Bartering…what exactly is it? It’s simply the act of exchanging goods or services you own or do yourself, for someone else’s goods or services with no exchange of actual money involved. Frankly, we’ve been doing it for years! I just recently bartered the cost of skiing for two days and hotel and gas from Colorado to Texas for my son and myself with a friend in exchange for a few days of ‘organizational’ help this summer. I’ve done several houses. I don’t have a business…but word gets out. I have to give credit for this idea to a lady whose post discussed this topic. Her website is the Hillbilly Housewife and she wrote this article with great links I might add on this subject. She had never done it herself, but thought it was an idea worth exploring. As I commented on her blog, I realized that I had done this for years, I just had never thought about before as being a ‘planned’ activity!
A Good Exchange: Organizing for Decorating Another friend asked if I would help her organize her paperwork and files and re-arrange her office in exchange for helping me paint the sewing room. She’s great at home decor and design..but not so good at organizing. It was funny, but when I sat down to discuss her dilemma with the paperwork, I soon discovered that the idea of filing A to Z had not yet occurred to her! My jaw literally dropped wide open and she just started laughing…”I just don’t think that way Donna!” It was pretty interesting trying to come up with a system that made sense to her, yet had some elements of A to Z filing in it. She was thrilled with her new filing cabinet, and after I drew up a better floor plan…with a good focal point, she was really happy with the room and re-painted it. It looks good enough to publish in a magazine.
Frankly, bartering really is just a lifestyle for us, as I think it can be for most people. So how do you get started?
Take stock of your skills. Can you clean, babysit, pet sit, groom, sew, paint, take good photos (like for graduations or special occasions? )What about hubby? Can he do yard work, accounting, repair work, car repair or maintenance, computer administration? You’d be surprised how much you can do that would be useful to others. These skills are always needed! Frankly, I do a lot of mending and altering of clothes for my friend Laurie, because she spends a lot of time on the phone with my son and preparing for speech and debate meetings as his coach. She pretty much has an unlimited bank account for my services as far as I’m concerned!
Get the Word out--Start doing things for free!! Volunteer your services. Pretty soon, everyone knows that you are good at computer repair, sewing, cake decorating, organizing, pie baking, landscaping, haircutting, bread baking or photography. Guess who they will call when they don’t want to have to pay ‘professional fees’ for a job? Not only that, I can’t tell you how many things we have been given because we helped someone move! Not only do you get the joy of helping others, but very often, you get their leftovers! I can’t wait to do a makeover of a beautiful garden bench that a friend gave me when we helped her move. This same friend, gave me the bobbin winder that I just gave away in our drawing. And we got a printer, monitor, and scanner too!
Advertise your services among friends or the community Let them know that you are open to trade…on your home school email loop, church email loop, subdivision newsletter or Craig’s list. Say we need this item: Here are our services…Can you help us? You never know, until you ask. And now people know you are open to bartering. At our church, we actually have a list of services that we can provide each other. We often do things for free, but because we are on the list, people are always calling us wanting to make a trade. I love it! One of my favorite barters was when I sewed and designed a new cover for my friend’s bay window cushion in exchange for her husband repairing the motor of our car door window. I loved that because I not only got the repair done for free–it was a doozy! But I learned a valuable new skill. And the cushion turned out fine though it did require some ingenuity on my part. Not to mention the challenge the Fryes faced trying to weld the motor in the car door in place. All in all, it was a great trade!
Extended Family: A Great Place to Start! My mom and I regularly trade off. Sometimes she pays me to do big jobs like cleaning and organizing her house for an entire week. (I bought my sewing machine and living room rug that weekend!) But she helps me with room makeovers and I sew drapes and other things (like furniture covers) for her. She is the queen of bartering and I learned from the best. My sister taught me how to make soap one weekend in exchange for me sewing a banner for her Renaissance faire booth.
Sometimes you just need to ask!! Tim and I were facing a car repair that cost $1500.00. Since we were trying to get out of debt, this would have been a huge set back! I heard, through the grapevine, that our church was considering buying 12 huge worship banners for our ‘church in a school’ to make the school room look more worshipful on Sundays. I had never done a project that big before, but I did some quick research and knew that I could do it for much less!I called them and made them an offer: I would design and sew the twelve 3′ x 5′ worship banners for our church for half the going rate. (I knew the materials would only be about $50.00 each.) They were going to pay $300.00 each! I was paid exactly enough to pay off the repair and it was such a rewarding project too! I just called them up and begged for the job. And it worked…it kept us out of debt too!
Weddings, graduations, Moving and other big events are a great time to barter! Not only in my own wedding but also in my daughter-in-laws’ weddings, most of the work was done by friends at low cost except for the supplies! Sewing, flowers, music, decor, and photos…even the cake and rehearsal dinner--it can all be done cheaper by asking your friends for help and making sure you are there to help them too.
So the next time you are tempted to go shopping or are considering how to pay for a major service, stop for just a minute and think, “Is there someone I know who could do this cheaper? Is there someone who might want my services, that could do this or get this for me? Bartering is really just one form of community life and one that, in these financially stressful times, is well worth reviving!
What do you think? Have you ever bartered yourself? We’d all love to hear your experiences with this kind of thing!
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