What weird/outrageous requests have you seen on Freecycle/Craigslist?

[wolfie]

Weird stuff I've seen on CL lately -- lots of homemade or extraordinarily ugly cat towers. And a 'barely used' cat toilet training kit, which I guess maybe isn't quite as gross as barely used human toilet products, but still strikes me as icky, irrationally. (Yeah, we got a cat.)

The litterbox is something i am iffy on. I wouldn't accept a used one, but I have one that I used for about 3 days before giving up on it. My cats were too big for it so every day when i came home from work it would be on its side and I would have to clean it up. I tried moving it to a few different places to see if I could wedge is somewhere but gave up after day 3. It is still perfectly usable - just not by me - but I feel weird about offering it up.

A litterbox could be sprayed down with disinfectant, but I guess I'd be more interested in one passed down from someone I know than one that could have been used by a sick cat or something. Maybe you can give it to a friend?

The item I was referring to from a CL ad was this:
CitiKitty toilet training ad

(On second glance I see it's unused ... but it's only $21 from the manufacturer.)

I am thinking of donating it to the shelter I volunteer at. I will disinfect it again before I drop it off.

[Sirius]

Weird stuff I've seen on CL lately -- lots of homemade or extraordinarily ugly cat towers. And a 'barely used' cat toilet training kit, which I guess maybe isn't quite as gross as barely used human toilet products, but still strikes me as icky, irrationally. (Yeah, we got a cat.)

The litterbox is something i am iffy on. I wouldn't accept a used one, but I have one that I used for about 3 days before giving up on it. My cats were too big for it so every day when i came home from work it would be on its side and I would have to clean it up. I tried moving it to a few different places to see if I could wedge is somewhere but gave up after day 3. It is still perfectly usable - just not by me - but I feel weird about offering it up.

My late aunt had two leaky litter pans (don't want that) so I tossed them and got a new one.  Only problem was, Emily (7 pounds, 10 inches tall) fit just fine, but Max (17 pounds and around 14 inches at the shoulder) didn't fit with the lid on.  I ended up having to get a super sized litter pan for Max.  When Emily was adopted I gave her new owners the smaller pan and brought the super sized pan home with me and Max.  Now I've got this harhugeous litter pan in my living room because there's really nowhere else to put it at the moment, but the cat needs it.

Know what's ironic?  The litter pan liners that came with the super sized litter pan are too small for that particular one.  They aren't going to waste, as they fit our other pan, and fortunately the ones I'd been buying for the other pan fit this huge one.  But you'd think the manufacturer would have included litter liners that fit (it was a kit.)  Or maybe I'm expecting too much.

[CLE_Girl]

Reading this post makes me want to join Freecycle...I just went to my local site and I remembered why I haven't - the membership questionaire.

Since membership is moderated I assume I have to come up with the "correct" answers.  The main question tripping me up is:

Please tell the group owner about yourself and why you would like to join the group (200 characters maximum).

I don't think "because it looks interesting" will be accepted (any suggestions as to how to answer this questions "correctly")

[Jones]

I answered it with "I'd like to help reduce waste in the local dump". And that was it.

[CLE_Girl]

I answered it with "I'd like to help reduce waste in the local dump". And that was it.

Thanks Jones - here's what I put in:

Hello, my name is Jenn.  My husband and I own a house in [city].  We have no kids and 1 dog.  I would like to join FC because it looks interesting and I'd like to reduce waste in the local dump.

It is exactly 200 characters...heres hoping they let me in.

Edit - okay that questionaire was the easy part - the hard part is in order to be accepted I have to post a offer within 48 hours.  I don't have anything to give away at the moment...oh well...guess I won't be joining Freecycle.

[jedikaiti]

See if there's a local ReUseIt network list in your area: http://www.reuseitnetwork.org/

[Sophia]

I think my answer was "Because I am getting married, and I'd like to see if anyone has leftover wedding decorations." 

[Jocelyn]

Chest of drawers is the UK term for it.    Over here, you'll find a dresser in the kitchen - a free standing (usually) piece of furniture made of cupboards with shelves above it - something you might possibly call a hutch?  Over here, a hutch is an outdoor 'crate' type home for a pet rabbit...

Divided by a common language, indeed.

