By Michele Taranto

Spring cleaning, clearing out a parent’s home, decluttering, or adapting using the Feng Shui or Marie Kondo methods. The incentives may differ, but the goal is the same: removing unwanted items. It can take a lot of motivation to get rid of things, even memories, but the harder part can often be, where/how to dispose those familiar pieces of our lives.

In comes the Norwood’s Swap Shop! The Swap Shop was launched by Norwood resident Debbie Holmwood in June, 2023. It is located at the Winter Street Recycling Facility, is becoming a very popular stop on Saturdays, for either dropping off or searching for new treasures.“A lot of towns have it,” Holmwood said. “I have been trying to get the town to do it for 10-12 years.”

Holmwood describes the Swap Shop as a win for everyone. It provides a positive solution for disposal of items that still have a lot of use in them, and it saves tax dollars. According to Holmwood, June-Dec., of 2023, the Town received credits from the state from the 160,000 pounds of trash that did not have to get dumped. Also, the only town contribution is its location as a grant was used to purchase the 40-yard container

“Everybody that is there is there as a volunteer,” Holmwood said. “No DPW people are being used. That would defeat the purpose if DPW people were used to help,”

There are currently 20 people on the Swap Shop’s volunteer feed, but Holmwood needs more to keep the Shop going. Only two or three are needed to unload the container in the morning and load it back when it closes (and possibly helping customers). She even has many high schoolers earning their community service credits to help the process.

The Swap Shop is open Saturdays, Sept.-Dec., 8 a.m.-12 noon, January, February, and March, the first Saturday of each month, and June, July, August, every other week (Closed hazardous Waste Day). It is located at the Winter Street Compost Facility, 370 Winter St. With more volunteers, more days may be added in the winter and summer. Residents do need a sticker to enter the facility. Permits are available from the DPW Administration Office, at the John J. Carroll Administration Building, 1 Lyman Pl. (side back of the Civic Center). Hours are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. You must bring the vehicle registration.  

As a self-proclaimed junker by nature, Holmwood admits to hanging on to things maybe a little too long, but believes in the worth of passing it forward. As word has spread of the Swap Shop, its popularity has grown, and so has its inventory. It is a different collection every week!

“Some people may take an old chair and refurbish it,” Holmwood said. “We have had kayaks, to adjustable bed frames, lamps, chairs. You never know who you are getting week to week. We get a little bit of everything: Christmas, Halloween, glasses, toasters. After graduation, we received graduation decorations. We have desks, paper goods, even a box of brand new copy paper once. People bring in bubble wrap, use it, then bring back and it gets used again.”

Many areas benefit from Norwood hosting a Swap Shop. The town gets credit from the state for its implementation and use. Residents have a resource not only as a source for donations, but for recycling items that are perfectly useful. How about helping landfills and the environment? 

“What people should understand, this is their tax dollars,” Holmwood said. “It’s for the use of people in town. Everything is free. Lots of crafty people come by, furniture can be made into something fabulous. For bikes, people will bring them home, fix the chains, blow up the tires, and make minor repairs. One person turns old skis into chairs.”

If you haven’t obtained a compost facility sticker yet, no fear, the Swap Shop is hitting the road on Sept. 7, when it will host a table at Norwood Day. Bins of sporting equipment, such as skates, baseballs, golf clubs and more will be available for visitors to take what they could use.

Volunteers are needed to assist Holmwood and her team to keep the Swap Shop operational and to hopefully expand its hours. For more information or to volunteer, call Debbie Holmwood, 781-724-8883.

“This is a great town, with great bones, and we just need volunteers,” Holmwood said.