Woolite Washed In-Home Boutique Party

Friday, April 5, 2013

DISCLOSURE:  As a member of Crowdtap, I was chosen to host a Woolite Washed In-Home Boutique party and given free samples of Woolite Everyday detergent to hand out.  All opinions are my own.

Admit it.  It happens all the time to a lot of us.  You go into your closet and there's absolutely nothing you want to wear!  But, you don't always want to go out and spend the money to buy something new to wear.  A great way to purge your closet of things you don't wear and at the same time get some new clothes would be to hold a clothing swap!  It gives you the opportunity to connect with friends and update your wardrobe for less!

I recently had the opportunity to host a clothing swap in my home thanks to Woolite and Crowdtap.com.  I was sent a party kit that included a clothing swap party guide with ideas on how to hold a successful clothing swap, a $10 VISA gift card to use towards party supplies and 10 samples of Woolite Everyday detergent to hand out to my guests.



Because I was already having friends and family over for Easter, I decided to hold my party then.  To tie the party and Easter together, I made the theme: "Resurrect Your Old Clothes With Woolite!"  In my invitation, I encouraged everyone who wanted to participate in the clothing swap to bring at least four items but no more than 10.  At first, I had limited it to just clothes and accessories, but because we're all not the same size, I extended it to include anything from shoes, belts, jewelry, unused cosmetics and purses.  I specified that items had to be either new and never worn or gently used.  Any items that didn't get swapped would be donated to charity.

Before the party, I went out and bought several reusable shopping bags to hand out to guests so they could put their Woolite samples and any items they took from the swap in it.  I bought these from Christmas Tree Shops for $1 each.


The day of the party, I put the bags out and displayed them near our console table with the jewelry and sunglasses that I was giving away.  I bought a set of jewelry trees from Bed, Bath & Beyond to use to display the necklaces, rings and bracelets that people brought to swap.


I set up a mirror in the corner of the room, so guests could try on any of the clothes they got from the swap.


I also placed the Woolite samples and other non-clothing items on a little table.


Since we were having my side and my husband's side of the family coming over, we had plenty of food!  We made a honey ham, roasted asparagus, bacon-wrapped oysters, mini frittatas, mini mozzarella caprese, macaroni and cheese and salad.  My mother-in-law brought over deviled eggs and my Mom brought Filipino noodles and egg rolls.


I also made Cadbury Mini Egg cookies, a lemon-glazed citrus-yogurt pound cake, a fruit plate and vanilla cupcakes.


Once all the guests arrived, we ate and then held a little Easter egg hunt for the kids.  Sadly, it was rainy all day, so we hid the eggs in our enclosed patio out back.  To make things fair, we assigned each kid a color egg to look for. 

Then, it was time to hold the clothing swap.  Because I didn't have a rolling clothes rack to hang clothes on, we ended up draping clothes over chairs and couches.

Then, everyone grabbed a shopping bag and started to shop!

Even the kids joined in on the fun.

Most everyone who came was able to find at least a couple items to bring home.  My favorites from my haul include a Michael Kors skirt and a Nine West purse.  I'm pregnant right now, so I couldn't try it on.  But, I'm hoping it will fit this summer!


Anything that wasn't taken home, my kids stuffed into their bags!  I saved a few things and then donated the rest of the items to The Salvation Army.

Do you want to host your own clothing swap?  Follow these steps to ensure a successful swap:

1.  PLAN
  • Send out invitations at least a couple weeks in advance to give your guests time to go through their closets.
  • Invite at least 10 people to ensure a good variety.
  • Plan a menu of easy-to-eat finger foods that won't make a mess and give guests a free hand to look through everything.
2.   SET UP
  • Arrange accessories on table tops, using trays or plates to display items.
  • Place hanging items on a clothing rack or use an empty hall closet.
  • Create a try-on area with a mirror.  Encourage guests to wear a cami and leggings under their clothes.
3.  PARTY!
  • Set some rules to keep things from getting out of hand.
  • Take turns shopping.
  • Everyone goes home with the same number of items they donated.
  • At the end of the party, bring any leftover clothing to a donation center.
(Source: Good Housekeeping, April 2013; Real Simple Online)

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