Recently, I became a part of a group on Facebook that has the sole purpose to reduce items going into trash, recycle items you no longer need and reuse items that have already been gently loved. The purpose of this group is to help those on the site with things they may have on hand and can trade or may want to just get rid of without having to exchange any type of money!

I have to admit that I am totally in love with this site and would encourage others to set up a site like this with their friends. I find this to be a great site for swapping toys. Being the mother of a preschooler and a pre-teen, I find that my children’s toy loves seem to be always changing. This to be a wonderful site to purge the toys my children no longer play with and gather up things they do not have.

A great example of this happened today. My son is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. One of my friends on the site was willing to trade her Thomas train toys with a few video games my children no longer play with. Both parties involved were totally happy and not one penny was used to purchase the item and it was a fair and equal trade.

However, it is not just a great site for exchanging toys. I also find it to be a great site for purging. I have been giving away coats, shoes, and other toy items at no cost. I know that they are going to great homes, where they will be loved and it keeps items out of the landfills.

In today’s tough economy it is important to pinch pennies anyway we can. For those who have children, I would recommend setting up a toy exchange. It is not only a great way to save money, but it is also a great way to purge.

Do you have money saving ideas? E-mail them to localnews2005@yahoo.com.