Mothers with many children are known for their ingenuity in finding ways to
save money. Coupon websites and blogs have come onto the scene and made it
easier to know which stores have “hot deals” or when to sign up for freebies
and online discounts.
Couponing is an excellent way to stretch the budget, but an even greater way
to save money is through bartering: trading and exchanging.
A few years ago, while sorting through mounds of clothing that my children had
outgrown, I received a few phone calls from friends letting me know that they
had some bags of clothes that their own children had outgrown. They wanted me
to look through them to see if I could use anything.
That’s when the idea hit me:
Why not have a clothing exchange?
Instead of donating all of my clothes to a thrift store, why not have a day
set aside for a group of my friends to get together and go through all of our
hand-me-down clothes?
Thus began the Clothing Swap Day. We meet at noon for a potluck lunch—mothers
and all the children. Then after lunch is cleaned up, the children play
outside while the mothers look through clothes—boys’ clothes in one room,
girls’ clothes in another. There is even men’s and women’s clothing. Everyone
brings several bags of clothes to contribute and leaves with several bags of
clothes for the future.
Of course, there are always leftover clothes left at my house—about 30 bags or
so—but I view this as a ministry in which we can bless others. All of the
leftover bags of clothes are donated to homeless missions that give them away
for free.
A clothing swap:
- Saves money by not having to shop for new clothes
- Saves time and hassle because clothes are stored away and labeled for the
upcoming season
- Cleans out and organizes closets and cupboards, and the added perk—
- Allows several hours of fellowship with other friends, which in this stage
of life can seem like a rare gem
Clothing many children can be expensive, but partaking in a clothing swap is
just one extra way that we can lighten the load for our hard-working husbands.
I also rest in peace knowing that my children are not raised with an
independent, prideful attitude in which everything must come from the store
and be “name brand.”
Besides a clothing swap, I know mothers who host curriculum exchanges. At the
end of the year, everyone brings their unwanted homeschool books and trades
them with someone who can use it for the next year. It is up to the ladies
doing the exchanging whether it is a temporary or permanent swap.
Homeschooling books are so expensive, but we need to get out of the mindset
that everything must be purchased new.
Another idea the Lord has given my husband and me is to host a monthly barter
group during gardening season. Last year we began a barter group in East
Tennessee in which friends exchanged the abundance of their harvest and shared
other homemade/homegrown/home-baked items. It was exciting to see what would
be brought each month, as everyone can be as creative as they want: a variety
of garden produce, fresh milk and cream, homemade candles, herbal tinctures,
canned salsa, jams and jellies, kombucha tea, freshly-ground grains, extra
fabric, eggs . . . These are among the things I can think of off the top of my
head that were bartered last year.
I know people who think they have nothing to offer a group like this because
they don’t have a garden, but that could not be farther from the truth. Can
you sew, quilt, knit, crochet? Can you tutor or give music lessons? Do you
like to paint or do other home interior projects? Do you have wood on your
property that others may be in need of? Surely the Lord has blessed you with
something that others would enjoy receiving.
This type of group benefits a family in many ways:
- It saves money on groceries.
- We have the pleasure of knowing that the produce is fresh and not sprayed
with pesticides, the eggs are from healthy hens, and the milk is from a cow that
has ample grass to graze on and not given hormones.
- We are building a community of like-minded Christian friends who believe
in sharing the abundance (or the skills and services) of what the Lord given us.
Seeking friends who are willing to live closer lives together, to know each
other’s needs, to care enough that we make the time to be still and enjoy each
other’s company—this is why the barter system is better than couponing. When
we get to know each other in such intimate settings, we open our hearts and
receive accountability and refreshment.
Economic times may get even harder and we need to be prepared for that, but
more importantly—even if times don’t get hard—we need to seek out fellow
believers to fellowship with, to learn from, to sacrifice for, to live life
with. We do not want to be merely self-sufficient, but we should also look for
ways to serve others.
No, I won’t give up on couponing, but I prefer the real faces of friends, the
sweet fellowship of community over the isolation of going it alone during a
financially-draining season.
