Many of us have moved beyond garage sales and classified ads to find or get rid of items we no longer need. We now go to common resources like Craigslist and Kijiji to discover bargains and sell our stuff.

But did you know, the savvy world wide web has moved beyond list serves and classifieds. There are many new sites taking a bite out of your budget and keeping items from landfill. Stuff that just shouldn’t be thrown out.

Here are just some of the many free communities designed to help you find or get rid of your stuff.

1. Freecycle - the original site for recycling your stuff. With 6 million people and growing this is not just a passing phase. It’s a way to offer or find free stuff – helping people and the environment in the process. I am a member of a local group and it is an easy way to get rid of things to people locally and sometimes find an item you need, even free tickets.
2. Kashless - only available in the US, but Kashless has a system that lets users offer or get free stuff in their local area and offers rewards for your participation to.
3. Rehash - want to swap your clothes? Rehash is a way to help you trade clothes and accessories online.
4. SwapSity – currently only in Canada. As the name implies it is a bartering community that will let you swap your skills and stuff. They also occasionally host local swap meets.
5. swaptree - let’s you trade books, music, dvd’s and videos. Only in the US.
6. neighborrow – helps you find a neighbor to borrow or loan your stuff. Set up as a community, could be used by Universities or groups to help members.
7. greenbarter - is a community where business helps business, small or large by keeping track of services offered and trading like skills to save money.
8. loanables - brings together people who have worthwhile items to loan out and people who want to borrow them.  Best of all, it’s free!
9. swapaskill - swap what you can give or do for what you need.
10. throwplace - take what you need and throw what you don’t. You can choose to donate to charity, international charity, business, individuals or put your item up for grabs. The Internets landfill alternative.
11. boxcycle - find or list your used boxes for moving, storing or shipping. Currently only in the US.

Those are just a few of the great programs out there. Use them if you are green conscious or if you need to save a buck. For the next spotlight we will look at resources to help you recycle or figure out how to recycle and reuse an item.

if you liked this post, take a gander at these ones!

• don’t abandon items that other’s can use
• the impact of not recycling
• getting rid of your stuff – 3 fundamentals to simplify
• 7 reasons to recycle
• eco friendly packaging made simple