It's a nice way to give things away to other people MOTHER-of-three Claire Turpin first heard about Freecycling from a friend around four months ago and has not stopped logging on since. Being very involved in her local church - her husband Tim,, 32, is the pastor there - she uses the website to find items for charity. Claire, 29, hates having a cluttered home so also regularly donates items through the site. She says: "My friend read about it in a baby magazine and I thought it sounded interesting. "I have found lots of things on the site, including some amplifiers, a cot, bunk beds and a Dyson hoover - my best freecycle item yet. "I am part of a church and there are a lot of single mums who need prams and things. I used to go on Ebay to find them." When Claire and her husband had work done on their house in Garston, she got rid of the left-over materials, such as tiles, on the Freecycle site. She also regularly clears out their home - last week she gave away a children's pine effect wardrobe and is currently trying to get rid of a bag of spoons she found in the garden shed. "I'm not one for hoarding. I used to just take stuff to the tip or maybe to a charity shop if I had time but it's much nicer to give it to someone who wants it for nothing," says Claire, who worked in computer sales before having her sons and is now a stay-at-home mum. She has also managed to get hold of items for her three little boys, including several guitars which they enjoy trying to play. "The kids love them and they like the idea of Freecycle. I've explained to them that it's nice to give things away to other people," explains Claire. "It's like an adventure to them because we get into the car and drive to places they haven't been before. "I really love it. It's quite addictive. People I know have started to realise that I can get hold of things so have begun to ask me if I've seen things they need." The Southport group's freecycling etiquette >> | 
