The first rule of Freecycle is never talk about Freecycle.

1/12/07 - By Anna Fader

If you're a parent, you have too much stuff. It just goes with the territory. Toy passions come and go, but your apartment stays the same size. Time to purge. Face it, you're never going to make bread in that breadmaker; Tamagachis are so last year; and those horrible tapered jeans from the 80s--oh no, wait, those are back in. Making the pile by the front door is easy, but how do you get rid of the stuff? To save the landfills from, well, filling, we always try to give stuff away or sell it on Craigslist. But there's always stuff we can't get rid of. Goodwill and other charities can be picky about what they'll take; some won't take toys. Another cool alternative is Freecycle. Freecycle isn't so much an organization as it is a movement. At Freecycle meets people can bring stuff and take stuff, all for free. It's great to see people so happy to get your old crockpot, filled with the promise of warm, over-cooked meals. To find out about the next Freecycle meet go to the New York site. Items can also be posted online for interested parties to pick up from your home.

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About the Author

Anna Fader

Founder of Mommy Poppins

A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.

Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.