Making room for all those holiday presents? Getting a head start on spring cleaning? Tempted to throw some things away because it’s easier than holding a garage sale in the rain? Kitsap County residents and businesses can now sell or give away “treasures” without worrying about the weather by using the new online garage sale at www.2good2toss.com.

This popular website, billed as “the garage sale that never closes,” is hosted by the Washington State Department of Ecology in cooperation with local governments throughout the state. The goal: Match buyers and sellers in a unique web-based marketplace to prevent usable items from going to the landfill. Items can be given away or priced up to $99.

Visit the website to browse for “wanted” or “available” items then make the exchange privately. There is no middleman, and it’s not an auction like eBay. To submit postings, register for free at www.2good2toss.com

Businesses are encouraged to post surplus fixtures, equipment, or furniture, but the website is not intended for retail goods and does not accept postings for hazardous materials (i.e. paint, pesticides, fertilizers, chemicals, cleaners). The waste exchange is used widely for old household items such as beds, chairs, bicycles, fish tanks, collectibles, and reusable surplus building materials that might otherwise end up in the trash.

According to Gretchen Olsen, Kitsap County’s Solid Waste Division manager, used building materials and large household items are expected to be popular postings in Kitsap County. “We think this is a great solution to decrease illegal dumping by providing an outlet for used masonry, working appliances, old windows, and other household fixtures that still have some useful life.”

Household hazardous waste is accepted at the Moderate Risk Waste (MRW) Collection Facility Thursday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., each week. (Business waste is accepted at the MRW by appointment only.) The facility also houses the Swap Shop where good, reusable painting supplies, automotive products, gardening supplies, glues, and household cleaners are available at no cost to Kitsap County residents. Kitsap County joins, Clark, Columbia, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Thurston, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, and Walla Walla counties, as well as several cities, as members of the 2good2toss waste exchange.

For further information, call The Open Line at (360) 337-5777.