Sick of Your Wardrobe? Make a Swap April 2nd

By guest blogger Marilyn Champagne

Do you have too many clothes that don’t fit anymore?  Do you sometimes buy things on impulse but never end up wearing them?  Would you like to declutter your house but dont`t want to all your things to go to waste?  Would you like to get new clothes but don’t have money to spend?

Then our clothing swaps might be for you! 🙂

I started a clothing swap club in Montréal which became very popular, with over 250 members.  Last year, when I moved to Ottawa, I started one here too; it’s called the Garde-robe collectif and we have around 70 members so far.

Clothing swaps are events where people bring used clothing and other items that they don’t want anymore and can take things that other people brought, so it’s a win-win situation; you can get rid of things that are wasting valuable space in your home without creating more waste since your things will either go home with someone else or be given to a charity if nobody wants them, and get new things in an environmentally friendly way by reusing items, without having to spend any money!

The Garde-robe collectif meets once every two months at one of our members’ place.  Usually, 5-10 people attend each swap.  People can bring any clothes, accessories, shoes as well as books, CDs, DVDs, and other small household items that they don’t want anymore.  We put everything together and people take what they like; there is no minimum or maximum of items to bring or take. Whatever is left at the end goes to the Salvation Army.  Sometimes we get local designers to give us samples or items from their older collections for the swap as well.  There is usually food prepared by the host or brought by attendees 🙂  It’s a fun way to meet people who are also into a greener and more frugal lifestyle in Ottawa-Gatineau!

It’s free for people to join our club.  You can either join the mailing list by sending an email to garderobecollectifathotmail.fr, or look for le Garde-robe collectif group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14625518938

Here is an interview about my club that aired on the CBC Ottawa (Frugalista) if you want more info: http://www.cbc.ca/ottawablog/2009/07/swap_till_you_drop.html

Our next swap will be Friday, April 2nd at 10 AM in the ByWard Market area and there is still room for people to participate! 🙂  Feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like to attend our current or future events!

Marilyn
Founder, president
Garde-robe collectif