Junk Exchange

Last Saturday I hosted my 3rd Junk Exchange. It was an idea I originally saw in Real Simple and have enjoyed doing.

I thought it might be fun to share how I do it and what has worked for ours to be successful.

1. Pick a theme. It could be all books or all clothing or in our case, all junk. I always be sure give ideas on the invitation: books, cds, clothing, cookware/cookbooks, craft supplies, dvds, gardening, etc

2. Pick your guests based on your theme. If you do just clothing be sure everyone is around the same size or has at least a couple of other people around their size. If you invite an XS lady to an event with all XL ladies she won't have anyone to trade with. Same if you do a book only exchange, make sure everyone is an avid reader so they will have books to trade and will want to trade. Also, be sure to invite about twice as many people as you want to come - many will not be able to come.

3. Pick a date at least 2-3 weeks out and let your guests know. People will need time to clean out their houses!

4. Plan to serve snacks or a light meal. People are more likely to come and enjoy if you feed them!

5. Clear a large area in your home, we've always used our dining room in each house, and put out tables. It's like setting up for a garage sale, inside.

6. Enjoy swapping junk!

Our was last Saturday. We did an "All Junk" exchange and had ladies ages 20-50 something.

Here is what my dining room looked like once we got going:

 Swapping Junk! Look at those smiles!

Everyone is happy with free stuff!

Since we started around noon, I did a luncheon to accompany the exchange. We served 8 Can Taco Soup with chips and cheese dip. I set out a fruit plate and I made S'mores Bark and a Heath Bar Cake for dessert. My sweet friend Cindy made chocolate chip cookies as well!

What kinds of things did we exchange?

Books, CDs, Clothing, Cookbooks, DVDs, Kitchen Items, Purses, and even some Vera Bradley items!

What did I get?

Devotional books, gift wrap and gift tags, pedometer (I have been wanting one forever and have been too cheap to purchase one!), and a Vera Bradley makeup case in my favorite pattern (Kensington - which is retired and hard to find!!)

Even Annabeth had a little bag of goodies! 

She loved "shopping" our junk!

After everyone has left and hauled their boxes and bags home with them we donate the rest. Any baby or maternity items go to the Pregnancy Crisis Center. Books go to a library sale if the library is currently in need of them. The rest goes to Goodwill in the winter or in the summer I donate it to our church's garage sale. Mama and I took her entire SUV full to Goodwill last night. 

Junk Exchanges are such a fun way to clean out and get rid of things, to get free fun things, and to donate and bless others.

Linked up to: Teach Me Tuesdays @ Growing Home Blog