Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
Need a pile of dirt? Got a pile of dirt? It's Christmas every day in the new world of freecycling.
Nov 25, 2003 | Brad Wallis, 42, an erotic photographer who lives in Portland, Ore., works part time remodeling houses to support his art.
But over the past two months the self-described "starving artist" has developed a taste for giving his possessions away to strangers. "I don't have any money. I'm unemployed, but if I am able to give things to other people that make them happy and that they need, what a wonderful gift that is -- to me," he says.
On the Freecycle Portland mailing list, Wallis has offered up a bizarre accumulation of freebies that include large mirrors, art prints, tires, firewood, bike helmets, bicycle racks, trees, a sump pump, 12 Cuban cigars and even a whole computer.
"I was going to give away a computer case, but I ended up putting a hard drive in and an operating system to make it a completely working system," he says. "Because I could, because I didn't really need it, and I could make it a nicer gift to give to somebody."
Via Freecycle, Wallis has also received his share of gifts from people he'd never met before: a little tabletop fountain, a 35-millimeter camera, a toaster-oven and a mini-fridge.
"I grew up poor, and growing up poor you collect stuff, because you're never sure when you're going to need it and you can't buy it," says Wallis, who admits he has "packrat tendencies."
If a true packrat hordes, a "freecycler" can't stand to see something that might be useful to someone else go to waste, languishing unused in a musty garage, attic, bottom dresser-drawer or -- worse yet -- a landfill. That type of person has always existed, but today, thanks to the efficient distribution capabilities of the Internet, Wallis has joined forces with an entire tribe of thrifty givers. At Freecycle everything is free, and you can get rid of practically anything, from a pile of dirt to a beading loom.
In the face-to-face world, it's often hard to find that deserving person who needs your specific load of useless castoffs. Enter the Internet, which not only makes such networking easy but also has long been suffused with an ethic that promotes gift giving. Since May 2003, the Freecycle concept has exploded, spreading from city to city with the speed of a grass (roots) fire.
"A gift economy is different from anything that most people have ever experienced," says Albert Kaufman, 42, an unemployed activist and musician who is the moderator of the Portland freecycle list. With more than 2,000 members, it is one of the largest created so far. "It's pretty wonderful," Kaufman says. "It's sort of like Christmas all the time." Best of all: You don't have to buy anything new.
While eBay recasts clutter as a collection of valuable commodities to be marketed to the highest bidder, Freecycle magically transforms junk into presents, allowing almost anyone a chance to play Santa Claus channeling St. Francis. Which raises the question, what's really more valuable: Selling that 1980 Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox you've been carting around for decades for the best price possible? Or knowing that your much-neglected ice-cream maker, bread machine and transcription device have been given away to good homes where they may actually be turned on occasionally?
Besides the lofty altruism, freecycling is also about trying to get rid of junk: an old washing machine that may work but hasn't been hooked up in years, a jumbo dog-carrying cage for a dearly departed pooch, those coffee mugs that seem to breed and multiply in the kitchen cabinet. Lurking on the lists are the detritus of many abandoned projects and long-forsaken hobbies: On the Tucson list on Nov. 17 a woman's 10-pound bowling ball was up for grabs with this caveat: "It's grey marble color and unfortunately I had my name etched into it but I hope someone can use it and is a better bowler than I was!" The ball, along with a blue bowling-ball carrying case and a pair of "almost new" size 6 and a half bowling shoes, was spoken for in just 13 minutes.
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