Have you tried FreeCycle?

Check out my FREE cookbooks! How did I land 10 Free cookbooks? I am a member of FreeCycle.

FreeCycle is a group of people who will offer their "no longer needed or wanted" items for free to others who may have a use for them. I've seen everything on there, from notebook paper to furniture and appliances. It's a way to keep usuable goods out of the landfills or your attic.

The way it works is: a person has an item(s) that they no longer want, but know someone else may like. They simply post it and any details (including the area of town they are in). Then they wait for an emailed request for it. In the case of my cookbooks, I emailed the owner, we set a time for me to go by her house, and she had the books setting on her front porch. Wallah! I had 10 new cookbooks and hundreds of new recipes to try.

Here are some things to know about FreeCycle:

* When you sign up, you have the option to get the posts individually or in a daily digest. I recommend getting them individually or else you will miss out on some good stuff. Things go fast! Of course they do, its FREE!

* You can request items on Freecycle. I've never personally done it, so I'm not sure how successful people are at getting items they request. But, this is really meant as a opportunity to give away stuff.

* You will have to be approved by the moderators before you start receiving posts, but it's no big deal, they really do that to keep spammers and other advertisers out of the group.

To get started, go here. Search for your city. You will have to sign up for an account and pick a user name. As I stated earlier you will have to wait to be approved by a moderator, but that usually only takes a day.