no, not that kind of ‘swap party’… below you will see are a few things I’ve picked up over the years, for free, from my local ‘swap shop’, aka, the dump, the transfer station, freebie barn…no such place in your town? Then create your own, try this;

Invite 5-10 friends over for a ‘swap shop party’… each invitee needs to bring an agreed to number of items to ‘swap’, say 5 items per guest. Upon arrival each guest receives ‘markers’ of some sort (for example a wooden clothes pin with his/her name on it) and a  mimosa – why not?  Mimosas make everything fun.

Be sure to display items in an inviting way…get creative, turn a box on its side to use as a shelf and try grouping like items together – make it look appealing…. Once the ‘store’ is open and everyone is ready to start ‘shopping’ invite guests to peruse and mark each of the items they would like to take home with them…if more than one guest wants an item, place markers in a hat and draw the winner!  The only rule is that all items need to be in good working order and clean. Whatever is left over, donate. Serve simple, easy to eat foods such as quick breads cut into slabs and then wrapped with wax paper for easy eating ‘on the go’… clean out, change-up and throw a party, recycling has never been such fun!