Trading places to save money, time or your sanity

I missed this post, purplerain. I'm sorry about that. The Bankrate newsletter has a tip of the month and there's a group that does this same thing on a larger scale. (That's what won last month.) Timebanks is a community wide effort.

What is Time Banking All About?

At its most basic level, Time banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into the Time Bank as a Time Dollar. Then you have a Time dollar to spend on having someone doing something for you. It's a simple idea, but it has powerful ripple effects in building community connections.
Each Time Bank has a website where you list what you would like to do for other members. You look up Time Bank services online or call a community coordinator to do it for you. You earn Time Dollars after each service you perform and then you get to spend it on whatever you want from the listings.
With Time Banking, you will be working with a small group of committed individuals who are joined together for a common good. It connects you to the best in people because it creates a system that connects unmet needs with untapped resources. To see what happens each week when you are part of Time Bank is deeply fulfilling, especially if you are helping to make it run.

I think that's cool! The lady that won the Bankrate competition had got curtains hemmed.

"The town that I recently moved to has an organization called People's Service Exchange. The concept, created by Edgar Cahn is based on time dollars and involves using time to pay for services needed. Upon joining the group, I filled out forms indicating what services I could provide and services that I would be interested in receiving. I was also given 3 hours tostart out with. I recently redeemed an hour from my account which involved another member who hemmed a pair of curtains for me. She in turn has either banked an hour to redeem later or maybe she has already used it. There is absolutely no money exchanged and a variety of services available that would make your head spin. If your area does not have this type of organization, you may want to get involved in starting one and can find out more at www.timedollar.org"

Thanks for the links, guys! Craigslist is one place I never go to although I will check it out for that. Bartering is back in style. :)
 
I need to figure out what I can swop first. Don't suppose they would take a kid as a trade-in? LOL.

I can bake and would trade that for ironing. I can't stand that chore.

Thanks for the ideas, all. It feels like time's running backwards to the days when bartering was commonplace. We'll see this type of exchanging of  skills more over the year ahead the less money there is to spare.