Good Nature

Please Take My Stuff

If your New Year's resolution was to clean out your home of everything you don't need and you have done it successfully, you may have a gigantic pile in your garage. Here are a few online ideas for getting rid of your stuff. You can also find some great stuff on these sites. Just be careful not to get too much!

Shopgoodwill.com, part of the nonprofit Goodwill, allows you to sell your items through an online auction similar to eBay. Your sales and purchases benefit Goodwill's job training and employment programs for disadvantaged and disabled people.

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,881 groups with 6,951,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Throwplace.com will let you list the items you want to give away to US and international charities and nonprofits, which will pick them up or pay for shipping. The site also includes a section that is similar to Freecycle, where you can get and give away your items free.

For a comprehensive list of independent free-sharing sites click on TheGreenUmbrella.org.

Recycle Tip: Books

Here are some great ways to get new "to you" books, be environmentally friendly, and help raise money for literacy. How can you pass them up?

Better World Books collects used books and sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives worldwide. They have raised $4.5 million for literacy and education. Better World Books has great bargains on used books - over 6 million used and new titles, with free shipping anywhere in the U.S. and just $3.97 worldwide. What's more, you love cheap used books and so does the environment – when you buy used, you save books from landfill and conserve resources.

Have books you want to get rid of? Paperbackswap.com may be the answer you have been looking for. All you have to do is list the books you want to swap with other members and when someone requests it, you mail it to them and earn credit(s) in exchange for paying the shipping costs. With the credits you earn you can choose from over 4 million available books! Bookmooch.com is a similar site to Paperbackswap.com, only it allows you to give your credits to charities.

Don't forget your local library is also a good source for being environmentally book smart!

If you absolutely have to buy new books, find a local, independent book store in your area. You can find them at www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder.