Try This Tuesday #51: Freecycle

Over this past weekend, my husband and I spent many hours rearranging and decluttering our home. We made some good progress and ended up with a number of items to sell and/or give away. Once we realized that a yard sale was going to be too much work for us, I decided to check out Freecycle for the stuff that was still usable but not really worth selling.

It turned out to be a pretty easy process. After locating the correct group for my area and joining, I was able to quickly move out several things, and I have really felt good about passing some items on to people who could use them. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has used stuff to pass on or is looking for something another person might have to give.

But that's not the coolest thing that happened from joining Freecycle this weekend.

Today I saw a posting from a mom whose child was recently diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder and who was looking for a small table to use in his therapy, along with any toys or sensory items people may have. Although I didn't have the specific items she was looking for, I immediately replied to offer her a few items I do have that we aren't using any longer. I also was able to let her know about the parent group I am involved with locally and offer to send her our Parent Information Booklet.

As good as it felt to clear some clutter out of my house, it felt even better to connect with another parent who is starting out on her journey with autism and to hopefully encourage her just a bit.

As the host of Try This Tuesday, Trish shares some of the solutions she has found to make life easier. She blogs at Another Piece of the Puzzle or Autism Interrupted.