Hey there everyone! Going to post this information for everyone. Tweak as you need to fit your situation.

I set up a coupon swap box at my son's playschool. Now, I wish I had more moms interested - but the 4-5 that are interested are quite loyal. I tried to set one up at the library -- left my name/number for THE person in charge. That was 3+ years ago and I am still waiting for her to call me

A little more information for those unfamiliar with this idea: A coupon swapbox is a way to share/swap coupons with others. By donating your unused/unwanted coupons to the swapbox, you can look through the coupons donated by others. What you need to do is simple: Cut out all the Sunday coupons. Take what you want. Put the remaining coupons in a Ziploc bag along with an index card (please sign the index card). Add your bag to the swapbox.

What I did first: I posted a note at each classroom to find out if there was any interest. People were asked to sign the note if interested. This didn't bind them to participate -- just told me if it was worth setting up.

Sample of letter:

WANT TO TRADE GROCERY COUPONS?

Do you wish you could find duplicates of the “good” coupons from the Sunday paper without buying another paper? Most likely there are fellow MCCP parents & teachers who are NOT using the coupons that you use while you are NOT using the coupons that they use. With that thought in mind, I am re-starting the coupon swapbox. We did this last year and those who participated have requested we do it again.

A little more information for those unfamiliar with this idea: A coupon swapbox is a way to share/swap coupons with others. By donating your unused/unwanted coupons to the swapbox, you can look through the coupons donated by others. What you need to do is simple: Cut out all the Sunday coupons. Take what you want. Put the remaining coupons in a Ziploc bag along with an index card (please sign the index card). Add your bag to the swapbox. Instructions on the actual swapbox will explain how to keep track of which coupon bags you have already perused. (Simple method, trust me!) All in all, the main point is to help everyone find more of the coupons they want/need.

You can find the coupon swapbox . If you have questions, please call me at xxx-xxxx. -- Lynda

PS: If you DO NOT use coupons, please think of those that do. Please donate your Sunday coupon inserts (no cutting required) to our swapbox. You can leave them under the swapbox and I will gladly cut and add them to the box for others to use. Thanks!


Then, once I found there was an interest, I bought a plastic shoe box (at the Dollar Store). I labeled it COUPON SWAP BOX and taped the following rules on the inside of the lid. I made sure that the label on the top of the lid mentioned there were rules inside. I also sent home these rules with each parent who indicated interest. I had the playschool director put a blurb in the next monthly newsletter re: the coupon swapbox in order to inform everyone else that it had been started.

The rules of the Coupon SwapBox:

1. If you wish to ONLY donate coupons (this means donate coupons but not take any), then feel free to leave your uncut coupon inserts under the swapbox. I will gladly cut them and add them to the box.
2. If you wish to participate in swapping, the rest of the rules are for you: Please put the coupons you are donating in a Ziploc sandwich-size bag with your name signed on a new name card. A name card is an index-card sized piece of paper. You are responsible for providing the Ziploc bag and name card.
3. Bring your bag of coupons to and place in the swapbox.
4. 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 coupons you don’t want to the same bag they came from. Sign you name on the name card in that bag. DO NOT ADD NEW COUPONS TO AN EXISTING BAG.
5. In the future, only pick those bags without your name on the name card. (You’ve already gone through the coupons in the bags with your name on them.)
6. At the beginning of each month, I will go through all bags and remove any expired coupons.
7. If you have questions, please call the coupon coordinator, Lynda at xxx-xxxx

Hope that helps someone. It is quite easy to maintain -- and the plus to being the coordinator is grabbing all those end-of-the-month coupons when you clean out the box each month. LOL!

Good idea!!! Thanks for sharing!

bump b/c it's good info

That's a great idea. We do something similar in my office with books & dvd's.

thank you ! i am going to see if i can implement this at my mops group!

Someone must have been reading my mind. I work at a highschool and have been telling everyone about your...our... wonderful web site and have been thinking of doing something like this. I found some coupons laying out in the work room the other day and gave the Asst. Prin. a pile of coupons for a product I saw him eating at his desk

Well........... being a good kindhearted soul, I tried something like this. I cut out lots of coupons (nice ones, too) and placed them in the teachers' lounge on the table (where they all eat ) and put a sign on the box telling them they could have any they wanted and to drop off any they didn't need to share with others.

Well... the box sat and sat and I saw they had been ruffled through, but the box didn't seem to get enough action to make it worth my time to clip 'n share.

So I stopped