I was raised with the distinction that a 'chest of drawers' was taller than it was wide, and had a flat top with no mirror, as the mirror would be too high for most humans. A 'dresser' was low enough that a mirror could go on top, and it was usually wider than it was tall. A 'hutch' or 'china cabinet' was like a dresser, but instead of a mirror, it had shelves with glass doors, so that you could display your dishes in your dining room. It could also be the shelves that go over a computer desk. And yes, you keep rabbits in a hutch, which stands up on legs like the cabinets, and is open so it displays the rabbits.

[Jocelyn]

Re: kitty boxes

I've found that the extra-deep storage boxes with flip-lids work very nicely as cat boxes. Flip one lid over, and leave the other side for kitty entrances and exits. And harder to kick litter out.

[wolfie]

Re: kitty boxes

I've found that the extra-deep storage boxes with flip-lids work very nicely as cat boxes. Flip one lid over, and leave the other side for kitty entrances and exits. And harder to kick litter out.

I use giant tupperware storage boxes in the basement, but I like to have a few boxes they can just walk into so that if they have anything that would make jumping difficult they have a box they can walk into and won't be tempted to go on the floor. I have a playing fiend who has sprained an ankle before, and as they get older I am worried about arthritis and just normal aging making it harder to jump.

[starry diadem]

Chest of drawers is the UK term for it.    Over here, you'll find a dresser in the kitchen - a free standing (usually) piece of furniture made of cupboards with shelves above it - something you might possibly call a hutch?  Over here, a hutch is an outdoor 'crate' type home for a pet rabbit...

Divided by a common language, indeed.

I was raised with the distinction that a 'chest of drawers' was taller than it was wide, and had a flat top with no mirror, as the mirror would be too high for most humans. A 'dresser' was low enough that a mirror could go on top, and it was usually wider than it was tall. A 'hutch' or 'china cabinet' was like a dresser, but instead of a mirror, it had shelves with glass doors, so that you could display your dishes in your dining room. It could also be the shelves that go over a computer desk. And yes, you keep rabbits in a hutch, which stands up on legs like the cabinets, and is open so it displays the rabbits.

That's a dressing table, over here.  We'd better stop there, as the thread is getting derailed a bit, but I do find the differences amusing.

[Slartibartfast]

Reading this post makes me want to join Freecycle...I just went to my local site and I remembered why I haven't - the membership questionaire.

Since membership is moderated I assume I have to come up with the "correct" answers.  The main question tripping me up is:

Please tell the group owner about yourself and why you would like to join the group (200 characters maximum).

I don't think "because it looks interesting" will be accepted (any suggestions as to how to answer this questions "correctly")

I moderated our local FreeCycle for a while (before being kicked off for being "not Christian enough," but that's another story).  Don't sweat the essay question - it's mostly to ensure you're a human being and not a computer filling out the survey.  A fairly significant percentage of "applicants" on our local board were computer-generated - or so we think - and didn't have any typed answers at all.  I suspect answering "Because I deserve free stuff and I'm going to post a sob story every day until I get it" probably won't help you either, but we approved anything from "I heard about it from a friend" to "I like recycling."

[Jocelyn]

I have a playing fiend who has sprained an ankle before, and as they get older I am worried about arthritis and just normal aging making it harder to jump.

I'm sure I'll make changes as they age, too. But when Mr. Benedict can refrain from racing down the hall and making a flying leap either onto my craft worktable or my feet while I'm asleep, I'll start worrying about his elderly joints being too tender to jump in and out of the cat box. 

[ladyknight1]

I have a playing fiend who has sprained an ankle before, and as they get older I am worried about arthritis and just normal aging making it harder to jump.

I'm sure I'll make changes as they age, too. But when Mr. Benedict can refrain from racing down the hall and making a flying leap either onto my craft worktable or my feet while I'm asleep, I'll start worrying about his elderly joints being too tender to jump in and out of the cat box. 

Same here. When 14-year old Harley stops jumping on top of DH's five foot tall dresser in one bound and then leaps at invisible prey, then I will worry. We have one litter box on the second floor (main living area) and one on the third (bedrooms, bathrooms, utility room). Since the one on the third arrived, neither cat will use the second floor box. Harley doesn't like the door on it and Mischief (aka Biscuit) likes to howl while inside, so there is too much reverb for him.

[Elfmama]

I moderated our local FreeCycle for a while (before being kicked off for being "not Christian enough," but that's another story).

And what does one's religious beliefs (or lack thereof) have to do with giving away things one no longer wants?