More Resources for Giving Stuff Away
/Everyone ends up with extra “stuff,” whether building materials, clothing, or furniture you no longer need. Your first thought may be to give it to an organization such as the Reuse Center at BBR or a thrift shop—but sometimes that’s not possible.
Another option is to offer your items directly to individuals through a variety of online groups. All of these resources are location-based so you can offer items to people in the local area.
Buy Nothing Project
On the site, under the tab “Our Groups,” select the “Find a Group” option. This will take you to a list of hundreds of Buy Nothing groups for individual towns organized by country. When you find your area, the site will take you to a Facebook group that you can request to join. Once approved, you will be able to post anything you'd like to give away, lend, or share among neighbors and ask for anything you'd like to receive for free or borrow. Must have a Facebook account to participate.
Freecycle
On the website, select “browse groups” to see a list of Freecycle groups for individual towns, organized by state. Once you find the group for where you live, the site will take you to a page showing the current offers and requests of that group. Look for the “sign up” button to be able to post offers.
Nextdoor.com
Nextdoor is a much more private and expansive online community. On the site, you will be prompted for your residential address and email address. From there, it will locate your neighborhood group, and you can continue to sign up from there. You will be asked to verify your address, as this service is very adamant about keeping these online groups strictly for you and your real neighbors. More than just a place to offer and ask for items, Nextdoor is also used to obtain recommendations for services in the area and to report/hear about community news.
Neighborhood/Area based Facebook groups
Use the Facebook search to find a community group for your town or area. This takes a bit of searching, but you will find neighborhood groups specifically for giving away or selling items and other general community groups where you can post your offers.
Facebook marketplace
Instead of searching for a group, Facebook uses your location to show items you are offering to other users nearby. This can be used both for giving items away and also for selling items.
Craigslist “free” listing
Look for the “Free” link in the For Sale section. Items offered are organized by location and will show to users who search for your area.
—Hannah Lauterwasser