"KLS" > wrote in message
...
> This is EXACTLY the purpose of Freecycle (I also hate holding yard
> sale and throwing out perfectly good things), and I've given away all
> sorts of stuff, including an exercise ball, some fabrics and buttons,
> some cans of paint, an extra copy of WinXP, some laptop computer
> parts, and some books. I'm just watching my list right now to see if
> anyone is offering any Le Creuset or Fiestaware (you'd be amazed at
> what people will just give away).
>
> I think this is better in some ways than dropping the stuff off at
> Goodwill or similar places because some of the stuff Goodwill won't
> take, plus a lot of it will just sit on the shelves, when with
> Freecycle you can immediately relocate it. My list is very high
> volume, though, so I get it in digest form.

I can't tell you how frustrated I have been with my elderly mother. She is
a pack rat who hates to part with anything that has even the most remote
possibility of use. I spent a week this summer going through boxes and
boxes of things in her garage. It turns out that she had about a hundred
jars that held powdered creamer, circa 1974 - and so on. There where things
with missing parts and part for things that were long gone. She had five
irons, three waffle irons, hundreds of yoghurt container, etc.. I kept
saying "let throw this away." She would say "Someone could use this." I
would say "No one can use it if it is in your basement, garage, or attic and
they don't know about it." This went on for a week! I finally put
everything in a huge pile where it would be very inconvenient to live with
and convinced her to call a local charity.