Here at Shift Your Habit, we’ve have been working with moms all over the country, teaching them how to shift and save like it’s our job, which it is. This year, to commemorate Earth Day, and to prove that Earth Day can be easily be celebrated every day, we thought we’d share a simple way to get your kids in on the eco action, starting with doing some simple toy swapping.

The average family spends about $200 on toys each year. Most of that dough can be pocketed just by arranging to have a toy-trading party with your kids’ friends. It’s simple: have everyone bring good-condition toys they no longer use and trade them for ones other kids are into.

We had our shifter family, The Lawson’s, give it a whirl by throwing their very own toy swap party, and the results were fantastic. They invited their friend’s families to participate in their toy trade, and not only did everyone involved have a blast, but they estimated that more than $900 worth of toys were swapped between the five families that attended.

Scaling back on the volume of toys you buy and borrowing them instead saves manufacturing energy, decreases plastics production–which uses petroleum and results in pollution—reduces packaging, and cuts down on non-recyclable waste. And, it doesn’t have to stop at just toys. Get swap happy with furniture, electronics, video games, clothing…pretty much anything!



For more easy shifts like these, pick up a copy of Shift Your Habit, and check out http://shiftyourhabit.com.