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When Joan Gluza and her daughter Devon left a shelter in November, they had their beds - and little else. Then the mother discovered the Freecycle Network.

"It's like waking up and it's Christmas," she said, pointing to the 9-by-12-foot Oriental carpet, desk, four chairs and countless other things she has picked up free through the Web-based community swap program. The items comfortably outfit their two-bedroom apartment in Franklin.

Gluza belongs to six "freecycling" groups, including one in Attleboro. Aside from getting stuff for herself, she has picked up a dining room set and nearly new animal plushies for her nephew, who is going to be a father and is moving to a home, and items for women at a shelter in Attleboro.

"People are basically very, very nice," she said in describing the Freecycle Network.

There's no bartering, trading or selling. People go to the site and post what they are looking for or what they have to give away. A person responds and arranges a time; the item or items are left, usually outside in a specific spot on the owner's property; and the deal is complete. Often, the two parties don't even meet face-to-face.

Freecycling is a growing movement globally, started with the intent of cutting down on waste by diverting things other people could use from the dump. But it has also served to help those in need and allowed folks in general to either get rid of things they don't want cluttering their homes or find things to add to their lives without spending big bucks.

"We've been wanting a telescope," said Angie Gotta of Attleboro, who homeschools her four children and is a Freecycle Network member. She has just started a solar unit with her children, Olivia, 8, Sabrina and Sophia, both 6, and Daniel, 3. A woman posted that she had a Meade telescope and Gotta went to the woman's house and picked it up. The children were able to view the recent lunar eclipse as well as two rabbits in a corner of the backyard, Sabrina added.

Typically, though, Gotta said she is on the giving end. "It's better to give things to those in need," she said. "It's nice to know someone needs 3T snowpants (and that you can provide them.)

"Cleaning out your basement, doing spring cleaning, you may find a lot of things that are hanging around you don't need anymore. That's where she unearthed some of her children's clothes that they'd outgrown. "They're not being used and they can go to other children."

And rather than ending up in a landfill or being dropped off in some bin, Gotta believes that as more people "go green," the concept and the group will expand exponentially.

Since Deron Beal began Freecycle in Arizona in May 2003, it has grown to more than 4 million members and 3,500 groups in more than 75 countries, according to the Web site. It claims to keep more than 50 million tons of trash out of landfills daily.

Most local operators, like the Attleboro chapter, use the Yahoo! Web site to run their operation and keep tabs on what other Freecycle chapters are doing.

Founded in August 2004, the city chapter has more than 2,500 members, group list owner Antoinette Shangraw said through an e-mail.

"Everyone is welcome and the membership is a diverse group of families, individuals, non-profits and businesses," she wrote. "Any tangible item that is free, legal and appropriate for all ages can be posted as an 'offer' or requested as a 'wanted." she said. Popular items include baby clothes and equipment, electronics, furniture, clothing, books, housewares, exercise equipment, building materials, appliances, toys, videos and packing materials.

When you post an item you get to choose to whom it will go. You e-mail the person to arrange for pickup and post on the site that the item is spoken for.

If you want to snag an item, you have to be quick, said both Shangraw and Gluza. And Gluza recommends folks have a separate e-mail for responses.

Shangraw attributed the appeal of the group to a number of factors: people hating to throw away good things, the cost of getting rid of items, the desire to cut clutter in the home, and charities becoming choosier about what they accept. Storing the items for a yard sale or selling them on sites like craigslist or eBay can also be time-consuming, especially for smaller, inexpensive items.

Shangraw said she recently got some Pokemon cards for her kids and it made their day. She was also preparing to pick up sheets and towels for the non-profit local cat rescue Angelcat Haven. She got a small CD player for the toddler room at her church. She's listed or given away a baby food mill, a game, kids' clothes, toys, a computer printer, household goods and two boats.

Gluza's even gotten toys for her daughter's service dog, along with vases, a computer monitor and color photo printer.

Freecycle member Barrie Guarino said via e-mail that she spoke with a woman in Taunton who is in the group "Books for Soldiers," which collects items to send to soldiers serving overseas. She gave her a few Playstation 2 games that her family no longer used and ended up signing up for the group at the same time.

Shangraw said things don't always work out perfectly in Freecyle and there are "rude and greedy people who want to take advantage of other people's generosity." But she said she's encountered far more nice people than not nice.

The biggest complaint from members are "no shows," folks who don't pick up an item as promised.

Shangraw said another pitfall can be that the item you've gone to pick up is not as you expected. "The idea that one man's trash is another man's treasure holds true for the most part, but sometimes, it's just trash!" she said. "In that case, it's perfectly OK to say 'no thanks, it's not what I thought it was after all.'"

Gluza said she has never encountered a problem with Freecycle. The site was at first a "bit addictive" for her and her family. After all, they were in need and here was all this free stuff. It's allowed them to go beyond just the essentials to help add some decorative touches.

"The Oriental rug that looks nice, that's just a bonus. We have everything we need right now," she said, mentioning in particular a new-looking riding helmet for Devon, who uses a wheelchair and takes therapeutic riding lessons.

Gluza points single moms to the site and also arranges to pick up items for women in the Attleboro shelter who do not have transportation.

Coincidentally, as she greeted a reporter in the lobby, a woman named Jeannie whom Gluza met through Freecycle was picking up a wheelchair that Devon could not use. The woman was taking it for a non-profit group that deals with children with disabilities.

The woman told Gluza it would lead to "happy wheeling around" by some child.

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.