{"id":507,"date":"2023-05-11T11:04:16","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T17:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/urbanhomesteader.wordpress.com\/?p=507"},"modified":"2023-05-11T12:45:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T18:45:53","slug":"try-swapping-instead-of-shopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When you&rsquo;re trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/how-i-trick-myself-into-saving-money\/\">save money<\/a> but still need (or want) something, here are 7 things you can do instead of shopping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many creative ways to acquire <strong>free<\/strong> clothes, furniture, home and garden supplies, dishes, books, kids&rsquo; items, tools and more. You just have to know where to look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg\" alt=\"Five colorful shopping bags.\" class=\"wp-image-6875\" title=\"Swapping\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags-96x96.jpg 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/privacy-policy\/\">disclosures policy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3 Reasons to Try Swapping Instead of Shopping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s fun to score something free or make a trade with a neighbor, and these are some other benefits you&rsquo;ll enjoy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reduce waste:<\/strong> Instead of throwing away items that you no longer need, you can give them away to someone who can make use of them. This reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, helping to conserve resources and protect the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Save money:<\/strong> By creatively sourcing things you want or need, you can often obtain items that you need for free. This can help you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/4-happy-simple-ways-to-avoid-debt\/\">avoid debt<\/a> and save you money rather than buying new items. This is especially helpful when you&rsquo;re on on a tight budget or looking for items that you may only need for a short period of time like baby clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Build community:<\/strong> It&rsquo;s fun to connect with neighbors and others in your local community who share similar values of reducing waste and promoting reuse. By giving away or receiving items, you can build relationships with others and foster a sense of community spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some great places to look for freebies instead of shopping and spending money:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Freecycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freecycle.org\">Freecycle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/craigslist.org\/\">Craigs List<\/a> are great resources for finding free items. People often give away unwanted furniture, landscaping and building materials, baby items, appliances and more. You usually have to act fast, though, so if you see something you want get in touch with the giver right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Consignment Stores<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some consignment shops and used clothing stores will offer you store credit in return for your gently worn clothes in good condition. This can be especially wonderful if you have growing kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got teenagers? Even brand-conscious teens might enjoy swapping and shopping at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.platoscloset.com\/home\">Plato&rsquo;s Closet<\/a>, a consignment shop that stocks many of the latest brand names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Online Resale Stores<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are also many online consignment stores where you can sell clothing in exchange for money or credit. <a href=\"https:\/\/poshmark.com\/\">PoshMark<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thredup.com\/\">ThredUp<\/a> are two of the largest marketplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ThredUp will send you a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thredup.com\/cleanout\">closet cleanout kit<\/a>&rdquo; to get started. When your items sell, you&rsquo;re paid on a sliding scale depending on the final sale price and you can choose cash or store credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With PoshMark, you <a href=\"https:\/\/poshmark.com\/posh_guide\/how_to_list_item\">list your item<\/a> in the app and ship it when it sells. Poshmark takes a flat fee or flat commission percentage depending o the price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Facebook Buy Nothing Groups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To find a Buy Nothing Facebook group near you where members post free things, navigate to the &ldquo;Groups&rdquo; heading on your page and enter &ldquo;buy nothing&rdquo; in the search bar. You can also try searching by your town name or using the word &ldquo;free.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of the Buy Nothing group in my community recently listed freebies including canning jars, pet food, picture frames, wedding supplies, and even a brand new queen sized mattress!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. eBay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Good old <a href=\"https:\/\/ebay.com\">eBay<\/a> &mdash; with its zillions and zillions of offerings &mdash; is a great resource if there is something very specific you want to upgrade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, I wanted to swap out the teardrop-shaped crystals on our dining room chandelier for some in a different shape. I found the crystals I wanted at a good price on eBay, and then I turned around and sold the ones I didn&rsquo;t want for the exact same price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Share with Your Neighbors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Swapping opportunities may be as close to home as your own neighborhood. We started a <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/groups\/answer\/2464926?hl=en\">Google Group<\/a> (free and simple to create) just for our neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People list tools and equipment they&rsquo;re willing to share; plants, seeds and produce that we have in abundance; kids&rsquo; items to pass along; Halloween costumes; and more. The list has been enthusiastically embraced by everyone who uses it, and has collectively helped our neighborhood be a little greener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can sometimes find freebies on <a href=\"https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/\">NextDoor<\/a>, too, although you may have to wade through some unpleasant posts and comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Swap Books<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our local library is where I get most of my books, but sometimes I&rsquo;d like to have a copy to keep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperbackswap.com\/index.php\">Paperback Swap<\/a> is an online marketplace for sharing books. You post the ISBN numbers of the books you&nbsp;want to get rid of. Then if someone wants a book, you mail it to them via media mail. Then when you want a&nbsp; book, you just request it, and the person that has it mails it to you&nbsp;at no cost to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How about you? Have you found ways to share and swap things to help save money and live greener? Drop a comment below! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Save for Later<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you use Pinterest to save and share ideas, here&rsquo;s a handy pin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" data-pin-title=\"Things To Do Instead of Shopping\" data-pin-description=\"Why shop when you can swap? These 7 tips will help you find fabulous freebies so you can save money and live green.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2.jpg\" alt=\"A woman holding a potted succulent plant to give away.\" class=\"wp-image-6877\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2-150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/Instead-of-shopping-pin-2.jpg\"><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> &#8230; <a title=\"7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about 7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,41],"tags":[93,159],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-living","category-money","tag-frugal-living","tag-thrifty","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping - Happy Simple Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are 7 things you can do instead of shopping to get free items, trade, or share with others. Save money and live green!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping - Happy Simple Living\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here are 7 things you can do instead of shopping to get free items, trade, or share with others. Save money and live green!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Happy Simple Living\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HappySimpleLiving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-11T17:04:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-11T18:45:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eliza Cross\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@happysimplelivn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@happysimplelivn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eliza Cross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eliza Cross\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8cfc422eef6826ba43859b74661310a4\"},\"headline\":\"7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-11T17:04:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-11T18:45:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\"},\"wordCount\":853,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"frugal living\",\"thrifty\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Green Living\",\"Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/\",\"name\":\"7 Things To Do Instead of Shopping - Happy Simple Living\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/try-swapping-instead-of-shopping\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/shopping-bags.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-11T17:04:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-11T18:45:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Here are 7 things you can do instead of shopping to get free items, trade, or share with others. 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