For the past two years I have volunteered at a monthly free market. People bring unwanted items which someone else could use (mostly clothes, books and household items), and take away whatever they like.
This is not a 1-1 swap: one can bring plenty and take little or nothing away, and one can bring little or nothing and take many items.
This project keeps many items out of the landfill and recirculates them to new users. It helps people save money. I have found interesting clothes and books there myself, and it is the best and most enjoyable voluntary work I have done in my life.
[NB Organising a free market on a regular basis requires storage space, which should be kept well-organised so that the confusion doesn’t become overwhelming (as ours did at one point). Items past hope should be rigorously weeded out, or the market starts to look a bit dismal.]
This post was submitted by Deborah Sweeney.
Wow… this sounds really cool! Do you know of any directory or someplace I might find a similar market in my area? Whenever I type “free market” into Google I get only right wing think tanks and real estate… harumph!
Comment by Rebecca — January 27, 2010 @ 11:11 pm
How do you pay for the space?
Comment by Kara — May 6, 2010 @ 1:36 pm