Hello to all of Bethany's lovely readers! I'm so excited to be doing my first guest post ever here at Happily Rambling.
About
four times a year, my girlfriends and I swap all of our
unused/ill-fitting/unloved-but-still-gorgeous clothing, accessories and
shoes with each other. Aside from Christmas and my birthday, when we
swap, I feel like the luckiest girl ever. I end the day with a
de-cluttered closet and lots of treasures. For free, people!
Here's a tutorial on how we swap:
1. Send out an invite at least a month before.
Enough prep time is essential so your swappers can sort through their
unwanted items and bag them up. If possible it's great for them to
deliver their 10+ items to the swap hostess before the event so she can
hang, fold and organize them, but it's not necessary. Clothing racks and
emptied coat closets work really, but kitchen tables, counters and
mantles work fine as well.
2. If you're hosting, create a space free of your home clutter. Not
only is this important so the hostesses belongings don't get swapped
(!) but also so swappers feel comfortable moving around and seeing
everything that's up for grabs.
3. Start with about an hour of mixing, mingling and trying on clothes, so swappers can decide what their top picks are. Once
everyone is settled in with a cocktail, have everyone pick a number out
of a hat. If there are 12 swappers, numbers run from 1-12.
4. Begin!
When everyone's ready to start, swapper #1 takes their pick and the
group continues through to #12. The last swapper will then go again, and
the group will work themselves back down to swapper #1. After everyone
has had two picks, the haul becomes a free for all, so MOVE QUICKLY.
5. The calm after the storm. My
favorite part of the swap is after everyone has made their top picks
and just chats and drinks and tries on everything that's left. There are
often some great little hidden gems to be found and it's great to get
so many opinions on outfits.
6. Get your goodwill on. Anything unwanted gets bagged by the hostess and brought to charity. Win win!
If you're interested in getting in a little practice before hosting your own swap with some girlfriends, click
here for swap meet up groups. I find them to be a little more stressful because, well, we generally tend to be a little
less snatchy
gentler with people we know. But I've found some really great stuff at
these things when I'm able to successfully avoid a panic attack.
Please let me know if you host a swap and come visit me over at
Lost in Boston!
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Don't forget to come back on Sunday 7/21 for a giveaway with prizes from myself, Victoria, and many of my other amazing sponsors :)
