I'm just about finished on a self-build, and have some left-over building materials.
Previously I've used Freecycle, but that's become rather inundated with - shall we say - the "rather grasping".
So I'm looking either for a good-cause that has a direct use, or a charity-store that will either sell stuff, or re-gift stuff to some deserving cause.
In message , " snipped-for-privacy@gglz.com" writes
Good causes are unlikely to travel vast distances to collect something for free as it could end up cheaper buying locally. It might help if you gave a rough idea as to where you are, and the sort of stuff you've got (wood, plaster, sand ...).
Also there might be some local self build groups who do this sort of thing already. I heard some mentioned on the radio, but was not really paying attention at the time.
Do you have a local Emmaus? It's a homeless community - the one around here is a farmstead where the ex-homeless folks live, refurbish and sell old household goods. Being a farm they have a lot more space than the average charity shop, and some of the buildings have a self-built look about them.
Might be worth getting in touch and seeing if the material's any use to them or they know anyone who could use them.
Which, FWIW, is an organisation I thoroughly approve of; giving the homeless a bed, and a reason to get out of it. The local one is very good, and we give it all our resaleable "stuff". They also have a really good coffee-shop.
I just wish I could stop coming home with more stuff than we took up there.
Various clarifications: I have a van and can transport moderate distances. There's an Emmaus near-ish me (Cambridge) - I'll phone an ask - although building materials are not on their list of accepted stuff. Boot sale doesn't appeal - I'm time-poor, and would prefer to give to a good cause rather than sell. Stuff includes quite a bit of celotex, joinery timber, new-ish ikea kitchen units, and some large gothic-arched sealed glazing units.
Personally, I would do that without bothering to "make it clear" beforehand. Doing so will just end up with the "grabbers" making up the appropriate sob story
I set up, and used to run, the local Freecycle group.
I wouldn't rule out freecycle for items that I know will attract only mostl y genuine people.
But certain items attract dozens of nuisance emails, and unreliable people, that if they turn up at all - they then turn up late with unsuitable vehic les, begging for anything and everything, string, rope, tape, bags, other b uilding materials that are nothing to do with them, borrow tools, fix-my-cr appy-roofrack etc.
And/or followed by endless "waah - why didn't I get XYZ?".
What I'm looking to do here is to make a donation of useful/valuable stuff to a worthy cause - with the least hassle.
I got kicked off my local freegle group after getting fed up of the people with auto responders that sent a 'that's just what i need, please can i have it' reply to almost all posts the second they went live, of course most of the people who do that just want free stuff to sell on eBay or at car boots. so don't even bother to set up a mail rule to respond to certain words in the ads.
I offered a few things like 'shit on a stick' 'contents of a septic tank' and 'second hand jam rags' and sure enough i got about 12 replies asking for them (and a few from real people pointing out how disgusting i was, and it was those that got me kicked off)
most replies were of the 'i'll have that, when can i collect' type, but one was a real sob story line of 'i've been wanting to buy one of those for years, but could never save up the money due to all my money going on my disabled son, please please please can i have the one you are offering, it would make me so happy if i could finally own one after all these years of waiting' she'd been waiting years for all of the items i posted of course.
Then i posted an 'ad' with a list of the people who had sent mails claiming they wanted the items, warning others on the list what those people were doing, a few people replied saying they had only figured out people did this kind of thing after the same person had been to their house to get items about 5 times! most didn't even know you could set up email auto responders,
Luckily, we don't seem to have this sort of person on our local group, but we do have some "I need" people. Someone once posted "wanted a 3 bedroom house" and got kicked off, but so many people complained, he was re-instated.
e, that if they turn up at all - they then turn up late with unsuitable veh icles, begging for anything and everything, string, rope, tape, bags, other building materials that are nothing to do with them, borrow tools, fix-my- crappy-roofrack etc.
f to a worthy cause - with the least hassle.
An easy solution to that IME is to include a condition in the offer that th ey need to respond to in their reply. One simple option is to say responses without a desired collection day & time will go to the back of the queue.
Anyone with a time wasting reply gets spambinned - but not genuine question s.
An easy solution to that IME is to include a condition in the offer that they need to respond to in their reply. One simple option is to say responses without a desired collection day & time will go to the back of the queue.
Anyone with a time wasting reply gets spambinned - but not genuine questions.
Think ours went downhill when they started allowing wanted posts,
most of them were along the lines of wanted: TV, don't care what make..... as long as it's HD ready, flat screen, over 42 inches, has dolby pro logic, built in dvd player, freeview, and is silver, must be in perfect condition with it's original box, instructions and remote. oh, and i don't drive, and am too lazy to get a bus, taxi or friend to drive me, so you must be able to deliver it to my house... for free of course, and if you can mount it on my wall and tune it in for me i'd be forever gratefull.
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