Free-Binning 101

Most Mount Holyoke students are well aware of the crates and boxes marked “Free Bins” that lie in the Laundry Rooms in the dorms. The free bin is a place for students to drop off old clothes that they no longer want, and for other students to pick up these clothes (for free) and get new outfits and clothing items. Many students enjoy getting a new outfit, but don’t enjoy having to pay for it.  There are only so many clothes that one technically needs before buying new outfits becomes an added (unnecessary) expense, so the free bin is a valued asset to the Mount Holyoke community.  In order to get the most out of your free-bin experience, I have compiled a few tips below.

image by isisjem22 at flickr.com

1.   Preplan. The free-bin consists of whatever clothes Mount Holyoke students don’t want. While the assortment is pretty impressive, you can’t expect to dig through it and find the exact outfit you want. However, if you pre-plan, you can maximize your odds.  Maybe that tank-top doesn’t seem so appealing in the middle of winter, but if you hold onto it, by the time May comes around you’ll appreciate the new shirt. Or perhaps you would never wear that jacket on a day-to-day basis, but it will be great for Drag Ball in the spring.

2. Coordinate with friends. While you have swipe-access to all the dorms on campus, you probably don’t have time to go rummaging through every free-bin.  You can still coordinate with your friend who lives across campus.  Look out for things that she’d be interested in, and ask her to do the same for you.  The Mount Holyoke Free Binning Tumblr  serves the purpose of allowing Mount Holyoke students to show each other some of the best Free-Binning items. However, the girl who originally ran it has graduated last spring, and the blog has not run since.  Nevertheless you can learn about great items all around campus if you use your friends.

3. Wash your items!  You don’t know who owned this before you,  where it’s been, or whose hands have been on it. Before you wear it, make sure your items are as sanitary as possible!

There’s something sweet about the pleasure you can get from finding a piece of clothing that you love without having to pay a dime.  Thanks to the Free-Binning System, Mount Holyoke students can experience this feeling often.