Do It Green, Do It For Free

by Andrea Millar — June 10, 2008

I had a roommate in college who had freegan-ed his way across the country on more than one occasion, riding the rails, eating out of dumpsters, and yes, even scoring one very unfortunate ballpoint-pen tattoo on his ankle--all for free! Eventually, he hung up his black Carharts, bought a laptop, finished his Computer Science degree, and started shopping at Fox and Obel. There are worse ways to end an era of freeloading and traveling.

Even if you're not willing to tattoo your commitment to alternatives to capitalism on your leg, there are definite benefits to reducing your purchase radius. Besides saving you some cash, buying less can mean consuming less, shrinking your footprint in noticeable ways. A version of that table you like at Pier 1 Imports may just be available at the thrift shop down the street for a much friendlier price. Slap a coat of low VOC-paint on there, and you have custom-made furniture and have made a purchasing decision that discourages burning through more of the earth's resources. More and more frequently, people are seeing that being green also applies to your wallet. As an added bonus, a flow of free goods also tends to cultivate some of that community spirit that tends to be a little lacking for many of us.

If traveling--whether on the rails or through more orthodox means--check out Couchsurfing. Half hospitality service, half social networking site, couchsurfing links up travelers and couches across the globe. The only requirements: it has to be free, and it has to be non-skeezy. Many users carry extra approval ratings given by the Couchsurfer community as a way of regulating safety. If you sign up, be prepared to be a gracious traveler, and in true community fashion, eventually a gracious host.

A sort of couchsurfing service for the world, BookMooch matches you up with books you want, and others with those books that haven't gotten any lovin' since you put them back on your shelf. Everyone on there is a contributing member, putting books back into the pool just as they take them in. A cool idea, and another good way to support our trees.

Finally, and perhaps most obviously, there's freecycling, intended to keep perfectly good stuff (or pretty OK stuff that could use just a tad of TLC) out of landfills and in the hands and houses of the people that need it. You can do it the old-fashioned way, sticking your old barstools out front with a 'free' sign next to them, or you can tap into consumers of the--permit me the pun here--"free market economy" by using sites like The Freecycle Network or CraigsList's free listings. Chances are good that there's already a thriving free community in your area, and if there isn't, maybe it's time to start one.