We have been trying to sell our old junk on eBay, because that’s what you do. We’re dumb! So far, everything has sold for a pittance, especially when you consider the amount of hassle in posting stuff to eBay, packing it up, and sending it out.

Instead, we should have given this stuff away. Or at least swapped it for something else we wanted!

I’ve assembled a small list of sites that exist to help you get rid of your old junk. I haven’t used all of these, so be wary.

• Freecycle is the granddaddy of the gifting web community. It’s likely there is a Freecycle group in your town. Freecycle is best for giving away, although the frugal junk collector will enjoy keeping an eye on the local lists. You don’t get anything from giving away your stuff besides good feelings.

• Craigslist is the internet’s free classified ads. You’d think everyone would have heard of it by now, but I continue to trip over people who have not. Craigslist is a great place to sell your stuff or give it away for free.

• Bookins lets you trade books for $4 apiece including shipping.

• BookMooch lets you trade books as well, but uses a points system. (Get points for trade ins, use those points to order new books.)

• Lala allows you to trade CDs, those strange discs with magical inscriptions.

• Game Trading Zone is a site for trading games.

• So is Goozex.

• As is Switchplanet, which also lets you swap DVDs.

• What does I Trade Video Games (dot com) exist for, I wonder?