Busy Mommy Media » Green Home

My Love Affair with Freecycle

Erin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:30:24 +0000

It all began when I moved to New Jersey. The same home that cost $60,000 in Nebraska (where I had moved from) cost $300,000 in Jersey. So I sat on my new living room floor. A three year old jumping on my back, my 18 month old having an accident on our couch and nursing our new baby. Oh-did I say couch? Yes. That being-peed-upon couch was one of our few pieces of furniture. There was a bassinet, a crib, a twin mattress and a queen bed. My underpaid policeman husband and I had decided that our love would see us through.

But the knowledge of the errant potty trainer was on my mind.

There was no way at all we could afford a new couch. Or a kitchen table. Or the whole wardrobe of clothes that all three kids seemed to grow out of every three months. So my internet addicted self and the frugal Nebraskan got together.

They had a love affair with http://www.freecycle.org

Freecycle is an entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free.

Within the first three years of using it (I was in New Jersey, so keep in mind the group had about 15,000 members) I had a new (lovingly used) couch, a new (refinished) dining room table and chairs, bookcases, end tables, countless toys,craft items and lots of crap I decided I “needed” without spending more than the gas I used to go and pick it up. And I gave back just as much. I felt guilty about selling some things when I knew there were people out there like us who could just not afford to buy a bassinet. So I freecycled it. Hence the “cycle”.

When you want to find a new home for something — whether it’s a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door — you simply send an e-mail offering it to members of your Freecycling group.
Maybe you’re looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to a member’s offer, and you just might get it. After that, it’s up to the giver to decide who receives the gift and to set up a pickup time for passing on the treasure.
The main rule: Everything posted must be free, legal, and appropriate for all ages.
Non-profit organizations also benefit from Freecycling.
Usually you must give before you take. Think of it as good karma.
Post the item or items you want to give away and where you are located.
Then request the things that you may be needing.
It’s a free cycle of giving. Think globally, recycle locally. The Freecycle Network is open to all communities and to all individuals who want to participate. Freecycle groups are run by local volunteer moderators from across the globe who facilitate each local group – grassroots at its best!

But pay attention!!

Some groups are really busy. Make sure the email selection you choose works for you. Options include Daily Digest (bundles of 25 messages at a time delivered all in one email), Individual Messages (receiving a message just as it is sent out), No Mail (reading the messages on the web so your inbox is free of the messages).
Not all groups allow the No Mail option, so read carefully to see if your group allows it or not.
These rules are the same for all Freecycle groups: everything must be free, legal, and appropriate for all ages. Local groups sometimes add other rules, like no pets, no coupons, no services. Be sure to read the guidelines for your local group so that you know what is or isn’t allowed.

Visit http://freecycle.org, http://freesharing.org or http://sharingisgiving.org to find a group in your area.

And think before you throw that spaghetti jar in the garbage! I need that for my next kid’s art project!!

Solicitors Buzz Off

Rachel — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:48:19 +0000

I really need a “no solicitors” sign. We don’t get them often, but when we do they drive me crazy. Tonight we had some guy begging me to let him clean my carpets for free. First of all, I have new carpet so I wasn’t particularly in need of a carpet cleaner. Secondly, I’m really starting to think twice about the chemicals that I allow into my home. The guy swore up and down that the cleaner they use was non-toxic and chemical free.

It was the chemical free that got me. He said that he used a dry foam. When I asked what was in it he couldn’t tell me, but he swore that whatever it was, even if he didn’t know what it was, it was safe for kids. When I asked what chemicals were in the foam he said there were none. So I suppose that this was naturally occurring foam.

I finally got rid of the guy and a little while later his supervisor came to my door with the ingredient list. Darren answered the door and the guy started off with a bad imitation of me and talking about how ridiculous it was that I wanted to know what chemicals were coming into my home.

The ingredient list was made up of chemical preservatives, flame retardant chemicals, and “fragrance” but the guy insisted that it was so safe that he was willing to eat the bubbles to prove it to me. My husband laughed and said “A lot of people smoke. That doesn’t mean it’s good for you.”

The guy finally left, but not before doing a great impression of Homer Simpson and saying, “Doh. Are you in college or something?”.

Yea. That’s where I learned not to eat cleaning products. Sorry buddy. They don’t teach common sense in college.

Seventh Generation Living Home Starter Kit

Rachel — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:23:39 +0000

Before I had kids I never thought twice about the things that I used to clean my home. I bought whatever product claimed to kill the most and assumed that the resulting fumes were simply part of cleaning. With all the talk in the news over the last few years about the effects of toxic chemicals on young children (and the rest of us) I have really had to rethink my cleaning methods.

Many companies are jumping on the green bandwagon and producing “green” cleaning products now. Some of them are debatable as to how green they actually are. Seventh Generation has always been committed to providing non-toxic products to help you care for your family.

The Seventh Generation Living Home Starter Kit includes a great assortment of household cleaning products to help get you started on the path to having a greener home. ” Seventh Generation believes in more than a living room, they believe in a living home and have created products in that belief.“

The Living Home Starter Kit includes:

• Ruby Grapefruit & Herb Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
• Green Mandarin & Leaf Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
• Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Green Mandarin & Leaf Shower Cleaner
• Emerald Cypress & Fir Tub & Tile Cleaner
• Wild Orange & Cedar Spice Kitchen Cleaner
• 2 rolls of Natural Paper Towels
• Seventh Generation tote

Kid Friendly Cleaning

Kids touch everything. They crawl on the kitchen floor on their hands and knees, put food right on the kitchen counter and then eat it, and put toys in their mouths. Many conventional cleansers leave a toxic residue behind and can actually do more harm than good when those chemicals touch a child’s sensitive skin or make their way into a child’s mouth. Seventh Generation natural cleaners are made with plant-based cleansers and are completely non-toxic so you can feel secure using them around your kids or on surfaces that your kids are going to come into contact with. Conventional cleaners fill the air with harsh fumes after using them. The idea of tiny lungs breathing in all of those chemicals makes me shudder.

I felt comfortable using Seventh Generation cleaning products around my kids. I trust that when they call a product non-toxic that it really is non-toxic. Each cleaning product has a light, natural smelling fragrance that fades quickly as the product dries.

Effective, Natural Cleaning

When I first began experimenting with natural cleansers like vinegar and baking soda, I got many comments from other moms saying they could never make the switch to natural cleansers because they just were not as effective as the conventional options. Seventh Generation cleaners are just as effective as chemical based cleansers without adding toxic chemicals to your home environment.

The Ruby Grapefruit & Herb Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner has a mild, pleasant fragrance and cleans glass surfaces without leaving any streaks. Toilet bowel cleaners are notorious for containing harsh chemicals that need to be kept away from children and were one of the first things I banned from my home when I switched to green cleaners. The Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner did a great job getting rid of the hard water stains in my toilet.

The Gift of Clean

So many new parents receive an excess of blankets and newborn outfits when they are expecting a baby. Many of those items, while very cute, never get much use simply because there are too many of them. If you are looking for a unique and practical baby shower gift the Seventh Generation Living Home Starter Kit is a great option. Most new parents are very concerned about creating a clean and healthy environment to bring their baby home to. New parents may be interested in trying green cleaning products but may not know where to start. I would have loved the Living Home Starter Kit as a new mother in place of a few of the excess baby outfits.

Seventh Generation can help you create a healthier home, a living home, by using natural products that are safe for your kids and good for the environment.