Spring Cleaning Moms Help Each Other

It's officially spring again! Time to unpack those warmer weather clothes and start your spring cleaning. Those with kids often find their children have outgrown spring and summer clothes from last year that are still in near perfect condition. Many moms wanting to purge their closets try selling them on Craigslist and eBay, but who has time to monitor emails and bids, and play email tag with strangers who don't follow through? As a result, they forgo any return on their investment end up just throwing away, giving way, or donating their children's clothing to charities that resell their items at thrift shops.

For those with a like new stash who are willing to jump through the hoops and tag each individual item, consignment sales offer some cash return on their investment. However, moms all around the country are opting for an alternate way to exchange their children's outgrown clothing and gear, and in doing so, help each other and their community. Local in-person swap events such as the peace. love. swap. kids clothing and gear swaps allow moms a way to efficiently exchange their kids' outgrown clothes, toys, books and movies, as well as no longer needed baby gear and maternity and nursing clothes and items.

At these peace. love. swap. events, moms bring new, like new, and gently used items to the swap. Participants are ask to bring clothing freshly washed and on hangers. Items that are not clean or have noticeable stains, holes, tears, or are broken or overly worn are not accepted. The items are organized by size and type, allowing moms a boutique style shopping experience, except without price tags.

Those who participate bring as much as they want and take as much as they want. There is no item for item count. Moms are on their honor to take only what they need for their own children, bring the stuff back when they are done with them, and not sell anything they get at the swaps. In just a few hours, the families who participate exchanged their outgrown items for items they could use, helped each other, their communities, and the planet. Leftovers go to local charities that distribute items to those in need, free of charge.

The peace. love. swap. mission is to keep gently used baby, kid and maternity items out of landfills, and to donate to local charities, by producing fun and affordable family friendly swaps on a regular basis. Since 2009, peace. love. swap. organizers have produced over 130 swaps where participants have swapped over 150,000 items and donated over 100,000 maternity, baby and kids items to charity.

The peace. love. swap. calendar currently includes maternity and kids clothing and gear swaps in Fullerton on March 30, Chino on April 19, and Pasadena on April 20. Parents can find information on the upcoming swaps by visiting www.peaceloveswap.com and going to Find-A-Swap.