If I told you I went into a total stranger’s home at night and left with their DVD player and Playstation, your first instinct might be to call the cops.

Yet thousands of people are giving away pricey items to folks they don’t know from Adam, through giveaway websites like Freecycle.org.

Whether it's bedside cabinets, books, electronics or even concert tickets, giveaway community websites offer first-class, second-hand goods for free.

Of course much is tat, but some is top notch stuff from generous people.

Every hour, people post hundreds of freebies on these sites. All you have to do is email a request, then pop round to pick it up.

One of my MoneySavingExpert.com users recently acquired a pristine Laura Ashley sofa bed.

Another furnished his house and started a gardening business with over 50 free items he collected. One lady got brand new Guitar Hero and Singstar games for her son’s Playstation 3.

What is freecycle?

Freecycle isn't a website in its own right, it's run via Yahoo group emails, which is highly localised. This means you become a part of your area's own Freecycle club. Each community is run by locally-based volunteers.

Yet it is crucial to remember it’s not about take, take, take. The spirit of Freecycle is that it’s a recycling community, so you should give, as well as receive.

Also check out Freegle

Freecycle was set up in the USA, and some local UK groups have become unhappy with the US founders’ policies. In September ’09, a rival UK-based site, ilovefreegle.org, was set up by some of the folks who moderate local groups on this side of the pond. Many local UK Freecycle groups have moved to this new site.

Yet nothing has changed except the name. The two groups work via group emails in exactly the same way.

What you can get …

Monitoring one local city-based group over a week, the same items appeared again and again. Many offerings are from office clear-outs or emigrating families, while others are just from nice folks who love to see others benefiting from their cast-offs.

If you’re after any of the following, you’re sure to find it with a bit of patience:

• Furniture. Household furniture, such as sofas, futons, beds, book shelves, computer desks, lamps, lighting, curtains and rugs.

• Electricals. White goods, CRT tellys, fridges, freezers, kettles, ovens, blenders, coffee machines and old PCs.

• Baby stuff. Baby cast-offs are incredibly popular; if you’re expecting, Freecycle is a treasure trove of buggies, clothes, cots and baby monitors.

• Office equipment. PCs, monitors and computer chairs (people are especially generous as it’s their boss’s stuff!).

• Entertainment. Books, DVDs, games consoles, videos and old magazines.

• Broken stuff. If you’ve a knack for fixing things, there are broken cameras, washing machines, computers and more.

• Sports equipment. There are many bicycles, a few treadmills … even a ski machine!

How to use Freecycle

The first step is to sign up to your local group at Freecycle.org. If you’re on the borders of two or more groups, join all of them to boost your chances of bagging a gem – especially if one’s in a posher neighbourhood!

Some local UK groups have moved away from the Freecycle Network and set up rival site ilovefreegle.org. It's worth joining both Freecycle & Freegle. Both communities work via group emails in exactly the same way; you won't notice the difference.

• Set up a dedicated Freecycle email address

When you sign up, it will ask you how you would like to be notified about new freebies. You have two options: receiving a daily highlights email and browsing the rest online, or receiving every single email to your inbox.

If you choose the second option, never use your normal email address; it’ll be immediately flooded. As an example, after joining one group, within a week I had 1,500 emails (this also gives an idea of the scores of freebies on offer).

• Give away a freebie

When you first join, it's Freecycle etiquette to email an offer to the group. Nothing is too small; just look in those cupboards and find something unwanted. People will take old videos, magazines and fridge magnets!

• Get a freebie

When you first join Freecycle, it’s easy to get hooked as you see the staggering amount of freebies put up for grabs. Items are snapped up at speed, so to bag the best haul, check for new posts as often as possible.

Once you spot a top find, you just need to contact the giver and offer to take it off their hands. Though do think about whether you really need the item, or whether someone else could benefit more. Plus, factor in petrol costs; small items mightn’t be worth it.

• Stay safe

While incidents are rare, there are simple precautions you can take to make sure the transaction is a safe one.

The main rule is not to be pressurised into letting someone into a particular area of your home, or going into someone else’s. If someone’s emails sound dodgy, trust your gut and don’t bother.

If it’s a small item, do the exchange on the doorstep or arrange to meet in a busy area.

Alternative giveaway websites

As well as Freecycle, there several other giveaway websites, including SnaffleUp.co.uk and MySkip.com. It’s also worth checking the freebies section of your local gumtree.

There’s a full guide to using Freecycle and grabbing the top freebies at www.moneysavingexpert.com/freecycle

Donate to chariddee

When looking for a home for your hand-me-downs, don’t forget good old charties. There are different options depending on the item:

• Charity shops.

When looking for homes for hand-me-downs, don’t forget your local charity shop. They are always looking for good stock. Call the shop first to take before bringing in any bulky or electrical items.

• Cycles.

It’s possible to donate old bikes to riders in developing countries through re-cycle.org. The scheme isn’t able to collect bikes, but has drop off points across the country.

• Computers.

Be sure to give to a well established charity, as donating computers can be a security risk if it retails personal data (even if you delete information, it may lurk on the hard disk). Good bets are www.computeraid.org and donateapc.org.

• Glasses.

Many opticians run charity programmes where they donate second-hand glasses to developing countries, including Dolland & Aitchison, Vision Express and Eyesite.

• Tools.

If you’ve old tools to donate, consider Tools for Self-Reliance (tfsr.org), an organisation that reconditions carpentry tools for use in Africa.