Let’s celebrate the winter solstice this Sunday by swapping seeds and cuttings with our friends and neighbors. Now is the time to start planning our spring gardens; exchanging locally saved seeds that are already acclimated to your specific region is an ideal beginning.

Here in San Francisco there will be a Solstice Seed Swap held at the Exploratorium (3601 Lyon Street) from 3-5pm, which has been organized by local artist and community gardener Bill Basquin. Bring seeds (or rooted cuttings) to share, or just come by to socialize with your fellow humans. There will be snacks as well as 2-D and 3-D photographic projections by Johunna Greyson, Greta Snider and Bill Basquin at 3:30pm.

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Kids outgrow toys and clothes faster than the weeds in my garden (well, maybe not that fast). Beyond hosting your own kiddie swap, there are several sites now that make exchanging kids’ gear easier for families, who may not have local connections for such trades. Reusing and reducing the amount of your children’s paraphernalia will not only lessen your carbon footprint, but it will de-clutter your home!

• Zwaggle: Kristen Chase of Cool Mom Picks calls Zwaggle, “basically a more organized Freecycle“. Organization is good, especially since Zwaggle focuses on socially responsible parents. It is a simple concept: “You receive Zwaggle points (or Zoints) by giving your gently used things to other families, then use those Zoints to obtain “new” things for your family.” You can obtain Zoints just by signing up through Parent Bloggers Network.

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The owner has decided that the best way of dealing with this problem is to burn the books. So he loaded up a cauldron in front of his store and burned a pile of books in what he saw as a protest against what he sees as, "society's diminishing support for the printed word." But this isn't necessary at all, there are a number of online services that facilitate the exchange of books (as well as a range of other things). One of these, Paperback Swap, has begun an online petition to save the books and is offering to collect all the books from the store's warehouse, and then distribute them to people for free on a road trip from Kansas City to the company's hometown of Atlanta. This seems to be a much greener way of dealing with the glut.

There are a number of services on the web that connect people who want to exchange books. In addition to Paperback Swap, there are also sites like BookMooch and BookCrossing. There are also services like LaLa and SwapaCD (a sister site to Paperback Swap) that allow for the exchange of CDs.

And, of course, there are local level exchanges for all manner of things, such as Freecycle (and other local variants) and Craigslist which help find new homes for furniture, computers, childrens' toys, and all kinds of other things. Rebecca wrote an earlier Tip-o'the-Day about local swap events.

Personally, I've been using LaLa and Bookmooch for several months, and I'm generally happy with both. I've also recently joined Paperback Swap and SwapaCD. I've been glad to find other people who have wanted to get things that I've had cluttering the house and even happier to get some things that I've wanted. I still have a copy of Hunt for Red October that may stay sitting on my shelf for some time. But I've been able to exchange over 100 books (sent and received) so far. And that's far better than burning them.

Here's how you'll do it:

Figure out where you'll hold this swap. It could be your living room, garage or yard. Maybe you'll want a bit of a bigger space and decide to do it at a church or meeting space of some kind.

Make the rules. We suggest the following: Items must be clean and in working condition. No furniture or gigantic items. Label items that others might not know what it is for.

Invite people. Make sure to explain that everything will be given & taken for free. One person's trash is another's treasure! Also explain that this swap will reduce waste, save precious resources & ease the burden on our landfills by allowing usable but unwanted goods to find a new owner.

Organize the items. On the day of the event, you'll want to have several sections set up for people to leave their items. One table may be for small appliances, another for shirts, a section for shoes, toys, etc.

Have fun! Enjoy yourself and have fun looking through the piles of stuff…you just may find that "thing" you've been meaning to buy. Now you have it for free!

Donate remaining items. At the end of your event, you might wind up with some items that no one wants. If it's a large event, you may want to arrange in advance for a Goodwill or other donation organization truck to come for a pick up. Otherwise, you may want to drop off the items yourself.

Freecycle in New York has now held several FreeMeets to this effect. One of which was recently featured on Current TV. Swaporamarama is also a cool event similar to this, but that is purely for clothes & fashion accessories.

Rebecca says: Let us know how your swap goes if you choose to do one! We're planning on holding one during our Earth Day celebration, EarthFest. I've already got some good stuff ready to donate!

Related Green Options articles:

Got Stuff? New Site Will Help You Reuse It

Solid Waste Management, Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling