Money Saving Wednesday…Swap Meet
I have spent the last few weeks cleaning out closets and, yes, my garage. I have decided to simplify my life and I am getting rid of lots of things that I just don’t use anymore. I have stacks of towels, lots of clothes, many duplicate kitchen gadget, scores of cute things that used to hang on my walls and adorn my shelves, and even fabric that never made it into a quilt. I really don’t need all that stuff. I am making room for my food storage and emergency supplies, which make me much happier to look at than a cupboard crammed full of towels.
As I looked at the bed in my son’s room where things I no longer want are stacking up, it dawned on me some of those things could be of use to my family and friends. They may actually need some of the things I am finished with. Why not have a swap meet?
Call a few friends and ask them if they would be interested in simplifying their lives and swapping what they no longer need. Set a date and plan to get together, drink lemonade, eat cookies, chat and swap. When you have all finished claiming the treasures others have contributed move it all to the garage and have a garage sale the next day to get rid of the rest. During these difficult times more people will be looking to garage sales to meet their family’s needs. If you have been frustrated by a sale in the past why not give it another try with a group of friends? Decide together how to divide the profits from the sale. Maybe you could just spend it all on a nice dinner together.
Our school district used to hold a swap meet for the teachers each year. They would all bring handouts they had created for their classes as well as duplicate of books or other items they no longer had use for. Often they would bring items that had been given to them by parents that were great gifts, just not after you had received several of the same item.If you have friends who are crafters and scap book nuts trade those things. If you belong to a quilt group trade fabric. Be creative!
Start swapping, it’s fun, frugal and just plain smart.
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also check out http://www.bigwardrobe.com, the internet’s biggest clothes swapping website xx
good post! Some really useful information also…
How funny – I was just thinking of asking my neighbors if they’d be interested in doing something like this. We’re not allowed to do garage sales but a neighborhood SWAP might be kosher.
One side note on the towels and fabric: you might want to save some of those as prep supplies? Unless these are extras on top of even your preps – I’m just thinking that in emergencies (pandemics, for instance) being able to grab a towel from the closet or bin really quickly might be helpful. Could be used as bandages, cloth diapers, feminine products, adult diapers, etc in times of mass emergency as well.
My old dog trained me on this. Every time I was about to donate a certain stack of towels to the local shelter for the pups and kitties there, she’d throw up on my floor and I’d grab a towel to clean it up. They are old towels so who cares if they are stained, right? After this happening a few times, I decided to just keep them for flu and dog mess days.
I was thinking the same thing about the towels. I remember that one of the things we were to buy were white towels for the pandemic flu. I was also thinking that if the power went out when it was cold up here in the north, that towels could be used to help keep family members warm, especially if you just didn’t have enough blankets to do the job. Why not layer them between the sheets and the blankets? But, they do take up room. Maybe they could be stored between the mattress and box springs.
Great points all.. I know what you mean about extra towels. I have an entire shelf in my laundry room full of “used” or should I say abused towels. They are for the nasty clean ups. Towels would be great to use as additional warmth if your blankets and sleeping bags were not enough. When I was young we used to put towels in the dog house during the winter so the dog would be warmer. They are also great to roll up at the bottom of a door way or on a window sill to cut drafts. I however, have enough for a small army! They are going!
Bath sheets make excellent cot blankets, warm and easy to wash and wash well, much better than some cot blankets.
Old towels can be made into cloths for steam mops, dish cloths, lining for mats, pot holders, drink bottle holders and more. So think twice before getting rid of old towels, I wish I had of known what I could use them for before I got rid of a pile of mine….now I’m thrift shopping for more!