Clothing swap and good times

Quick question, have any of you ever bought something for yourself or your kids and only worn it once or not at all?! I’m 100% guilty of doing this all the time and with my kids, it’s the age-old problem of them growing out of things really quickly. I’m always thinking to myself – Oh no this is way too nice to wear to Kindergarten, but then before I know it it’s two sizes too small and been worn once to a second cousin’s birthday party! When it comes to my stuff I’m also often guilty of buying something that I will convince myself in the shop that I’m going to wear, but then three months later it’s still hanging in my cupboard wishing it could see the light of day one last time. I think half my wardrobe may be made up of pieces like this. Sigh.

Gumtree approached me to work with them throughout the year to bring you guys some tips on how to get financially savvy when it comes to parenting. Now I’m not claiming to be some or other guru when it comes to stuff like this because believe me I like to spend money, especially the imaginary credit card kind, but I liked the idea of challenging myself to come up with ways to save money and I thought it would be cool to share them here too.

For my first attempt, I wanted to find a fun and out the ordinary way to solve the problem above, which I’m pretty certain a lot of people encounter. And my solution was to host a Clothing Swap slash Cake Party at my house with a few of my friends that I know have some gems in their cupboards, plus it was a great excuse to hang out and talk about the important things in life like reality TV and things of that nature.

So this is what you’re going to need to refresh yours and your kid’s wardrobe without even stepping foot into a mall:

1. Friends. You can’t skip this point, without them it might be a pretty weird evening. Just you and some of your wardrobe milling around your house eating cake.
2. A selection of clothing that has hardly or never been worn. This is a very important point and should be made clear to all who are attending, no one wants something that looks like it’s been dragged through Oppikoppi backwards two years in a row.
3. Some delicious snacks and beverages because all friends like these two things.

Clothes can be pricey, especially nice kids clothes that will only last a season or two. That’s why the idea of a clothing swap is pretty genius because not only are you getting nice new(ish) stuff and maybe some items that you never thought you would actually like or try on in a shop, but it also makes for a fun night in and the best part is that no money leaves your wallet. If you had to have one of these at the end of every season your wardrobe would constantly be changing without you having to do anything, but hang out with your friends and laugh until the cows come home. Which is exactly what we did. It was one of those nights where everyone ate, drank and then tried on and swopped one another’s clothing, so you know your average Friday night shindig.

Everything that was left over from my side I just popped onto Gumtree where I’m selling it as a mixed bag of ‘Newish Goods’. I actually was pretty impressed with how quickly I could just add it to their site – anything that involves too much admin has me zoning out after a few minutes 🙂 Hopefully, it’ll sell quickly so I can buy a new jersey or two haha!

If any of you are interested in perhaps coming to my next clothing swap, just drop me a mail.