Have you ever heard of Freecycle.org? It's a GREAT place to go to recycle used furniture, gear, books, or anything else that is cluttering up your house. It's also a great place to get free stuff from people who no longer want it.

I'd been trying to get rid of a queen-size bed frame, headboard and footboard that I no longer wanted for a couple of weeks when a friend told me about Freecyle. I signed up with my local chapter through Yahoo!Groups, then posted my bed frame for offer. Within one hour I received seven responses from people who wanted my bed frame. With just a few e-mails and a phone call I arranged for somebody to pick it up that very evening! It was WONDERFUL, and it makes so much sense. I just can't believe I hadn't heard about it before.

About a year ago – in fact I think it was June 22, 2005 – I stopped eating almost all meat. At 35 years old I was a pretty average meat eater who enjoyed a good steak, lamb, pork, or poultry, in moderation. Then one weekend I was visiting my parents’ house with my sister, who’s been a vegetarian since college. She was frying herself an egg when I came into the kitchen and said it smelled like fried fish. She calmly took the pan off the stove and said she was going to eat something else.