Tag Archives: frugality

How {and why} to Hold A Clothing Swap

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For the past few years, I’ve been involved with organizing a women’s clothing swap twice a year at It’s All Yoga, the yoga studio where I teach,  and recently I’ve been asked to explain how and why we do it.

What Is A Clothing Swap?

It’s a get together with friends, clients, students with the purpose of trading gently used items (clothes, shoes and accessories) with others.

Wardrobes are remade and friendships begin with chatting over tables while in search of that perfect new-to-you outfit. I have connected with friends and students while building a new seasonable wardrobe.

Why Hold A Clothing Swap:

1. It’s fun.

2. It’s an environmentally and budget friendly way to build a new wardrobe for yourself while helping someone else build theirs.

3. The clothes and shoes that mock you from the closet because they were expensive, but just not quite right, usually can find a new home with someone you know, thus making everyone happy.

4. We raise a bunch of funds for a local charity and donate all the unclaimed items for them to sell in their shop.

5. We get to finally talk to the lovely people on the mats next to ours! Teachers and students interacting with each other in a super friendly environment is a great way to help everyone feel like they belong to the IAY community.

6. Friends bring friends and we usually leave SwapAsana with new to us clothes and connections with people we wouldn’t have otherwise made.

How To Hold A Clothing Swap:

My friend Amy hosted a swap party at her house this summer with a couple of girlfriends and wrote a post about it. I totally scored in the sweater and dress department and got to taste Joy The Baker’s famous Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake.   All in all, a great night!

In my research I also found this post and this comprehensive guide.

At It’s All Yoga’s SwapAsana, we put half of the goods on tables at the beginning and take a break midway. We use the free-for-all method and most people take what looks best and leave the rest. There is one group of swappers who try things on together and decide who brings the item home based on who it most flatters. Team work at its finest!

If you are interested in hosting a swap party, I definitely recommend going to someone else’s party first. I did and fell in love! Thanks, Stitch Swap!

It’s All Yoga’s bi-annual SwapAsana is this Sunday, October 14th at the studio in Midtown Sacramento. Feel free to come by!

Have you ever hosted/attended a swap? What was your experience?

Image 1 source

In Case You Missed It Edition! Volume 5

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{as always, click on the image for source}

Happy Fall Dear Readers!

Lately I’ve been thinking about adding a new regular feature to Teacher Goes Back to School. Today is the début of the regular In Case You Missed It Edition!

Each week I’ll give you links to posts and articles that made me laugh, cry, think or at least raise an eyebrow. Please click the links and check out the posts. You may find something that rocks your world too.

Leave me some feedback in the form of comments below on what you liked, what you hated and what you’d like to see more of. I’m here to help you find the best of what is online.

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My Best Of…

Be Yourself, But Keep Your Inner Jerk in Check – Gretchen Rubin’s interview with Bob Sutton who wrote a book called The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.

Catchy title, huh? I think he should have stopped at The No Asshole part.

Just so we’re clear, I would not be against someone passing that book along to me to read.

I love Gretchen’s interviews. They remind me of the Inside the Actor’s Studio interviews with James Lipton because the questions are the same each time. All the answers are completely different because of the diversity of the subjects, but it gives the reader a familiar framework. LOVE!

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Speaking of Inside The Actor’s Studio 10 questions… have you ever wanted to answer them yourself? If so, head on over to The Pondering Yogini’s place to do it. 

I did it. I had a hard time picking a favorite curse word. Sort of.

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Beware of the next link. You may laugh so hard spit your coffee on your computer screen. This just in from Just a Titch.

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Confession time: I am a minimalist blog  junkie. I adore hearing about people living with less stuff, not buying anything new and making do with what they’ve got. 

Since my mid-twenties I’ve been obsessed with frugality. I’ve read book after book and now I follow many frugality and minimalist blogs.

I can’t get enough of minimalist and frugality blogs.

Oh, the irony.

Recently, I described myself as “minimalist lite” – someone who does all those things above, but hasn’t  made the commitment to downsizing completely.

Yet.

So here’s a question for you –

Would you ever get rid of your diamond engagement ring?  Even if it put you into debt and caused ongoing conflict in your relationship? Tammy over at Rowdy Kittens is deciding what to do. Click over to weigh in.

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That is this week’s In Case You Missed It Edition, folks. Next week we talk fashion, local scene happenings and more.

Remember to click the links and leave some comments. This is a conversation, you know.

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In Case You Missed Edition Archives: Volume 4,  Volume 3,  Volume 2,  Volume 1