Donate, lend and borrow to avoid spending

You've all heard of the massive online garage sale known as Craigslist, but there are other Web sites that facilitate the free trading of goods rotting in your house.

+ Freecycle is a network of groups based on geography. You may remember I blogged about them 15 months ago. Today there are 4,610 Freecycle groups of people giving away stuff across the globe. There are groups in Northridge, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Burbank-Glendale, and Long Beach. Find a group near you.

Each local network is a Yahoo group where members can post messages and scan items other members are giving away. It is free to join and by signing up for a local group, you reduce the number of miles you will have to drive to pick up an item. Plus everything listed is free!

LendList is similar to Freecycle but items are loaned, not donated, and you share your items with a smaller network of friends, family and associates that you choose.

Basically, you compile a list of things you have to loan out, send the list to your friends, family, co-workers, and fellow church members. The site tracks who has what and keeps your contact info private. LendList makes sense if you have items that you rarely use, like tools, bicycles, an RV, or kitchen gear that you want to share. Joining is free.

Thanks, Sarah!