I get nervous about playing host. I love the idea of it, then get super nervous when the time comes to play the part. But I’m always pushing myself to get over things like that and put myself out there. And when a co-worker told me she did a clothes swap at her house one weekend, I knew I had to do it too. A chance to get “new” clothes from stylish friends for no cost? A (different than usual) reason to get together? Motivation for all of us to clean out our closets? How could I not?

A couple months ago, I polled a few friends to gauge interest. I didn’t want this to be a thing that two people would show up for. The interest was there, so I set a date and was really excited to see how quickly people got on board.

I opened the swap beyond clothes so everyone would feel welcome and be more encouraged to attend. I wanted it to be a fun girls afternoon with the swap being sort of a bonus. So I encouraged everyone to bring clothes, accessories, shoes, books and DVDs with the promise that whatever people didn’t take, I would donate to a local women’s shelter.

So the big day came on Saturday. And it went SO WELL! There were eight of us and we had mimosas and appetizers, and it was awesome to see people coming with garbage bags full of things.

After about an hour of chatting, eating and drinking, everyone laid out what they brought. It started sort of ordered by type of clothing (sweaters, tank tops, etc.), but ended up just heaps of clothes all over the bed, couch and floor for everyone to go through.

I have a massive amount of things to donate, but was so excited that everyone who showed up that day left with new things. I was also excited because Saturday, the first time I tried to really get together with a group of girlfriends here, was a success. That was huge for me. They showed up. We had fun. I can’t wait to do it again.