Just to let everyone know bed bugs are on the increase and people may be giving away their furniture for a reason. They are extremely difficult to get rid of and can live 12-18 months without feeding on human blood. Once they enter your home they hide in outlet sockets, carpets, mattresses, floorbooards, etc. So be aware.

If you want furniture in High Point,NC go to FurnitureLandSouth.com its the largest furniture store around. The prices are from cheep on up to expensive.

Here in Hawaii (the Big Island) our moderator is local and keeps a tight reign over postings. People posting too many wants are suspect, etc.

I found long ago that if you wait for the email to post about items, they may be long gone. You need to also check online often.

I have received a refrigerator and washing machine (both in excllent condition) for free).

Out here Freecycle is an excellent way to keep things out of the landfill. Out here some things get buried and much is barged to the mainland or overseas for recycling.

I have given up on freecycle a long time ago! It seemed every time I would inquire about something, it was long gone. I later found out that many of the "professional" flea market sellers make a business out of getting the free stuff from caring people and making a profit on it. I see on one hand it still saves the items from the dump, but it still seems a bit shady to me as the intent I believe is also to get the right item to the right person with a need. Kinda like ticket scalpers in a way. IMHO

Everybody... here's an opportunity to save money for holiday gifts and have a sustainable reason. We buy too much stuff. Where I live in Raleigh, NC, our Good Will stores are jammed with great stuff and I think we should all take a deep breath and wrap up gently used stuff as gifts. We can change the culture.

I've created a free online campaign called Green Gifting. On the site are tips about how to think sustainably when you're giving gifts. And there are FREE adult and children's gift tags and bookmarks that you can download, print, and use on your gifts. The tags and bookmarks remind the recipient that their gift was chosen with love for them and the planet.

Peace, everybody!

Also I have found some wonderful as new and antique furniture listed on Craig's list under FREE-Just need to be able to pick it up.

I was a store manager at one time for both Goodwill and Salvation Army. Unfortunatley, most of the the corperate thrift shops sell their furniture to brokers, who sell it somewhere else. So, the thrift shop customer rarely gets the good stuff. What the stores are left with, are usually the inferior furniture leftovers the brokers don't want. The trick is to get it before it is donated to a thrift shop in the first place. Answer ads in the paper, go to Craig's List or garage sales, with a rented UHaul type truck, and bring CASH...one of the best buyer I ever knew, would hold 1/2 the asking price out in cash, to the seller and say" would you take $100.00 dollars for it?" the item of course, was $200.00. It is amazaing how many people would say "yes". Go with an open mind. Say you are looking for a sofa and loveseat that weekend, but instead you run across the perfect bedroom set, buy the bedroom set! Make sure you and your sidekick, are holding a newspaper folded back to the wants ads, with a few circles on the furniture ads. Most sellers know, that if you leave, you will never be back. So, if the seller get the idea, that you are going to many places they may cut you a deal--regardless of how early on Friday morning it is....

Good Luck! And remember, many companies made many same like styles of funiture.