Parents swapping old toys and clothes

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Parents know kids can cost a lot of money. Little ones tend to out grow clothes and toys faster than they can use them.

Now there's an easy way to save money when you need new stuff - by swapping. It can be easily done with a new Web site that's hoping to attract more Austin users.

Erin Hartiens-Santiago was looking for an inexpensive way to get quality clothes, diapers, and toys for her seven month old son Phoenix.

"I was really dazzled by it right in the beginning because everybody was listing what they had and were putting pictures, and it's free," said Hartiens-Santiago.

It's called Swap Mamas.com . The idea is to post items you no longer need and to find someone else that has something you want.

"People just go in and comment and say, 'I have such and such would you be interested in doing a swap,' " said Hartiens-Santiago.

The only cost is if you have to ship the item. Hartiens-Santiago has swapped to get larger sizes in cloth diapers and shoes.

"I don't even know what New Balance costs (when it's) new?" said Hartiens-Santiago.

And it's not just for baby items. The site can be used to swap for older kids and furniture.

"That's kind of the goal to just get rid of stuff," said Hartiens-Santiago.

But you need people wanting to swap to make the site work.

"Just trying to get more people locally would make a big difference," said Hartiens-Santiago.

So if you're looking for some back to school stuff or bigger size clothes for your infant, check out swapmamas.com .