free shit

lately, i have been into free-cycling. i am a member of a group called latah free exchange. instead of throwing things away or buying new crap, this group offers a way to unload without filling up a landfill.
here are the rules:
within a year, in order to remain a memeber you must offer and take.
you must offer more than you take, and
you must post an offer before you take or post a wanted.

so far i have offered two items, i posted one wanted, and i've replied to two offers. a friend of mine was moving and was downizing her place by 1/3. she had a bunch of stuff to give to goodwill, so we took a load to goodwill for her, took some stuff for ourselves (half of her liquor cabinet, some sweaters, and a bed frame), and posted some on the free exchange. i have successfully gotten rid of her gingerbread house mold and some jelly jars. what did i get?

the free exchange is very fast paced. you must respond quickly to get what you want. i was first in line for this very cool, bubble gum pink dresser with scooby doo stickers on it. we recently gave away a dress that we bought for $4 at a yard sale. i sanded, repaired, and painted it. but a friend of our just moved back to town, so we gave him ours. though we needed it, he needed it more. so we decided to go find another fixer-uper at another yard sale. two days later, pinky the dresser was offered on the free exchange and i was the frist to respond. it needs a little work, but is a perfectly good dresser as is. we are currently in line for a cat. the first person passed, the second person is thinking, and we are the next in line.
free-cycle accomplishes several things:
1. i get free shit
2. things don't go to landfills
3. i get projects (i live for redoing furniture)

the one down side to the group is that there are people who reply because they might want it and then don't do it. like in the case of the cat. i really want her. apparently she looks just like my partner's childhood cat, hamburger, and she also looks a lot like my friend Michael's cat Marzipan, but fatter.

when i joined the group, i got really excited for doing thing second hand, but i realized that i didn't pay for most of my things (furniture wise). here is a list of things that i bought.
-shelf for tv/stereo (year 2000)
-coffee table from ikea (2008)
-full sized bed (2004)

here is some of what i have snagged for free.
-dresser (2008)
-bedframe (2008, total cost after repair and paint $15)
-car, 1993 plymouth laser in working condition, only needed an oil change (2008)
-bedside table (2008, was built by my great grandmother's brother in the 1890s)
-shelves (2007, grandma moved to a retirement village)
-couch (2007)
- tv (2007)
-dvd player (2005)
- laptop (graduation gift 2005)
-computer (2003/2004)
-chair (2002, college friend didn't have room for it in his place)
-table (2000, found it in my mom's barn)
-dresser (1997, it was my dad's baby dresser)
-love seat (1995, my aunt's from when she was in college, then mom's, then mine)