Coupon Swap Box

It's always a shame to throw away coupons just because you don't think you can use them. I always feel a little guilty, as if I'm throwing money away. But there is something else you can do with those unwanted coupons. Aside from out of state sharing of coupons, here's something you can do locally. Set up and manage a coupon swap box. Here's how:

Buy a plastic shoe box at a store such as Walmart or the Dollar Tree , or use a small cardboard box that you already have on hand. Label it with the words COUPON SWAP BOX and be sure to tape the rules to the top of the box so that others know what to expect and how to participate.

Now, here's the rules:

• Please put the coupons you are donating in a Ziploc sandwich bag, along with a 3x5 note card with your name on it. From now on, this will be called a name card. Each person participating in the coupon swap is responsible for providing their own Ziploc bag and name card.

• Feel free to look through and take coupons from other bags in the box. Please take a bag and remove the coupons you want from that bag. Return the coupons that you don't want to the same bag they came from. Sign your name on the name card in that bag. DO NOT ADD NEW COUPONS TO AN EXISTING BAG, even if it is a bag that you originally started.

• Each time you come to the swap box , only look through bags without your name on the card. Remember, you've already gone through the coupons in the bags with your name on them.

• Around the beginning of each month, I will go through all the bags and remove any expired coupons. If while looking through the bags you happen to find an expired coupon, please remove it and put it in bag label EXPIRED COUPONS at the back of this box. This will be donated to those people who can use expired coupons.
  

* Make sure that you also leave your name and a phone number or email address where you can be reached, if someone should have questions.


Once you have the coupon swap box established, the only job you have left is maintaining it. Basically, the only maintenance it will need is a good monthly pulling of expired coupons.

Hope this helps!!!

**The above information was compiled from a post at aFullcup.com.