Green Options

This Sunday I was invited to my first ever book swap party. In keeping with the green party theme there was an email invitation that asked us to bring 3 or more books, there would be light snacks and it was an “open house” setting. They would be book swapping from 5 to 9.

In my usual manner I put way too much thought into it. I had the kids pull out books that they didn’t want to keep. Each of my kids was able to fill a cloth grocery stack with paperbacks they didn’t want to read again. I thought about adding my books to the batch, but I have book sharing issues, all of which bring me some measure of shame.

1. I read books with a red pen, if there are too many typos I circle them. It’s the only way I’m able to get through the book. I realize that with the number of posts I churn out (some of questionable quality) that this is hypocrisy with a capitol H. I’m okay with that online but not with the friends IRL (I’m so hip).

2. I read trash. Really, I read historical fiction and chick lit. Not exclusively, but Great Expectations isn’t on my nightstand. When I want to trade my trashy novels for real literature I use Swaptree. Meet me there, I’m a mediocre swapper but they haven’t kicked me out yet.

3. I read in the tub, in the steam shower and in the hot tub. I read in water and my books resemble sponges when I’m done. Trading those books would be downright embarrassing.

We arrived at the book swap around seven. The first wave of swappers was exiting as the kids and I arrived with ours. As we walked in the door there was Kaitlin (9 years old) manning the ticket table.

We gave her our books, she counted them and gave us tickets.

The Richmond Craft Mafia has developed a 12 step program to help you overcome your addiction to craft supplies. Their Crafters Anonymous Craft Swap, taking place in Richmond, VA on September 14th from 2 p.m.-5 p.m., will not only be a good time, but help fund a local non-profit organization

The thing about crafters is that we acquire our stashes with creative intentions. Sometimes it can be hard to let that go. I still see promise at the back of the craft closet. Projects I used to be excited about are getting stale though.

Clothing swaps are becoming ever more popular as we all look for ways to save money, and stay stylish. Add in the possibilities for DIY modifications, and you can whip yourself up an entirely new wardrobe for practically nothing. It’s one thing to trade among friends, or your local community, but what if people from all over the planet could participate in a 24-7 swap party from the comfort of their homes?

DigNSwap.com aims to be a catalyst for online clothing, shoe, and accessory trading. You simply upload photos of stuff you want to swap, and indicate a few attributes such as size, color, brand and condition. Then, you “dig” through what others have to offer using convenient category and tag based searching. When you find something you like, you can bid on it with items in your stash. If your bid is accepted, then you ship the items to each other. Pretty neat, right?

This site recently launched its beta release, and tapped CAGW to help get the ball rolling with participation. That means YOU can be among the first people to help build an online community that facilitates revamping fashion rather than trashing it. For those not familiar, “Beta” websites are, for the most part, fully functioning, but may have some bugs that need working out. Most site administrators encourage visitors to disclose glitches or issues with functionality during this period with hopes that tweaking will culminate an ideal end-user experience.