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As little girls, we started out swapping clothes with our best friends and as women we still face an overstuffed wardrobe after every shopping spree. What better way to get rid of old clothes than through a big swap!

Clothing swaps are so much fun. Get a couple of women with overflowing wardrobes together and you got yourself a big pile of goodies to take your pick from. Do you face the same issue with your wardrobe? Know other girls with the same shopaholic tendencies as you do? Sounds like you're on your first step to getting started on organizing a clothing swap.

GET STARTED!
Round up a couple of your girlfriends and ask them to get their girlfriends involved. Technically you can get started with your swap already but hey, how about gathering more people in the act? These girlfriends have more girlfriends. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing tool that is free and super effective. It's totally viral and spreads like wildfire. It's time for some good planning.

GRAB A GOOD VENUE
Pick a nice cozy bar or teahouse down town. Maybe one of the girls you know own one? Even better. Even a quaint little shop will be a good venue. As long as it is easily accessible, the chances of it being a hit will be high. Set a minimal entry fee like $5 for the swap because you just don't want to face any freeloaders.

SPREAD THE NEWS
Get your girlfriends to tell all their girlfriends about an upcoming clothing swap. Spread the word fast. Get everybody to clean out their closet as ruthlessly as possible. Empty it. Expect to bring home a completely new set of clothes. Have a pair of jeans that you're just waiting to fit into? Forget it - dump it into the swap pile! Chances are you will never quite fit into it the way you want to so why not just grab something much nicer that will flatter you?

SPECIFY YOUR LOOT
Because you want to keep your swap as classy and glamorous as it can get, you might want to specify certain requirements like no lingerie and dirty fit-for-the-dump type of clothing. Or you might want to say no to granny garbs with moth holes. Set your rules and thereby set the expectations that people will have when they come for the swap. That way, they will know what sort of loot to bring to the swap too.

CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS NEEDED
For example: Pile all the clothes in different parts of the room, preferably on tables because women get all the backaches from their killer heels already. No cheating allowed i.e. early swapping. When all girls are present and have emptied their bags of clothes, grab a shopping bag and start stuffing it with your new loot. It's really that simple. There's no limit to how many pieces you can grab. Just make sure you can carry it off yourself without the organizer's help.

TEA PARTY, ANYONE?
Girls love to chatter. It's really our way of bonding so why not get somebody to bring along some cupcakes and tea and turn it into a mini tea party while you're at it? It'll be lots of fun. Some people get tired of rummaging through clothing and want to take a break. A nice cup of tea and some snacks will definitely come in handy.

LEFTOVERS
Yes you became dumping ground for old clothes. Save them for the next round of clothing swap or be generous and drop them off at a thrift shop. I'm sure there are others who will love to pick up those lovely pieces!

Learn more about this author, Enqi Weng.
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