make that community even more local, and started a complementary group, this one actively moderated and restricted to East Lansing residents. Hagan said that she loves Freecycling but felt that some of the other groups “just got too big.” She pointed out that “other communities—DeWitt, Haslett—have Freecycling groups for just residents in those communities. It made sense for East Lansing to have one too.”

Hagan actively moderates the group, deleting old posts and formally accepting members into the group. “We have very strict rules about selling goods,” she explained, since that can sometimes be a problem in some groups. Accepting freecycled goods and then reselling them for profit goes against the spirit of freecycling. “We will kick someone out if they’re selling stuff they got for free from the group,” said Hagan.

Siegle likes the efficiency of the more localized groups. Many freecyclers do “East Lansing porch pickup, which makes me feel safer. I don’t have to knock or go into someone’s home, and I don’t have to arrange time in a public place to meet or exchange funds,” as she does with Craigslist transactions. “I can go whenever,” she said. When she offers up items, she likes that “I can post something, put it out on my porch, and then it just disappears!” to a family that can use it. Hagan added that with the group, “I feel good putting something out there, and giving back to my community and keeping it local, and doing something as a community to help each other.”

“It has such a great community feel to it,” said Emma Gray of the freecycling group. “You get to meet so many people.” Gray said that even though she misses out on a lot of items by not being the first to claim them, she enjoys following the site. “There’s such a huge variety of items being offered,” she said, sometimes people post “amusing” posts and comments. She also likes that members can post “ISO” (In search of) and ask for items they need. “People are keen to help out. People don’t have to go out of their way to help, but they do” often offer items that someone else needs. Gray recently accepted a new dog bed, which she appreciated since one of her dogs routinely chews through them when excited. “It lasted us a good few months,” she said.

Most people use the many various groups to freecycle goods. But Wilkinson and Hagan both said they have been very excited to see their groups being used to share information and spark discussion about the community, seeking the collective wisdom on topics like best winter boots or good places to host a birthday party. For Hagan, the “25 minutes I spend each weekend cleaning up the site” are worth it, because “it is really bringing the community together.”