Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to host a swap as we come
Speaker 1: to the holidays. Trading items with friends and neighbors can
Speaker 1: help everyone save some money while still enjoying new to
Speaker 1: them treats. Plus, it's fun to build community with people
Speaker 1: who like the same sort of things. Every holiday season,
Speaker 1: I find myself intrigued by the idea of a cookie
Speaker 1: swap party. They are a fun way to end up
Speaker 1: with a variety of sweets. If you have six people
Speaker 1: at a swap, each of you would make five dozen
Speaker 1: of your favorite kind of cookie to share. Unless every
Speaker 1: one baked the exact same cookie. This would mean that
Speaker 1: each attendee would go home with a dozen each of
Speaker 1: five varieties of cookies, and of course you'd get together
Speaker 1: with five friends to celebrate the holidays. The cookies are
Speaker 1: really just a bonus, if a nice one. Some people
Speaker 1: do clothing swaps too. I think they are particularly good
Speaker 1: for kids who often outgrow clothes before the clothes give
Speaker 1: out in a way that just doesn't happen for grown ups.
Speaker 1: Kids also try various sports too, which means you might
Speaker 1: wind up with ice skates that are now too small
Speaker 1: for your daughter who has moved on to lacrosse. Best
Speaker 1: to give them to someone else whose kid is considering
Speaker 1: skating lessons, and if you don't necessarily know who that
Speaker 1: might be, a neighborhood swaps a great way to find
Speaker 1: out and maybe to score some used Lacrois equipment at
Speaker 1: the same time. Clothes and cookies are the most common
Speaker 1: fodder for swaps, but you could see how this concept
Speaker 1: could expand to other things too. A hobby swap would
Speaker 1: be a great way to meet other people who enjoy
Speaker 1: a pastime, pick up some new gear, and unload the
Speaker 1: stuff you no longer use. Any serious scrap booker or
Speaker 1: knitter winds up with material that they don't use as
Speaker 1: often as their favorite stuff. Somebody else might want to
Speaker 1: knit a sweater in that exact shade of green you
Speaker 1: elected not to use. Particularly as we get toward the holidays,
Speaker 1: a swap could be a great way to stretch a budget.
Speaker 1: A kid who wants a set of blocks doesn't need
Speaker 1: to know that they are not in the original packaging.
Speaker 1: They are still really cool, packed into a clever basket
Speaker 1: and wrapped up, same with sports gear or cool bigger
Speaker 1: kid clothes. Now, obviously it's a little trickier scoring gifts
Speaker 1: for adults at a swap, though it wouldn't have to
Speaker 1: be if you and your friends and family all committed
Speaker 1: to giving the second hand market a try. But even
Speaker 1: if you won't go that far, as swap could be
Speaker 1: a great way to get some new holiday decorations if
Speaker 1: everyone's feeling a little tired of their own, and you
Speaker 1: can always score some new presents for yourself in the
Speaker 1: process since you wouldn't care as much about the formalities. Personally,
Speaker 1: I love the idea of a book swap. We often
Speaker 1: wind up with lots of books that we've read but
Speaker 1: don't need to keep. Donating is great, so is trading.
Speaker 1: It's a great way to find out what you'd like
Speaker 1: to read next. There are lots of ways you could
Speaker 1: host a swap. Some very serious swaps involve a currency
Speaker 1: of credit, where you get a certain number of credits
Speaker 1: based on the number and quality of items you bring in.
Speaker 1: If that sounds like too much work, don't worry. There
Speaker 1: are plenty that unfold a lot more organically. Just trusting
Speaker 1: that everyone's interest in maintaining the relationships will prove stronger
Speaker 1: then their desire to grab the really nice pair of
Speaker 1: ice skates or golf clubs. If you're doing a hobby
Speaker 1: or game swap, teaming up with a local business or
Speaker 1: organization could help you get the news out and maybe
Speaker 1: provide a space. Inviting people to a swap is also
Speaker 1: one of the best uses of social media. You can
Speaker 1: post on local groups about your swap and people will
Speaker 1: spread the word to their own networks too. In any case,
Speaker 1: we often buy new stuff because that's easiest. I know
Speaker 1: I do this and often that is perfectly fine, but
Speaker 1: can be really satisfying to find a good home for
Speaker 1: your stuff and to be able to give stuff a
Speaker 1: longer life. A swap can do this and let everyone
Speaker 1: enjoy getting new things. If it saves money, well that's
Speaker 1: just frosting on the cookie. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: before Breakfast pod. That's b the number four. Then breakfast
Speaker 1: p O D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at I Hurt Me da dot
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
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