Oh, Yes They Did

I'm a big fan of Freecycle. I've gotten some cool items, and given a lot of stuff away. My favorite find was several dozen cloth napkins – they look nice, and they're much more earth-friendly than paper towels (but keep those around to clean up kitchen spills, for safety's sake).

We have a very active Freecycle community. For the most part, I haven't had any issues – folks usually pick up the items when they say they will, or they let me know when they can't. Overall, it's a pretty good system.

Well, today I sent out an email to the list, stating that I had items to give away. Got a quick “I'll take them” response. I was quite happy. Told recipient that they could have the items, and gave my address. I got an immediate response, that they need to contact someone, to get a ride over. I'm thinking to myself “why respond if you don't even have a way to get over here?” but I let it go. Got a message, about ten minutes later, stating that the ride wasn't available, and asking me if I could bring them to a nearby town, about 25 minutes away. I promptly responded that I could not.

Here's the deal – I'm giving away free items. I don't provide delivery service, and I wouldn't dare ask someone who was giving me free goodies, to also bring them to me. That is the epitome of ballsy. Just as ballsy as a not-so-close associate inviting folks to their place for Thanksgiving, and asking them to bring all the food.

Just a rule, folks: If someone is nice enough to offer you their unwanted items, free of charge, the least you can do is keep your bad home training to yourself. If you know you can't pick up the item, don't ask for it, especially if you don't have a definite means of transportation. And DON'T, I repeat, DO NOT, ask them to bring it to you.