I came away with lots of great finds, including a several 6-9 month outfits for my baby (Score! We needed more 9 monthers!), a sweet little baby toy, a few tops and pairs of work out shorts for me, a book, a scarf that reminded me of my sister-in-law (Mer, you’ll get it next time we come to Houston.), and a nifty appetizer dish that spins!

Swap finds for my baby girl!

Learn more about my annual swap and how you can host your own!

• Take the Aveeno pledge for 50 points. You need to choose to publish to your wall.
• Play the Look Beyond the Labels game for 25 points. (Thanks, Erin!)
• Take the Green Your Home Challenge for 45 points.

Take your used cosmetics to Origins for free samples! They accept everything from bottles, tubes, jars, deodorant sticks, and compacts, regardless of the brand. Items will be recycled and sometimes converted to energy. This program is year around. More info here.

I posted last week  (here) on ThredUp, a new site I recently found that allows you to swap toys and kid clothes. Thats site charges $5 + $10.95 (S&H) per swap. How good of a deal it is depends on what you swap and how much is in each box. There’s definitely potential! I read about one woman who received a PS3! You can sign up for ThredUp here.

OutGrowingIn is a similar site that allows you to swap kid AND maternity clothes – another huge need where swapping just makes the most sense! And this site charges a lower fee – $3 + $10.95 S&H. Join free here and check it out!

Did you know the single item of clothing women across the country most need is a bra? Soma is collecting new and gently used bras to donate to women in need. You can donate a new or gently used bra at any Soma Intimates Boutique. Their goal is to collect 50,000 – a might goal, which I think we can help them achieve! Plus when you donate, you’ll get 15% off your purchase of $75+! Get more details here.

My friend Nicole (and Thankfully Thrifty reader) sent me this email that I thought I’d share with you:

Have you heard of Freecycle? It’s a website similar to Craigslist, but everything is free. The person who has the item gets to decide who the item goes to, so you may not get everything you say you’d like. You should check it out.

I posted last week that I’d like an exercise ball, and someone replied that she has one that I can have and pick it up at XYZ place. I also posted that I accidentally opened a can of formula that is for a 10-36mo old, and LE is not quite 7 months. Once the can is open, it only is good for a month. A lady posted that she’d like it, so I met her close to my house to give it to her.

The items could be all types, but I’ve mostly seen things that couldn’t go to Salvation Army– like carpet pieces, landscaping items– and some that can, like clothes, beds, and DVD players. All sorts of stuff shows up.

The purpose of the site is to encourage not buying new things when there are perfectly good used items out there.

Check it out!

I was thrilled to get this email! I don’t know about any of you, but I used to belong to Freecycle. Apparently I missed their switch from Yahoo Groups… I didn’t know what happened to it! I’ve gotten craft supplies, a side table, and a food dehydrator from people on there! I have also gotten rid of several things as well. It’s wonderful! So whether you are new to the site or, like me, just missed their move, here’s their new website! Find a Freecycle group in your area!

Have any of you given or gotten great things off Freecycle?

Bring in a pair of your old denim jeans, and get 30% off your purchase of men’s and women’s 1969 brand jeans at Gap! This deal is good through October 20th.

Send in 3 empty bags of Bear Naked, plus $5. They will “upcycle” these bags for you into a t-shirt. “What’s upcycling?” you ask. It’s a way to reduce waste on the earth. Bear Naked has partnered with Terracycle, who will convert this bags into things like t-shirts and totes. Learn more about this offer here.

This past weekend, my friend Jessica and I hosted our second annual swap.

Invitations: We sent out a save the date about six weeks in advance to give friends a heads up to start cleaning out their closets and attics. Then about three weeks before, we sent out an Evite. Actually the picture above is the Evite invitation we used. How awesome is that? They actually have an Evite invitation for swap parties!

We invited about 15 friends, hoping no more than 8 would be able to come. Too many people at a swap makes it difficult to manage, but 10 might be doable. We ended up with 5. Keep in mind that post-spring cleaning means a summer swap, which means busy schedules and travel plans. Also don’t be offended if less than usually would come to your party actually attend. Swaps are not for everyone, and that’s okay.

Items to bring: Basically my rule was: “Anything goes, but please make sure it is in good condition and that you think someone else may actually want it.” …I added that last part about someone actually wanting it because last year people brought all sorts of items from their attic, and Jessica and I were stuck toting it all to Goodwill after. Great to donate. But not great to have cars full of trash. Also we asked that people really bring things they want to swap or donate – no “I am glad for someone to take this, but if I don’t find something I like, I might take it back.”

I would also ask guests to bring a tote bag or box with them to take their treasures home in. The same bag or box you used to bring your items in will do.

Organization: The rooms we used had specific places for different items. For example, there were places for houseware and miscellaneous, kitchen, clothes, purses and shoes, and books and DVDs. In the future, I plan to have a section for kids’ toys as well. We did not have a clothes rod either year, though that would have been helpful and made things prettier! (If you have a clothes rod, provide hangers for guests to hang up their clothing items. You can ask people to leave the hangers when they leave.)

How to swap: As I said, everyone would come in and place their items on the designated tables. After guests arrive, have a muffin and tea, and mingle a bit, we had guests draw numbers. The person with the number 1 was able to have the first choice of the item they wanted to take. Then number 2 goes… etc. We did three rounds of this. After that it was a free for all. By this point most of the “most coveted” items are taken, so it’s fair game.

Notice that we did not do a perfect trade type swap. Someone could bring 10 items and leave with 15. We weren’t that picky. Remember one of the rules above was to only bring things you really didn’t care if people took home or if they were donated. Now that said, almost no one leaves with more than they came with, or the same amount for that matter. Many of the items go to donations. Now you could do a different method for this. I believe Real Simple has some other options you could look into. See this article. This method worked best for us.

Leftovers: We already had a Goodwill drop off in mind, that we knew was open, to take the items to. (We learned from last year’s mistake… we drove around for an hour and a half looking for an open Goodwill drop off station.) So guests helped us to load items in the car after the party, and off Jessica and I went to drop off the rest of the items. We found treasures and donated too!

My treasures this time around? I actually took several clothing items, but that was about it! Another friend was excited about some outdoor chandeliers she found for her patio! And another was excited about getting several new purses! And another friend even found a maternity dress! Great deals all around!

Verdict: Swap #2 was a success! Read about Swap #1 here.

This Saturday we are hosting our second annual swap party! Check out last year’s swap here.