The MomSpeak

Are your closets full of adorable outfits that your daughter only wore a few times?  How about those special occasion shoes that your son wore to a family event and then promptly outgrew before he could wear them again?  Or maybe you have Halloween costumes from years past stored away in the attic?  My guess is that your house is full of gently-used children’s items that you no longer need.  I am also willing to bet that many of your Mama friends find themselves in the same situation.

Why let these items gather dust when you can “swap” them with friends for things that your kids could actually use?  You may have heard of national services such as Freecycle where you can list and find gently-used items.  Why not use the same concept to swap children’s items right in your neighborhood? 

Here are a few simple tips for organizing a “swap” of children’s items with your friends.

 

(1)  Decide what type of swap you want to have.  Items that you can swap include Halloween costumes, special occasion outfits and shoes, winter coats and accessories, or books and toys that your children no longer play with.  Limit your first swap to a particular category of items so people don’t get overwhelmed.

 

(2)  Email your parent friends to get a swap group organized. Begin by contacting other parents to propose your swap idea (email is the easiest way to do this).  When you putting you swap group together, try to include families with children of different ages and sexes to create variety in your selection of swap items.

 

(3)  Compile a master list of items to be swapped. Ask all interested swappers to send you a list (including sizes) of the items that they are willing to swap and compile a master list of all of the items available.  Participants can also let you know if they are looking for a specific item (i.e. a girl’s holiday dress in a 4T).

 

(4)  Swap Away!  You can either have one day and time when all of the swaps take place, or people can contact each other from the master list regarding specific items that they are willing to swap and arrange their own pick-up or drop-offs. 

 

This is a win-win situation for everyone.  You can feel good that the long-forgotten things that were gathering dust in your closet are now being used by another child and you have saved yourself a few bucks by not having to buy new items for your little ones!

 

 

Caitlin Giles blogs about educational and enriching activities to do every day on Being Savvy: Chicago.