Saturday, November 6, 2010

Barter and Trade

I've been bartering. Inspired by Radical Homemakers, a book that I didn't even really like that much, I've found myself setting up trades for lots of things lately, saving myself money and getting stuff that I appreciate in exchange for something that somebody else appreciates.

Also, no tax!

Here are some of my more recent trades:
In that last one, a lady at a craft fair admired the novelty prints that I use in my I Spy quilts so much that she offered me three bags of stash fabric in exchange for some 2" quilt squares in novelty prints for a charm quilt that she's sewing. I'm also sewing a postage stamp charm quilt for myself, and I occasionally offer postage stamp charm quilt sets in my pumpkinbear etsy shop--
--so it was no problem.

Now I need to find a way to barter for babysitting, a travel chess set, some yardwork, candlemaking lessons...

3 comments:

Tina said...

I love the idea of bartering and trading. Might have to look to see if my library has that book.

julie said...

The book kind of annoyed me overall, because it seems clear to me, at least, that what the author is talking about is not homemaking, which I do, but homesteading, which is way beyond my current situation. There were also some things that the author promoted that I didn't think that she made a good case for, such as refusing to buy health insurance, and participating in welfare programs while all the adults in the family are purposefully unemployed in order to have a happier life.

That being said, some of the homesteaders' anecdotes did give me useful ideas for my own homemaking, especially the bartering ideas--I'm pretty much unemployed, also by choice, and I'm always looking for ways to contribute to our quality of life and stretch our joint income.

Abby said...

HA! wish i still had some cookies for bartering... :)