Get Rid of Clutter and Save Money
The idea of “Going Green” popped up in our office amongst me and three co-workers I consider great friends. As ladies who love to talk, we began to hear ourselves talking about how cluttered our homes are. We realized that we have things that we’ve acquired over the years that are cluttering up our homes for no good reason. We don’t even use half these things. And of the things we may use, they are just sitting around because we don’t have the time to get to them. So why have them? Why not just get rid of them? Well there’s the guilt of cluttering up our dumps we are already filled to the rafters. Besides, if it’s a good item that we spent our money on, you really don’t want to throw it away.
Enter the idea of having a swap among friends. It all started when our boss vowed not to purchase anything for an entire month to prevent more clutter in her home and to stop being frivolous. She knew this would help her save money. She proposed the idea of bartering for things she needed and in an effort to help her, we all dug into our closets and drawers to find what we could give her. She did the same for us and the swap was born. We had so much stuff we decided to create themes such as: beauty day, craft day, living room/family room day, and magazine and books day. We have several more coming up accessories, the basement and more. We do it once a week and now everyone in the office is involved. We were surprised that the book day even caught the curiosity of the guys in the office! So much so that we have to repeat that day for the guys to be involved.
The idea of a swap works great in an office because you can leave your things in your cubicle or office and allow your co-workers to come and “shop.” But if you don’t work in an office, it can work in other situations too. If you are a stay-at-home mom, put your things out and invite other moms over. You can have a little lunch or tea, chat, let the kids play together and “shop.” Next week, set the swap up at another mom’s house who is interested in the swap. You can do this at church too if your church is willing to allow you a place to display your things for the day. And the church itself may be happy to take some of your gently used items for their ministries in need. It’s a win-win for everyone.
This swap has been a great experience for me and I strongly encourage you to do a swap for yourself. I’ve saved money on things like a pillow for my bathtub, books for grand mom, gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, country decorations which are perfect for my house, and candles, so far. Plus I’ve been able to provide some fun new things to my friends who either just loved the idea of having something new to read or update their home with, or something they really needed and didn’t want to spend money on. Plus, I am keeping clutter out of the dumps. Give it a try!
