Well, she said it again   We have a huge pile of boxes as a result of our recent move.  Rather than putting forth the effort to take them to recycle, I gave them away.  I bet you thought I burned them.  I would have, strike that, I would have made my son burn them, but we live in town, so that’s a no no. 

The fact that I gave them away instead of taking them to recycle is not what prompted the comment.  She called me The Elmoe because I told the lady who was getting the boxes to bring someone along to help her take the boxes from the basement to her van. 

Hey, good moving boxes are hard to get.  I already did the AOL by posting them on Freecycle.  I don’t think it’s too much to ask of her to load them herself. 

Honestly, if she had come alone, I would have helped.  Fortunately, she had two teenagers with her.

They don’t look like much now. Imagine them full of stuff.. Moving was one giant AOL that I couldn’t get out of.

Wait..  What???  You don’t know what Freecycle is!  It’s just about the most useful thing you can do with your computer.  Ok, I’m exaggerating.  But it is way kewl.  Freecycle.org is a network of Yahoo groups with the word freecycle in the name.  Each group is made up of Freecyclers in a particular community.  What do these Freecyclers do?

It’s simple.  If you have something that is still useful but not to you, and you’re too lazy to haul it away or put it up for sale, you simply post it to your local Freecycle group as a giveaway. 

Not only can you get rid of stuff, you can get some really useful things as well, which appeals to the Cheapest Man On Earth side of me.  We picked up a trampoline, one of those big wooden swing sets, and a bunch of Little Tyke yard toys, including a kid’s picnic table.  We also got a brand new set of luggage, some books, videos, software, and lots of clothes for the kids. 

I’ve been freecycling for more than three years.  It has saved me at least a dozen AOL’s.

So be sure to join your local group, and remember this Elmoe tip.  When you’re giving something away, be sure to tell them to bring help to load.  You’d be surprised at how many people expect you to load it for them.

Since a man’s career is his biggest AOL, you’re probably wondering what The Elmoe does to pay the bills. As you may have guessed, it is incredibly simple.  And yet it supports a family of 8 with a hefty new mortgage, and two car payments.  Right now, there are only about 40,000 people in the entire world that do what I do.  So there’s plenty of room for more.  This is The Elmoe’s biggest tip of all. If you want it, and trust me, you do, you’re going to have to share an Elmoe tip of your own, or at least comment on my blog.

I just noticed that my lawn is in serious need of mowing. I better get off my lazy butt and tell my son to mow it . So until next time, this is The Elmoe saying, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, I’m not cleaning up after it.”