Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Freecycling

I am an avid recycler and use that as an excuse to not throw things away. My cousin told me about www.freecycle.org and I love it. The goal is to freecyle your stuff that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill or cannot be given away or donated easily. People have had the strangest stuff offered; more strange than that is that people take the strange stuff.
I posted some items this week, and it was an interesting experience. There were all kinds of people responding, almost an overwhelming number. I read the posts and didn't know how to select; first in, best reason for wanting it, etc. There were some sob stories to be sure.
Our daughter's playstructure left today, to a new home with a little 2 year-old boy and a dad who loves him enough to look at it, dismantle it without a manual and take it to reassemble. He helped me figure out how to work something I got freecycled to me as well. Our barbecue caused confusion as I did not post it correctly. We purchased the wrong size batteries and those were mailed to someone that could use them.
There are groups in different areas, by neighborhood, so that you don't have to drive far, wasting gas, to get the stuff. One of my replies was from a neighbor, which was a pleasant surprise.
Now I am gathering lots of stuff to do -- my first project is empty containers that I cannot bear to throw away and cannot reuse -- pump soap and cream dispensers, metal tea tins, some old vases and a bunch of really old, but pretty silk flowers.
A new hobby -- freecycling! And a new vocabulary too.

Free Stuff

Today Starbuck's launched a new blend of coffee, "Pike Place Roast". Of course, I was there as it was free. In fact, I went to two Starbuck's in the 30 minute window of free coffee (because of my errands, not just for the free coffee....)
The roast is great -- strong enough to make me stop and get a cup as it will be available every day. Sentimental reasons also got me there, as I was in college when the first Starbuck's opened in Pike Place Market.
The first place (Pinnacle and Pima) offered it to everyone in line, though many still bought other drinks. They had it in "tall cups" and gave some facts about the new coffee to the business folks in line. The next one had a wider mix of customers, with many more opting to take it instead of buy their beverage. The staffwas more chatty about the blend, the coffee, etc. and had it pre-poured in short cups as advertised.
I would much rather stop to buy a cup of coffee at Starbuck's than other places, because they have relationships with farmers for sustainable crops. And, I can get one of the amazing donuts from TopPot. Today I ate an apple fritter that had chunks of apple in it.
Yes, their promotion worked. I will go back; in fact, I am going back tomorrow to meet a friend.