Has anyone ever organized or participated in a clothing swap

Question

I would like to organize a clothing swap for kids and Moms, but I'm not sure what type of guidelines should be in place, or how to even organize it. Wondering if anyone out there has ever organized one, and if so, how did you do it? Also, even if you have participated in one, how was it done? What would you change, was there a lottery system, etc.? Thanks!

Answer 1

I did participate in one yesterday.  I work with a Christian theatre company that takes two tours a year.  Before each one, when all our people have been assigned to their new touring areas, we have a swap.  That way, someone assigned to Alabama can give away her winter coat to someone assigned to Wisconsin and someone assigned to New York can leave the summery stuff for others assigned to Arizona.  

Our swap is extremely informal.  We don't worry about getting exactly as much as we brought in, or anything like that.  It's done on the honor system, really.  In fact, most folks take less than they brought.  We donate the remains to a local thrift shop.  Some years, there is also an announcement reminding us to be considerate of the folks coming behind us, too, as they will also want clothing.

Basically, everyone brings their clothes in on Tuesday or Wednesday,.  Our Deacons accept them all, sort them and remove anything unusable, and set them out on Thursday morning.  Then they make an announcement that the Clothing Exchange is open.  It's open all day, then they bag everything that's left and make a run to the nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill.