Hosting a clothes swap is a great way to not only get great clothes for free, you can meet new friends and look forward to social gatherings that are all about girl power, fashion, and saving money. If you’ve never thought about a clothes swap before, you’ll want to keep reading for the inside scoop on what you’ll need to host your clothes swap and how everyone in attendance can benefit.

Clothes swaps don’t have to be difficult to put together. You can make it as fancy or as laid back as you want. The good thing about this type of get together is that you can cater it to your tastes and that of your guests. Just like putting together a garage sale, you’ll want to start off by finding a date and time frame that will work for everyone. It goes without saying that weekends tend to work best for such an occasion. Once you have that figured out, start sending invitations, either by snail mail or email. Be sure to invite friends that have items to give up. Clothes swaps aren’t for all women, surprisingly. If you have a few friends whose wardrobes you’ve always wanted, be sure to invite them. Chances are they’ll want to offload those very items and you’ll greatly benefit from having them present.

After you’ve sent off the invitations, now it’s time for you to go through your own wardrobe and decide what you want to keep and what you know you want to get rid of. Remember, it’s all about updating your closet so this is the time to gather bundles of items to give away. If you’ve only got two or three pieces to offer for your clothes swap, you won’t be giving your guests much to choose from. Clothes swaps aren’t just for you - they’re for everyone to benefit from. It is also important to remember that all items brought to the clothes swap must be cleaned prior and free of stains and other damage. This goes for all guests as well as the host. Make sure to mention this in the invitation.

On the day of your clothes swap, have your guests toss all of their clothing items - as well as your own - into one pile or multiple piles of similar clothing (you can organize piles by types: pants, dresses, tops, etc.) and lay down some rules to avoid disagreements. You can choose the order you want each guest to go through the piles and how many items at a time they can choose. You want to be fair and make sure each person has had plenty of time to rummage through the piles and select items they’d like to take home. Once everyone has gone and found something to their liking, then you can have a free-for-all, where everything left is up for grabs.

Once the clothes swap is over, you and your guests can relax and socialize for the remainder of the day. Be sure to have refreshments and appetizers on hand. If there are any items left over from the swap that no one wants to claim, donate it to charity. There are always people looking for affordably priced clothes and it also counts as a tax write-off so you’ll benefit either way.

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