A Green Christmas…

It all started with a message on my Grey-Bruce Freecycle group…

“It seems that this christmas will be espescially tough for a lot of
families, so mabey we could all post what sort of gifts we are HOPING
to give our kids this christmas and perhaps we can all help each other…

Let’s not get stressed out, it’s the most wonderfull time of the year:)

-raycraft5″

 These are tough times indeed, all over, with the bank meltdowns and car manufacturers in dire straits. And tough times are when Necessity, that mother of invention, reminds us of what is important and maybe not so important.

Our environment is also in great peril these days, perhaps by helping each other out this time of year we can also help out Mother Nature in the process.

Started in 2003 in Tucson, Arizona as a way to keep otherwise useful items out of the landfill, Freecycle  now has 6 MILLION members in 4600 groups around the world! The concept is simple – we all have useful household items collecting dust in the basement that others could put to good use. So instead of taking these items to the dump you post their availability on a Freecycle group and someone else on the group who could use the item contacts you to collect it.  No trading, no money involved, simply people gifting items to help each other out and keep our landfills from getting clogged.

How effective is Freecycle?

According to Freecycle statistics  in the past year we have kept from landfills an amount equivalent to stacking garbage trucks on top of each other to the top of Mount Everest!

5 TIMES!

That’s a LOT of useful items that otherwise would be left to decompose in landfills. And how long does it take a pair of boots or a television set to decompose naturally?

But getting back to our current times, what a great idea proposed by raycraft5!  With extra money tight for ‘luxuries’ like Christmas presents and Mother Nature in need of a helping hand, how about looking to your local Freecycle group as an alternative, gifting those items in your basement that would certainly put a smile on a child’s face and bring a sigh of relief to a parent trying not to disappoint?

Christmas is ALL about sharing, a wonderful time of year when we open our homes and hearts to family, friends and neighbours!  It is about helping each other (and our planet) through simple acts that need not be rewarded, the act being the reward itself. If you would like to be involved with Freecycle (there is NO admission fee or dues!) you can find more information on local groups at Freecycle.Org.

As we rush headlong towards December 25th and 2009, I would just like to take this chance to say THANK YOU! to all the people in Teeswater and area who say ‘Hello!” on the street (even if we have never been introduced), the friends we have met, the folks at the hockey games (including players!) who put up with my rather LOUD voice at games, and to everyone else who makes this the best place to live.

Thanks you and may this season bring the Peace and Joy you most richly deserve!

Mark

(Teeswater.ca is created entirely on a Freecycled computer…)