COLETTE Whyte, a mum with five children, is addicted to collecting things.
In the corner of her kitchen, a bamboo weaving basket stores all the odds and ends she would rather save than throw away.
Emptied egg boxes, stamps, cards from wine bottles ... last week she gave away a
hoard of jam jars to someone making marmalade.
Luckily, the Scottish lady has found a way to prevent her cupboards from bursting with "cumulated junk".
Freecycle, a worldwide free trading website where you can list unwanted and pre-loved items, or simply ask for things needed, seems to be the answer.
A friend told Ms Whyte about Freecycle when she was sorting out her cupboard clutter for a refugee resettlement more than two years ago.
"Sometimes I just save things and don't want to throw them out," she says.
"Somebody's junk is always someone else's treasure. It's great that you can get use from things rather than throwing them out."
Although usually she just gives things away, Colette is also a pro at telling wheat from chaff.
The Wood Rose she got through the website is one of her rare and interesting collections.
The parasitic plant grows on the roots of trees, and is believed to be one of only a few thousand in existence.
Colette recalls when she gave away her partly broken television set to a lady, whose brother - a television repairer - fixed it for less than $50 for their elderly mother.
"They kept emailing me telling me the progress, that was nice," Ms Whyte chuckles.
"Lots of quite expensive things that you don't use forever, like children's toys and things like that ... If some other kids come and get the whole box of games and toys and get fun out of it, that's great.
"That's a good side effect," Ms Whyte says.
She also managed to help her son with his school play - The Crucible. He lost his copy of the play one week before an examination.
"A lady replied in about half an hour after I put up my wanted notice for the copy. That was fantastic," Colette says.
New Zealand membership of the no-money-exchange trading website has increased to 15,573, spread over 39 groups.
Of the five community groups in Auckland, the North Shore branch is the largest with 3961 members. Groups in Pukekohe and Waitakere have started in the past few months.
Gordon Stewart, the lead moderator for the Auckland Freecycle group, says more members mean more items being given and received, reducing the number of items landing in council tips.
Gordon says he and the website moderator team intend to improve the website's email function so that Freecycle can be more user-friendly.
He says currently to register or change things on their Freecycle account, members have to use the website
To keep usable items out of landfills, join Freecycle at www.freecycle.org
COLETTE Whyte, a mum with five children, is addicted to collecting things.
In the corner of her kitchen, a bamboo weaving basket stores all the odds and ends she would rather save than throw away.
Emptied egg boxes, stamps, cards from wine bottles ... last week she gave away a
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