Bachelorette Party

Tuesday, May 12 – Champaign, Illinois

Looking for anything that might be fun for a bachelorette party. I figure this is the kinda thing that people only use once, and then have no use for it afterwards, and would really like to put it to good use!

There are some items that just don’t seem to recycle very well. I may be wrong, but I think that bachelorette party items definitely fall in this category. While I, myself, have never been to such a party (and my own bachelor party consisted of eating ice cream while watching Over the Top, starring Sylvester Stallone), I have heard stories. Most of them frightening beyond belief. I just don’t see how these are items that can or should be reused. Ever.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she’s just talking about ribbons and balloons and such. Maybe.

Raw Meat

Sometimes I see a request come through the FreeCycle network that is just so bizarre that I have to share it. This is definitely one of those crazy requests. Even while I can understand the rationale, I still find it strange!

Tuesday, May 18 -Champaign, Illinois

If you are cleaning out old meat from your freezer please pass it on to me.  I make my own dog food and use any RAW unseasoned beef, pork, chicken, fish, lamb, rabbit, venison, etc.  Hunters please give me your left-overs.  The puppies thank you!

I’m glad that she specified at the end that it is for dog food, because otherwise I would have had this mental image of someone just wolfing down raw meat as part of some new trendy diet plan.

 

Furniture, Electronics, Appliances, Etc.

Jen P sent in the following requests from Julie. It is an awesome example of insane greediness on the FreeCycle networks! Please take note of the dates on these requests!

Monday, January 10 – Michigan City, Indiana

I am looking for a couch in decent condition. I am also looking for a curio cabinet.

Monday, January 10 – Michigan City, Indiana

I am looking for a working good sized microwave oven, that is digital, & has a turntable. I am also looking for an entertainment center for my tv & knick knacks.

Monday, January 10 - Michigan City, Indiana

I am looking for a bagless baccum [sic] cleaner,& a computer desk & chair. Right now, I have to ask my sister to bring her vaccum over, when my carpet needs it, & my computer is on the kitchen table.

Monday, January 10 - Michigan City, Indiana

I am looking for a computer desk & chair. I am also looking for a bagless vaccum cleaner. Thank you in advance.

Tuesday, January 11 - Michigan City, Indiana

I am looking for a digital camera, in working condition. I would like the manual for it, if possible.

Here is what Jen had to say about this:

To sum up, over the span of two days, Julie requested the following items:

• Couch (decent condition)
• Curio cabinet
• Microwave oven (digital, in working condition, good-sized, with turntable)
• Entertainment center
• Vacuum cleaner (better be bagless!)
• Computer desk
• Computer chair
• Digital camera (with manual)

I don’t even want to approximate the dollar amount of the items she’s asking to get for free. [Editor's Note: I did do a rough estimate, and figured the dollar amount is somewhere between $400-500.] Side note: After my fiancé and I moved in together, we wound up with a LOT of duplicate items, mainly various appliances. I already gave away my microwave oven, but as it just so happens, we have my old vacuum cleaner. Though it is in good condition and a very decent vacuum cleaner, alas, it is not a bagless vacuum cleaner, so I am unfortunately unable to offer Julie a free vacuum cleaner.  To be fair to Julie, though, she did make a few offers to our community:

Monday, January 10 – Michigan City, Indiana

I have 11 music cassettes, (rock). I also have some some software, & 2 music CDs.

Tuesday, January 11 – Michigan City, Indiana

I have a decorative popcorn tin. I also have plastic grocery bags.

Glad you’re feeling so generous there, Julie. Thanks, Jen, for the awesome contribution!

Fish and Fans

Some of the Freecycle requests I see aren’t greedy. They aren’t silly. They aren’t cheapskate or sneaky or outrageous. They are just plain crazy, in a bizarro-world kind of way. Case in point:

Wednesday, May 19 – Unknown City

I’m searching for a bamboo folding fan and an old taxidermy fish. I just need the frame off of the fan, so holes in the fabric or paper are OK but broken staves are not. The fish does not need to be in pristine condition, good condition, or even ok condition.

I will award 5,000 internet bucks to anyone who can tell me why on earth someone would need the frame from a bamboo folding fan and a crummy dead fish. Because, really, I just don’t get it.

Hawaiian Party

Also known as a luau, I suppose.

Thursday, May 20 – Unknown City

tiki torches, lamp oil, grass skirts, the hawaiian necklaces… any other decor. or dress up relevent to a tiki party

Greedy because it is another shopping list. Something that is supposedly barred under the rules for Freecycle, but seems to be cheerfully ignored at times. Most of these items are easily and inexpensively available at your local dollar store, but hey, why not ask the good folks on Freecycle to give you their decorations so you can save a few bucks? Cheapskate.

