I recently hosted a kids book swap for the mom’s group in my neighborhood. It was a really easy and fun way to clear out some of our books, and stock up on some “new” books for the kids to read.
If you’re interested in hosting your own book swap, here are the steps you can follow, along with a flyer that you can use to advertise your swap.
Book swap flyer
Grab the PDF and customize it with the information for your own book swap. (Save as an image and add text, or print and fill in your info.)
How to organize your book swap
Step 1: Pick a day, time, and location for your swap
I decided to host our neighborhood book swap in my garage. I left the garage door open during the hours of the swap, and everyone was able to stop by whenever they wanted to browse.
Step 2: Decide how you will collect books
You might just have your friends bring their books with them to the actual swap.
I was doing a drop-by event, so I decided to collect books ahead of time. (I wanted to already have a bunch of books for the first few people who came!)
So I designated a drop-off location: a bin on my porch.
Easy peasy.
Step 3: Advertise your book swap
Use the flyer above, or create something of your own. I was doing our book swap with my local mom’s group, so I shared the information online within our private Facebook group.
You could keep it as simple as sharing the important information (date, time and location) in a group text message.
Step 4: Collect and organize books as you get them
This is also a great time to go through the books in your own home and decide which ones you can contribute to the swap.
As I received books, I organized them on tables and in bins.
I also separated and labeled board books and chapter books just to make it a little easier for parents who were looking for something specific.
Step 5: Have fun swapping books!
Don’t forget to grab a few new books for yourself. 😉
Step 6: Donate any leftover books
If you need some ideas on what to do with the extra books, check out this post for 8 things to do with decluttered books.
Have fun, and happy planning!
-Laura
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