Two Thumbs Up For Freecyle!

I can't end the day without sharing about my most recent discovery - FREECYCLE (thanks for the tip Jenetta). I signed up for the Freecycle in Redding about a month or so ago and have been receiving about 20-30 emails a day where people are advertising things that they are giving away for free. They run the gamut from garage sale leftovers, furniture & baby items, to appliances such as microwaves, dishwashers & stoves. I even saw someone giving away a car once!

I finally responded to one of the offers this weekend and was thrilled to find that the giver chose us as the recipient. He was offering an exercise bike and I thought that it would be really nice to have something like that when it's too hot outside to walk and difficult to get to the gym with a baby. On Sunday we went to pick up the bike and found that the giver was a very kind man that attends Neighborhood church (where much of my family goes). He knows one of my uncles & has played softball with him for years.

He helped us load up the bike and then asked if we were interested in any baby items. They had the mother-load of baby equipment back in their garage. If I had been greedy I could have gone crazy in there! But I referred them to a local 2nd hand store where they could easily make several hundred $ selling their items. They did give me a few items that were much appreciated (an extra pack & play to use for visiting friends), a cute little Hawaiian looking bathing suit for Priya to wear next year (it even has a little grass skirt).

The grand prize was an elliptical machine called a Gazelle that they also wanted to get rid of. I love elliptical machines! They are by far my favorite piece of exercise equipment and I'd heard good things about this particular one. It's not like the fancy, high-end ones that you'll see in gyms, but it's perfect for home use.

The man even offered to load it in his mini van and follow us back to our place to help unload it! His wife kindly joined us and we made a little trip of it. (They even ran into someone they knew once they got to our place - it's a small world!)

I'm getting some great use out of our new exercise equipment and am so thankful for the wonder that is freecycle! I highly recommend it! If you join it in your area you'll get a ton of emails, but you never know what you might be able to find - or who you might be able to bless!