Freemarket.com - get or give FREE stuff, and keep it out of the landfill!

You know how "One man's trash is another man's treasure?" Well, Freemarket.com takes that into the digital age!

Haven't heard of FreeMarket yet? It makes it so easy to prevent stuff from ending up in the landfill!

FreeMarket is kinda like Craig's List, BUT everything is free! You can put up a listing if you're LOOKING for something, or if you want to get RID of something...big or small. There's no "buying" or "selling," but just "exchanging" of items.

Here's our story: we got a new grill this past weekend, but our old one still worked. It needed some replacement parts and some elbow grease to really get it back in tip-top shape, but all the essential pieces were totally functional. So, I logged on (for free) to Freemarket.com and posted a free listing for it (completely honest about it's condition)...and within 20 minutes, I got a response from someone who wanted it...and 90 minutes later, he came to pick it up! It was that easy. And I can rest knowing that it is getting another life somewhere else rather than in a landfill! Items don't necessarily have to work even...often time, folks are looking for parts or scrap metal.

I've had friends and neighbors use Freemarket.com to get rid of nearly everything - kids stuff, leftover building materials, etc... I even have one neighbor who got rid of her ENTIRE GARAGE - yes, the structure itself! (She was going to build a new one, so put up a listing for her garage doors...and someone contacted her offering to tear down the garage in return for taking all the salvaged materials! So, she got her garage torn down and hauled away for FREE...and the materials were salvaged into another project!)

Freemarket was developed locally and now been expanded to several other metro areas nationwide. The site was developed and is still run locally by the non-profit Eureka Recycling. The goal of Freemarket is simply to keep things out of the landfill. Listings are categorized into useful categories and grouped by location, plus you can search by keyword and even by new listings, so it makes it pretty easy to find if you're looking for something specific. The Twin Cities Free Market does not accept listings for live animals, plants, automobiles, motorcycles, services, firearms, child car seats, garage sales, items for sale, or items for trade. The categories of things they do accept include:

• Appliances (air conditioners, microwaves, washers & dryers)
• Children’s Items (bunk beds, cribs, furniture, toys)
• Electronics (answering machines, cameras, computers, TVs, VCRs)
• Furniture (chairs, couches, desks, dressers, tables)
• Home Decor (carpets, lamps, rugs)
• Home Renovation (cabinets, countertops, lumber, shingles, sinks, tiles)
• Lawn & Garden (dirt, lawn furniture, lawn mowers, patio bricks, wood chips)
• Marine Equipment (boats, sailboats, motors, trailers)
• Musical Instruments (band & orchestra equipment, music stands)
• Pet Equipment (aquariums, cages, dog houses, food bowls)
• Recreation & Exercise (bicycles, camping, exercise & sports equipment, ski machines)

Do you have a Freemarket experience? Share in the comments section if so and let us know about your experience.