How to Host a Successful Closet Swap

2. Give everyone advanced notice, but not too far ahead. This is casual! People will forget about it if you lay plans more than a month ahead of time. I’ve learned this from years of event management. I sent out text and Facebook invites. Below is my event banner!

3. Offer tips to your guests about how to clean out and organize their closets. Send them articles you find, or ones that I write!

4. Invite people who are excited about it.

They can help spread the word to their friends. Also, make sure you spread your net wide enough that all types of styles and sizes will be represented. We wound up with a mix of medium and small girls and it was amazing how some of the different sizes fit on everyone. Lots of mediums went home with smalls and vise versa. Check it out!

5. Get organized!

I took off the clothes from my own closet rack so guests could use it to hang items. I also replaced all of my old hangers with all black ones recently so I left out my old hangers for people to use. It was a great win-win for me to get one last good use out of them and also rethink my wardrobe before the big day.

I also cleared off all of my living room surfaces to prime them for maximum clothes display. We weren’t sitting much anyway so the couches were good areas to use!

I also made signs for each section so that people could easily come in and start unloading without much distraction from me as I played hostess and enjoyed my friends.

6. Have something tasty and relaxing to offer.

It IS a party after all. Make it one. Some of my spread:

7. Be bold!

Try on new things, try on sizes you don’t think would work. Encourage your guests to do the same. The compliments and ideas will start flying. My friend Alex tried on this dress of mine that I decided I had just worn too many times. She never thought it would fit her, but look at it! So flattering.

I also didn’t think this was a good look for me, but my friend Shasta said it would look good on me. It was just too short for her. Voila! Excited to pair it with some leather pants soon.

A few other finds that none of us would have picked out for ourselves:

8. Take charge of the after math.

I agreed to arrange the selling and donating of clothes after the event. Just donating them would beth easiest, but I wanted to do several features about online clothes selling sites and consignment stores. More to come on that…

9. Share your new outfits!

I have been texting with some of the ladies as we wear our new pieces out and about! I wore my new white blazer to an interview and I got lots of compliments! I didn’t get the job, but I was one step closer to realizing a New Year’s resolution.

10. Have someone else volunteer to host the next one.

Everyone will have so much fun and friends who couldn’t make it will be sad they missed it! We hope a friend will host one later in the Spring or Summer. Tag, you’re it.

What did you think? Have you hosted a closet swap? What tips do you have?