Host a Swap Party

For those of you who read my other blog, I have shared this before – but not as a thrifty idea. So here it is!

A few months ago, a friend and I decided to host a swap party. We have some friends that love to go to garage sales, so we thought, Why not just trade our own stuff? Then, as luck would have it, Real Simple published an article the very next month on how-to host a swap! Who knew the idea was so popular!

What we did:

We divided my living room up into sections, according to items people brought: Beauty, purses, books/DVDs, kitchenware, hodgepodge, home decor, and clothing.

The set up:

Had I known we would all have this much stuff, I would have been way more organized! Now I know for next year!

I think we were surprised by how much people got, but having so much random stuff made it more fun! Everyone got rid of the things the no longer wanted and also took some goodies home! And everything left over in the end, the other hostess and I offered to take to the Salvation Army.

The logistics:

First of all, we assumed that if people brought it, they truly didn’t want it, so we said regardless of how many items you brought, you could go home with as many items as your found. (The rest was going to be donated, so might as well.)

Then to get the swapping started, we drew numbers to come up with a picking order – like a gift exchange. On the first couple of rounds each person chose one thing, allowing for each person to have a shot at their favorite item. Then we had planned to keep going in order, gradually increasing the number of items people could choose, but really, it just seemed easier to make it a free for all, which is what we did.

Here are just a couple of treasures I came away with:

I also took pillows that match our bed, a food chopper, bread baskets, and some cute clothes! Overall, I would say I did exceedingly well! I hope everyone else feels the same! We are definitely planning on making this an annual event – and the more, the merrier!