Bowling Balls

Thursday, May 20 – Unknown City

I work at a cemetery that has a cannon and would like to stack the balls on the corner of the base I would like 5 of them in black but will take what you have need by Memorial day or sooner.

I am not a professional bowler, but I have seen my share of bowling balls in my day. In fact, I once had a room-mate who had decided, for reasons unknown to the rest of us, to collect bowling balls. I think he had seven or eight before he moved. So I know what a bowling ball looks like. I also know what a cannonball looks like. Some cannonballs are really large, some are small but, to the best of my knowledge, none of them have “Brunswick” inscribed in them, nor do they have finger-holes.

However, it is a creative reuse of an item. Of course, I’d suggest a small stack of four, rather than five, but that’s just a minor aesthetic suggestion.

Melting Crayons

When I was younger, my parents had a huge bucket full of crayons. We loved colouring. I still do, but I don’t as much as I used to. But this bucket was amazing. It had every colour imaginable. Eventually, crayons would break or they would just be worn down to little stubs.

If it was summer, we would take the crayons outside and put them on the sidewalk for a bit. They’d get soft and squishy, and then we’d mash them together and make new multi-coloured crayons. If it was winter, we’d put them on a pan on the stove or in the oven, or we’d put them on a plate in the microwave. Apparently, though, kids don’t have this level of creative adaptability. Or their parents are just too afraid to let them do it.

Monday, May 24 – Unknown City

Iso crayola maker. If anybody has one I’d love to have one! It melts pieces of crayons together thanks!!!

Seriously, parents? You’d rather spend $15-20 (or, in this case, mooch off of someone who did) to buy a brightly-coloured bit of plastic, rather than let your kids learn how to use solar heat or the microwave? That’s just lazy. And silly.

Choo Choo!

Little kids love Thomas the Tank Engine. Or so I hear. I only know one child who loves him. But the show has been around long enough that I can only assume it has some level of popularity. I just hope that Cynthia was interested in finding a cake pan for a child.

Monday, May 24 – Unknown City

I am looking for a Thomas the Train cake pan. Would like the 3-D choo-choo train. But if you have any Thomas cake pan and are willing to let me use it I would apprecite it.

I tried to find a picture of the 3-D pan, but the only thing I found was a plastic kit that goes on top of the cake. At least, I think that’s what it was. The directions talked about referring to PDFs that “blow” (or maybe they meant PDFs located below), and I didn’t want to look further. I couldn’t help but notice that this kit only cost $16.99. Someone could probably get the cake pan for a relatively low price. But this isn’t a greedy request. Just kind of silly.

(By the way, I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I am not changing the text of the requests at all. Cynthia wrote “apprecite”, not me.)

Summertime Fun

What parent hasn’t dreaded the moment during the long summer break when children start complaining about being bored and having nothing to do? It used to be that parents would just send their kids outside and tell them to stay out until the street lights turned. Which is why I spent many summer days down by the creek that ran through our town, setting fires and eating candy with my friends.

These days, though, it seems like parents need to provide opportunities for entertainment.

Tuesday, May 25 – Unknown City

I am looking for a pool and trampoline to keep my kids busy this summer thanks.

For some reason, I have a hunch that this mother isn’t talking about a little kiddie pool and an exercise trampoline. Although, on second thought, that would be pretty awesome. If, by awesome, I mean horribly tragic. You know, when the kids decide to jump off the trampoline into the kiddie pool.

Of course, jumping off a large trampoline into a large pool can also go horribly awry. So, not only is this mother looking for two rather expensive items, she is also asking for a recipe for disaster with a side of guilt.

Shopping List

We quite frequently have the Freecycle member who believes the mailing list is to be used for their shopping. I’ve lost track of the number, but here is yet another example of the long list of not-really-related items.

Tuesday, May 25 – Unknown City

I NEED AN DIGITAL WRIST BLOOD PRESURE MONITOR AND HEART BEAT METER.
I NEED 2 SLEEP BAGS AND I AM LOOKING FOR AN EXERCISE BIKE AND GIRL BIKE.

The block caps just make it seem even more intense. I am envisioning a life-or-death situation, possibly the kind that MacGyver always found himself in. I’m not sure what kind of contraption is being made with these items, but I am sure that it is guaranteed to stop the bad guys and save the girl at the end. Or not.