http://www.freecycle.org/

From the website:
"The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is run by a local volunteer moderator (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on the region on the right. It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for your local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Or, go directly to the Web site for your local group by clicking on your community's link on the left. Can't find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on "Start a Group" for instructions). Have fun!

The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure!"

Happy Hunting

We used this to get rid of a lot of junk we otherwise would have had to throw out or go through the hassle of a garage sale.

Worked better at our old house (in military town) than it did where we are now (a bit more upscale). Hm.

A sample message from the Carver, MA group:

"We are moving to California on the 15th of this month. I will be
having a huge yard sale on the next 2 Saturdays (4th & 11th).

Everything must go! There will be a lot of free stuff along the side
of the driveway during these 2 sales. On the 4th free stuff will be
basic household things, snow blowers, wooden trunk, planting
accessories, whatever I can pull out of the garage and basement... too
much to list. On the 11th it will be the bigger stuff like furniture,
cookware, etc... and anything that has not sold. I also have a 22'
camper for free. It's in fair condition and does need some work, but
the body is solid and can be towed away as is. It has been sitting in
the yard for a long time.

The address is xx xxxxx xxxxxx in Carver. The free stuff probably
won't be out until around 10AM and will be along side the driveway.
Please be neat. "

Guess where we will be Saturday morning

Better take some bodygaurds-- they could also help you drag the snowblower and wooden trunk into the camper before you tow it away.

What a day and it has only started!  Got my bike stickered for the first time in 7 years and actually went for a ride!  And we snagged that free snow blower that only needs a belt!  It has at a bare minimum the Briggs and Stratton 5 HP motor.  We also grabbed a free glass carboy for some home brewing.  Today is hot as heck so I may pop open that Arrogant Bastard chilling in the fridge . Sometimes life is good.

Snow blower works!  Loud though, gotta get a muffler, and a belt and it may need an axle, one is bent but it does propel itself back and forth.  Not bad at all for free!  Drank the Arrogant Bastard as it is 90F here today...gotta say that would be a great winter beer, it is very heavy...reminiscent of one of my homebrews but without the sediment....similar to some of Sammy's heavier offerings.  Nice punch to it at 7.2% alcohol.  On the house front, we are still waiting for the neighbors to decide yes or no.  We are now leaning towards First Day Cottages.  John's plan is great, but well beyond my level of construction ability and I think it would be a waste having a contractor build it since so far each treats it as if it were equal to a McMansion with their $100/sf prices.  I think I can swing the First Day Cottage with my experience, start out with the small one and expand it afterwards...sure would be nice with no mortgage.  Lots of decisions to make now....almost too many.  
We are hoping one is going up nearby so we can volunteer a weekend to see what it is all about...at the very least they are close enough to visit on the way to gramma's house in Freedom, NH.

We got to visit some other homeowners on the home tour today- all too busy yesterday.  I told one of them about the freecycle groups here.

Another one gave us some  water plants for our pond and some hop plant starts so we can grow our own beer.