Give Unused Children's Stuff A Second Life

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Is your home overflowing with onesies, plush toys and Baby Bjorns that your kids have outgrown? If you're having trouble unloading your children's gently used stuff and can't stand the idea of throwing it away, consider recycling it on Zwaggle.com.

Zwaggle was conceived by Andrew Hoag, a San Francisco-based engineer who was struck by how many things today's parents end up accumulating that their children quickly outgrow and abandon, reports CNET contributor Stefanie Olsen. Hoag launched Zwaggle with the help of his partner Adam Levy in the spring of 2007 to help minimize waste.

To use the service, go to www.zwaggle.com and sign up for an account. Once you're logged into the system, you'll be given the option of creating a post with a picture and description of the item that you're interested in donating. Users are allotted a certain amount of points for every item they virtually "hand down." If you're also in the market for children's stuff, you can trade in these points for clothes, toys, furniture and maternity gear.

Zwaggle accounts are free, but customers are required to pay for shipping costs, a percentage of which go to Zwaggle. Right now, the service has approximately 2,000 members in locations ranging from Denver to Michigan to Brooklyn. Considering the geographic range of Zwaggle, users would be wise not to order anything too large or they may end up shouldering some hefty shipping fees.

By Marshall Loeb