It's the perfect solution to a current conundrum: People have things they no longer need, and not enough cash to buy the things they do need.

So it's no surprise that Nevada County residents have fallen in love with swaps.

Cheryl Noble could be considered the pioneer of the new wave of swaps. Since she started her book swap in March, the free monthly event in the Nevada City Seafood parking lot has grown in popularity and inspired others.

This Saturday is the inaugural “Tot Swap” — organizer Meg Franz is quick to stress it's not children that parents are swapping, just their clothes and toys. In August, Marianne Reagan and Franceska Alexander are launching a women's clothing swap.

“It's a cash-less solution to our community needs,” Noble said. “It's successful because people have so much to give.”

Swaps work particularly well for items like books and children's items because once a book has been read or a dress outgrown, it still has value — for someone else.

“I've been looking for a book swap for the longest time,” said Nevada City resident Vilina Hutter, who was perusing the selection at the book swap on Sunday. “With a swap, you get a lot of readers, so it's a wide selection — and I don't like to pay retail.”

Noble said the first book swap was an experiment that proved wildly successful. More new swappers come every month.

“I threw it out there, kind of kicking the tires,” she said. “Before I even had the boxes packed up, people were asking me when the next one would be.”

The book swap is now a monthly event whose leftovers are donated to local nonprofits. The event is wheelchair-accessible, and Noble has installed a table with an umbrella so people can hang out and read.

“It's a cool idea,” said book swapper Judy Bigelsen. “I'm an avid reader, and they pile up ... We all have so much stuff.”

Franz, the mother of three, founded the Tot Swap after becoming frustrated with the pickiness of owners of children's consignment stores.

“I got so sick of going to the consignment store and leaving with a bag full of stuff they didn't want,” she said.

Her lightbulb moment came when she took that bag of unwanted items to drop off at the thrift store — and saw a bag of items someone else had donated.

“There was a Cootie board game, and I was totally tempted to take it,” she laughed.

That same day, she put together a Web site and started looking for a space to organize swaps.

Friend Jennifer Rua, who teaches Zumba, had just started moving into a studio on Hughes Road, and agreed to rent it to Franz “for dirt-cheap.”

Unlike the book swap, Franz is asking for a $1 to $5 donation to help defray her costs — but stressed that even if people can't donate, they should still come for the swap.

For the first swap, she is accepting clothes, toys, books and other small items. People who attend the swap, which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, will be asked to sort their items into the appropriate age group.

“I'm totally excited about this,” Franz said. “It just blows me away that our society throws things away that are perfectly fine. There's always somebody, somewhere out there who will take it.”

Two local women, Franceska Alexander and Marianne Reagan, are in the beginning stages of putting together a women's clothing swap. The two women are hosting an invitation-only swap in August and are planning one for the general public, tentatively scheduled in November. For more information, call 272-4240.

“We had one about a year ago, just a spontaneous thing,” Reagan said. “(We) had an abundance of stuff we wanted to clear out. We decided to have a swap party and it was such a success, we decided to do it on a regular basis.”

To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.