New to You
Posted by Gail | Filed under Good ideas, Saving
Looking for a way to get some “new” in your life without dropping any money. Why not hold a “new-to-you” party. Get together with 10 or so friends and exchange what they have for what you have. In the old days these were called Swap Parties. They wax and wane in popularity depending on how the economy is doing and how “rich” people are feeling. The more frugality becomes fashionable, the more popular the New to You trend gets.
Not only are Swap Parties a great way to save money, they are eco-friendly falling under the “reuse” category of the 3-Rs. And all kinds of things can be swapped.
Baked goods and frozen meals. If you have a group of girlfriends who love to cook, why not start a dinner and dessert swap. Each of you makes something you’re particularly good at. You stick one in your own freezer and then bring a half-dozen to the Swap Party. Bring a sample for everyone to try. You can go home with six new things for your freezer. I’m more likely to swap my savoury for someone else’s sweet because I’m not much of a baker. You can also do this with home-made jams and pickles to broaden your inventory.
Cards, wrapping paper, bags, and other stationary. People always seem to have a ton of this kind of stuff hanging around. As long as you take home only as much as you bring to the party, everything comes out fair. If, for example, you decide to swap cards, you arrive with your contribution and stick ‘em in a couple of boxes and the passing around begins. If you brought 10 cards, you can take 10 new cards from the box.
DVDs, CDs, books and games. Have a bunch of games sitting on the shelf gathering dust? Done watching those movies? Time to put New to You to work. There’s nothing more satisfying that getting a new set of DVDs or books that are new to you without having to spend a cent. Hey, it’s a little like shopping second hand, but cheaper. If there’s stuff left over at the end of the night, one person can take it all to the local library.
Clothing. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom who is just re-entering the workforce, or you’re simply looking to change up your style a bit, a clothing swap can work if the people involved are all of a similar size. Or maybe you want to swap clothes because you’ve gained or lost weight, in which case you’ll want multiple sizes at your party! If you’re off-size, you can still play if your clothing swap includes accessories. Or maybe you want to focus on the one-wear outfits that have been hanging dejectedly in your closet. Think of all those outfits you bought for weddings or other parties that you haven’t ever worn again. Swap ‘em and have some fun.
Toys and baby gear. Getting together with moms is a great way to offer new-to-you toys to your kids. You each bring a couple of toys your kids no longer play with to the party, swap, and go home with something fresh and enticing for your young’un. Ditto clothes your kids may have outgrown.
You can have a swap party for anything you and your friends have similar interests in: plants, seeds, and perennials are great for gardeners in the spring. Recipes (with accompanying samples) and coupons work in the fall when the focus moves back to nesting. Scrapbookers can swap supplies. Sewers, knitters, quilters can share patterns.
Swap parties can be a great way to not only stretch your budget, but have some fun too. And if each invitee brings a guest along, it can also be a terrific way to make new friends.
February 28, 2011 at 8:06 am
Sorry Gail, it sounds like a good idea but I’ve done 2 Swap parties and no one brings their good stuff to trade, just the stuff that needs donating anyway. You’re better off just asking a friend if you can borrow her clothes or kids’ toys or movies for 6 months and then return them.
February 28, 2011 at 8:50 am
A friend of mine had great success with a ‘jewelery swap’ clothing get together. These were all costume jewels and what ever wasn’t taken by the adults ended up being given to our children and their friends. It worked very well and apparently was a lot of fun.
February 28, 2011 at 9:26 am
I had great success at a clothing swap party a year ago! I had brought some really expensive never worn leather boots that I somehow bought without “sleeping on it” that were a size too big…I recieved a whole fall/winter wardrobe!
I love the idea of a food swap!
February 28, 2011 at 9:45 am
A girlfriend set up a soup exchange several months ago and it’s fantastic. Each person bring 6 portions of home made soup/stew and we all exchange. For couple of weeks following each exchange my lunches are rather interesting.
February 28, 2011 at 10:12 am
Amelia, you need new friends! Or at least some that have recently gone through “size changes”.
I’ve probably done 5-6 clothing swaps over the years, and all of them have turned out really well. Either way, you get to de-clutter the closet. Some of my favourite pieces- 3 or 4 years on, are ones I got from clothing swaps.
February 28, 2011 at 2:10 pm
I’ve tried it about 4 times, but swap parties just don’t work with my friends. About half of my girlfriends bring stuff but I have yet to see a guy swap
SO the question is how to get everyone to participate?
February 28, 2011 at 3:57 pm
The only swap ‘meets’ I have attended were ones through work, and before Christmas. Everyone bakes their choice of cookie or sweet, and then you exchange with the others. That way you get a variety of treats, and not the huge amount of work.
February 28, 2011 at 4:36 pm
I agree with Amelia. Plus, you need friends
February 28, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Swap parties are great when you have friends who have something that you want and want something that you have.
Otherwise, the best places to go are freecycling websites. I suggest looking up http://www.freecycle.org to find freecycling groups near where you live. Or you can use Google to search “freecycling”.
March 1, 2011 at 12:03 am
I was so motivated by this one. Actually have been talking about forming a media swap group but his seems easier with less comitment. Trying to get a group of my friends to do one in March using Facebook of course to arrange it. Thanks Gail!
March 1, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Hi Gail, I love these ideas. As long as everyone taking part has something to bring to the table, I can see how useful these could be!
March 5, 2011 at 11:47 am
[...] New to You [...]
February 22, 2012 at 11:53 am
When I was a member of NAAFA we had a clothing swap. Everyone brought clothes they wanted to trade. We piled all the clothes on a clean sheet on the floor. And everyone took what they wanted. If someone put 5 items they can pick 5 items. However if there were leftovers we did a number game or the person hosting the event held up the items and those that wanted the item said “I’ll take it.” We had a dessert party afterwards. It is a fun evening.