What do you have to offer? Have you got some old skis you wouldn't mind getting rid of? How about that easy chair your wife wants you to get rid of? Maybe you possess a skill that comes in handy. If you can fix a fireplace, someone wants to hear from you. In fact, three women in Tacoma would welcome your goods and services if you're willing to forego receiving money for them. This is a story about something old that's new again: barter.

Maureen McHugh, Mary K. Johnson and Linda DeSantis are artists who have often bartered among themselves and friends. But with the economy tanking, they decided to ramp up their bartering efforts. Why not stress what they do have -- artistic skills and material goods -- while de-emphasizing what they don't -- money. As McHugh puts it, "You know what word usually comes before artist, right?" (Hint: It rhymes with "carving.") So at McHugh's Mad Hat Tea Company in Tacoma, you can now find a bulletin board where people offer something in return for something else -- with no mention of money. Some are half-serious; McHugh's partner is offering a cat shampoo in return for a monkey. But DeSantis makes a practical suggestion: She'll donate her skills as a graphic artist to someone who can fix her fireplace (she also needs help with her car). Who needs money when we're just going to lose it in the stock market?

While many people probably think of barter (if they think of it all) as a primitive activity, it has its core supporters. An annual autumn barter fair in the Okanogan Highlands has been going strong for more than 30 years. You might remember the story about Kyle MacDonald. In 2005, he began a mission to parlay a large red paper clip into a house. More than a year and 14 transactions later, he owned a home in Saskatchewan. (He's now hoping to barter it for something else.) These days, the poor economy appears to be pushing barter more into the mainstream. The website www.u-exchange.com -- where you can swap anything from cars to vacation time shares -- is upgrading its server because of heavy traffic.

McHugh, Johnson and DeSantis created their own website too, www.bartertacoma.com, but they prefer face-to-face transactions. They like knowing who they're trading with and hope to organize their own fair that could bring barterers together. (They note as a disclaimer that there are tax implications when bartering big-ticket items.)

So if you're low on money, maybe this is a good time to look at what you do have. You probably won't turn a paper clip into a house, but perhaps that old tennis racket will get your toilet fixed. Chances are, you've got more than you realize. So, what do you have to offer?

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