I am currently looking to get rid of an old sofa I have, as I think I'm well overdue for a new one. However, I've been struggling with how to get it out of my house. Not how to physically remove it (trust me, by this point I'm amenable to the idea of just dropping it out my damn window), but what to do with it once it's out. I want the thing out of my house, but I don't want to add unnecessary waste to the local landfill.

I'm trying to make an eco-friendly decision. The way I see it, throwing away my sofa requires fueling a truck, emitting carbon dioxide while driving that truck, and then adding to the collection of waste at the landfill. But what else am I supposed to do? And it was while trying to work out a solution to this quandary that I came upon FreeCycle.org, a network of five million Americans who have joined community groups around the globe to give and get free stuff from neighbors. Freeclycling -- which is sometimes also referred to as freesharing -- helps keep unwanted items out of landfills, helping the environment and confirming the validity of the "One man's trash ..." saying in the process.

So, if you happen to have some items you are looking to unload -- and would like to mitigate the affect their disposal has on the environment -- maybe FreeCycle is right for you, too.