Clothing swaps changed my life. At the school where I’m the Secretary of the Board, each year there are two clothing swaps, a women’s clothing swap, and a kids’ clothing swap. The first time I went, I was high for a week afterward. I calculated that I came home with $500 worth of stuff, easily, for my $30 fee. I got my favorite pair of jeans from that swap— the really fabulous $150 ones I’d never buy.

Now, the clothing swaps for the kids are fun, too, because you save a fortune. I’ve gotten entire kid wardrobes for that $30 fee. (I admit they’re not nearly as much personal fun as the women’s one—wine and cheese, in the evening, everyone’s fantastic clothes they’ve grown out of from weight gain or loss. Okay, but that’s not the point here, is it?)

Clothing swaps are a big movement (see clothingswaps.com), but I have to tell you how the one at our school operates because you could start one, and once the school hosts one, they’ll always want you to do it again. It’s great for the community, and the school is a built-in population of people with huge need. If for any reason your kids’ school doesn’t want to do it, try your local church or synagogue, or the public library. Last resort: someone’s house. But do tap into the school population. You’ll never have a better target market of highly qualified prospects.

One of the teachers at my school spearheads the event, and she has quite a lively approach. Each year the event draws people in from the community. It costs $30 to participate and the school makes $3,000 a pop easily for each swap. That’s the key: You donate the money to the school, maybe even for a special project, or new gym equipment—something they need so they’ll say yes.

Here’s how it works:

1. Secure use of the school gym and find a cause for the donation money. Most school causes have a teacher who champions them, so ask that person to help out. You’re going to need five volunteers to make the swap work, and so put those teens to work! To get the five teen volunteers—and if they don’t appear the first swap, they’ll definitely appear by the second—have the teacher involved appoint them. Tell them this is a green event, and it’s important to support secondary markets. They should really understand The economics of it.

2. You put out a notice that the swap will take place and you ask for clothing donations by a certain date. Tell them that shoes, purses, backpacks, umbrellas—all acoutrements— are all welcome. Have the kids hand out fliers at school, email the parent body. Tell the community that if someone wants to come, to please donate first. Send the notice home with students, use whatever broadcast system the school has.

This step is so cathartic. You get to go through your kids’ closet and throw out everything, that doesn’t fit or that they don’t like. And you can do so without the guilt of thinking you just paid a fortune for it. (Again, more fun to do your own closet. If you haven’t worn it in two years, get rid of it!) Get your kid involved with this. Granted, it’s much easier to get girls involved—I’m not being sexist, but it just is.

3. Set up the gym to look like a clothing store, one side for girls’, one for boys’, and then organized by size. The kids will be great at setting up. You’ll need to find tables, and if possible, borrow or rent some clothing racks. It really makes it look great to have racks of clothes hung up. Serve refreshments, too, because it just creates a better atmosphere. Make it simple, but have some snacks for the teens and their mothers, because that’s who is going to show up. You’ll probably have to provide snacks in a potluck style, from the families involved, unless the school will front the money and get paid back from the profits.

4. The event: Hold it in the evening so you get all the parents who have to work. We charge $30 a person, but I honestly think you could charge more. I’ve been lobbying to charge $50.

5. The teacher who holds our clothing swap hands out shopping bags (or you can ask people to bring their own). Then she has a drill that builds suspense and is so much fun. The doors don’t open until a certain time. Then everyone has 15 minutes to survey the tables and racks. Of course you can make this amount of time whatever you want, but set a limit. Then the first 3-minute round begins. Your teen may choose 3 items they want, put them in their bag. Then the round is over. Then another 3-minute round begins, and your kid can choose three more. Depending on how big the crowd is, you can do one more 3-minute round. After that, free for all.

The point of doing the rounds before the free for all is that everyone gets something really good. By the time you’re at the free for all, people will take their time, try things on over their clothes. So in a way they’re guessing, but for the price it doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t fit, your teen can always donate it back for next year. That’s the beauty of the whole concept, it’s so liberating.

I suggest giving the 5 teen volunteers who set up the whole swap a chance to pick out one item each before the swap begins. They’ll be so excited and they deserve primo choice. I’ve seen kids get leather jackets that would cost hundreds of dollars.

If your teen doesn’t want to be seen with you at the event, make sure to give them a checklist of some items they really need—two pairs of pants, two sweaters, etc. It’s good for them to learn to bargain hunt with a purpose, not just choose what catches their eye.

There is usually clothing left over, so get the teen volunteers involved in driving the bags of unwanted clothes to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or any other local organization that will take them.
Enjoy. It really is so much fun, so completely gratifying.

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