Tip Tuesday: Throw a Purge Party

Have you ever dreaded cleaning out your closet? (I may actually be the only one who looks forward to it.)  I have done a lot of closet purging in my life, but none have been quite as enjoyable as the latest purge for my first ever clothing exchange. Who knew that a clothing swap could be so much fun? You get a clean closet, a get together with friends, and the joy of seeing folks enjoying your hand-me-downs.

To get started, I invited a group of ladies to participate and asked them to bring along clothes from their closet they no longer wear. I then went to work sorting through my own closet. I had lots of clothes I had been wavering about, but this time I was ruthless.

Everything that had previously dodged donation made it to the swap pile. Like a special occasion dress I had worn only once, but just never quite fit right on my post-baby body. It had been too easy to say that it was “such a nice dress, maybe I will wear it again someday.” I grabbed it knowing that if no one wanted it at the swap, I could schlep it back home again.

In the past I’ve recommended focusing on donating items to a good cause. By remembering that others will actually use and benefit from this item gathering dust, it can help give you the extra push you need to part with the item. I still definitely recommend, and regularly do, donate to charity but I can now also add a clothing exchange to my list of options. Seeing someone else enjoy something you once loved is a great motivation. And since not everything I brought to the swap made it to a new home, I donated those items rather than haul them back to my closet (except my dress that looked great on another girl!).

Our fabulous host (thanks Shayna!) made the swap a breeze and we all left with some new wares! Here’s how it went down-

When guests arrived, they sorted their clothing by size and type into pre-designated areas. To keep it super simple you could just dump everything in a pile, but we had some mega organized ladies with clothing racks and everything. Sorting the clothing definitely made browsing merchandise much easier.

After some “window shopping,” it turned into one big dressing room as we tried on things that we liked before handing it to the next person who had their eye on it.  After the frenzy of trying on clothes, the final exchange began to look much like fantasy football draft picks (so I’m told). We each picked a number out of a bowl then went in number order to choose an item we wanted.

After 4 rounds, everyone had picked their favorites and it morphed into a polite, lady-like shout out, “Does anyone else want this?” Once the “store” was thoroughly picked through, we bagged up the rest of the clothes to donate.

I attempted to channel my inner model to show some of the loot I hauled away for FREE.

Apparently, models always stand with their hands on their hips!

These pics don’t even show all of the clothes!  But since my husband got sick of taking pictures for my fashion show, I figured I’d leave it at 8.

Not everything fits perfect; I am going to try to alter a few shirts using this method I found on Biblical Homemaking. I am also going to try to dye the jeans a little darker in an attempt to get rid of the faded thigh look that feels a little too youthful for my 30something self.  (Any ideas?)  Totally worth it for all the new outfits (only the white pants and dark jeans featured in the pictures above were originally mine).

It was such a fun time and everyone loved leaving with new outfits and actually seeing their old clothes go to a new home.  If you need a good excuse to clean out your closet, call up your girlfriends, have them bring their friends too, and make a date for a clothing exchange. Don’t forget accessories and purses too.

I’d love to hear if you have ever had a clothing exchange. Did you get some good loot? Any tips to share from your own purge party? Has anyone ever tried a kid’s clothing exchange?