This morning, I dropped an overflowing bag of David’s old clothes off at my local elementary school. This afternoon, I will head back and see if there is anything of interest to take back home with me. This is a potentially dangerous swap for me because it includes both clothes (which I am usually pretty ‘meh’ about) and craft supplies.
I need more craft supplies like I need a matching set of holes in my head (ear piercings excluded). But, I often find myself helpless when faced with the raw materials to make something awesome. There is a craft supply-only swap coming up at the end of September. There I will not only meet my people, I will be able to offload some of those supplies that I am less likely to use with the assurance that they will go to a home where they will be well-loved and (hopefully) used.
What I love most about swaps are the low stakes. When buying clothes, I find myself struggling to determine whether a particular piece of clothing is worth the money. It doesn’t matter whether I am at a boutique clothing store or a thrift store. I always go through the same mental gymnastics. Does it look as good on me as I think it does or will I get it home and wonder what I was thinking? Is it comfortable enough that I will actually wear it, or will it sit in my closet for years, unworn?
I am willing to take more risks at swaps. I will take home almost anything that appeals. My basic rule of thumb is that if I haven’t worn an item I have brought home within 6 months (clothing at swaps are not always seasonal), I bring it to the next swap to pass on to someone else. That item I brought home that makes me wonder what the hell I was thinking? That goes right back into the swap bag for the next time around.
There are times when I arrive at a swap with multiple bags and go home with nothing. I am totally ok with that. To me swaps are as much about the purge as the acquisition. Conversely, I have never felt any discomfort when I have shown up at a swap with just a few items and leave with a ton of stuff. I have yet to show up at a swap empty-handed. There seems to always be at least one thing I am ready to get rid of.
I love that my closet is in a constant state of purge. And unlike the Goodwill bags of the past, my swap bags leave the house on a regular basis. Sure, my empty hangers don’t tend to stay empty for very long, but that’s ok. At this point, almost all of my favorite clothes, both dressy and every-day have come from swaps. Some of them came home with me with their original price tags still attached.