Furnish your Bristol home or pick up a car - for free

By jdolan

From a three-piece suite to a kettle, a desk to a computer, four students in St George have furnished their whole home for free – from other people's unwanted items.

Stephen Salinger, 31, and his three housemates, abide by the saying "one man's waste is another man's treasure", and have completely furnished their four-bed home for free.

Since moving into their rented terraced property in September last year, the circus students have not gone a day without logging onto Freecycle Bristol to look for freebies.

Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them, keeping useable items out of landfill.

Mr Salinger, a first-year Circomedia student, told the Evening Post: "When looking for a house to rent we couldn't decide whether to go for furnished or unfurnished. It was the girls' idea to go for unfurnished and try to get everything from Freecycle."

When Mr Salinger, Louis Lamprell, 24, Jade Muir, 20, and Lucia Smyth, 22, moved into their house in Clouds Hill Road, the only furniture was a table and one wardrobe.

But using his van, Mr Salinger collected a house full of furniture from people across the city, including two two-seat sofas, an armchair, a three-piece suite, a kettle, a bread-bin, three desks, a computer monitor, four bed bases, two mattresses, a bike, an organ and mixing decks.

Mr Salinger said: "We collected furniture from people from all walks of life. But the attitude of every person was the same.

"They were so very grateful that we had come to collect their things."

Freecycle has saved the friends thousands of pounds.

Mr Salinger said: "With a bit of patience and transport, anyone could furnish a house in a month."

Freecycle has been a godsend to hundreds across the city, including The Bristol Prom Project.

The community organisation helps school leavers whose parents cannot afford the expense of the end-of-year prom.

All of the group's initial dresses were sourced through Freecycle.

Jan Capel said: "We have been collecting suits, bridesmaids dresses, prom dresses, tiaras, cameras and even stationery and equipment, and matching them with school leavers."

Anything can be offered for free on the website. Jenny Jones, of Hotwells, has been giving away the product of her worm bin for a couple of years.

She told the Post: "It's used as plant food and there are always plenty of takers." Bristol-based theatre company Roughhouse Theatre used Freecycle to transform the theatre into a living room.

Director Shane Morgan said: "I directed a production of Dario Fo's Can't Pay? Won't Pay! at the Alma Tavern and the set demanded a living room. We turned to Freecycle and transformed the theatre into a living room with everything down to a working video and TV."

Sam Davies, 20, even got a car for free through the website. The University of Bristol physics student said: "I checked the site one day and there was a white 1997 Nissan Micra on there. It has 50,000 miles on the clock and I even got a full tank of petrol with it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car. The lady said she wanted to get rid of it quickly and didn't want the hassle of selling it."

For more information, go to www.uk.freecycle.org, and search for your local site.