Imagine your closet and dresser filled exclusively with pieces you love to wear. You don’t have to be a decluttering enthusiast to have fun and to achieve an enhanced wardrobe. Get your friends together for a swap party. Trade items that aren’t working for you and welcome new pieces for free.
Get Sorting
Get started by examining your closet and dresser drawers. Don’t forget any seasonal items you may have tucked away. “Pull it all out onto your bed and go through the items one by one,” says Vali G. Heist, certified professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Crew. “Give yourself an hour (set your alarm) and if you get tired at the end, quit. If you are on a roll and want to keep going, then do it!”
As you look over each item, Heist recommends asking yourself these questions: “Does it fit you now? When was the last time you wore it? Does it make you feel good? Do you love it? Do you choose it before you choose other pieces?”
Once you know you don’t want an item, decide if you’d like to include it in the swap. Berks resident Vanessa Starr advises that if you would “give the item to a friend with pleasure,” then it is a good choice for a swap. Quality pieces that are in good shape, too-long pants you don’t want to get tailored, items that are new or almost new — these are naturals for a swap. Let that top with the tags on it go to a new home and let go of any guilt.
Besides being fun, swap parties offer a perfect incentive to clean out your closet. “If I am not wearing it, I am more likely to get rid of my clothes if I know my friends are going to take them!” says Starr. “If we have the next party booked, I have a time frame in which I need to clean out my closets or cupboards.”
Party Time!
After participating in swap parties for more than seven years, Starr prefers them over a yard sale, saying, “Why not get together with your friends and get rid of your stuff at the same time?” Most swap parties can be held at your home. Lay out the clothing by category. “Jeans/dresses may get draped over the back of the couch, purses could be lined up on a table or hung on a chair,” says Starr. If you have a lot of items, you may want to find a larger space. Starr and her friends once held a swap party after hours at a local library.
Once everything is set up, Starr and her friends give each person a pad of sticky notes, preferably in different colors (to avoid any mix-ups). “We will include an initial or name on them if there are more people than colors available.” Participants can tag as many items as they want, regardless of how many items they brought to the swap. “At times, I have gone home with as many new things as the old ones that went out the door. But usually, I am emptying out my stuff! It keeps the wardrobe fresh and new to me and, most importantly, I am not spending a dime!”
Guests bring snacks and beverages, such as wine, to share and add to the party atmosphere. “Because there is so much to see, we will often do it in multiple rounds of tagging. After the initial round, we will clear our items out of the way, so we can see what is still available,” says Starr. If more than one person is interested in an item, such as a designer handbag, she suggests putting the sticky notes in a hat. The name drawn is the winner of the coveted item.
Swap parties don’t have to be limited to clothing. If everyone is having a great time, consider having another swap with one or several categories. Starr and her friends also swap kitchen items, home décor, books and magazines and accessories like jewelry.
Divide and Conquer
After the party’s over, sell or donate any items that are left. Heist recommends thrift stores or local shelters. “Make sure the clothing is ready to sell or ready to wear. Also, check the shelter’s website wish list to make certain they need the type of clothing you want to donate.” For future purchases, Heist suggests buying from thrift stores to “break the chain of fast fashion.”
Goodwill is an easy one-stop source for donating clothing that didn’t get chosen, or for items you eliminated from your closet but didn’t include in the swap. For clothes with stains, rips, pilled or worn fabric, you could repurpose these for rags, painting projects or recycle them. “Goodwill sends the material to textile recyclers and according to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, its members re-sell about 45 percent of this clothing within the U.S. or overseas. An additional 30 percent is turned into industrial rags, and 20 percent is turned into fiber filling for a variety of uses (2016),” says Heist.
Poshmark is an online social marketplace where you can list clothing you wish to sell, along with photos. Since items can take time to sell, this option may be more appealing if you don’t mind storing the pieces.
If expediency is your preference, send a bag of items to thredUP, and let them decide what is suitable for direct payment, consignment or recycling. Heist advises, “No one should expect to get that much money back, but it’s a way to get it out of the house.”
At The Clutter Crew, Heist will sell “new or gently used high-end clothing on eBay.” If you have vintage items, she suggests selling on Etsy or exploring a local consignment or thrift store.
Once the last piece is donated or sold, open your closet and admire your revamped wardrobe. Now that you’ve reached the finish line, you can focus your energy on mixing and matching your new-to-you pieces with all your treasured favorites.
