How to Host a Decluttering/Swapping Party

I’m tickled to introduce (perhaps even reintroduce) Lisa – aka Satsumabug.  You might know her from flipping through pages of her {She} journal over at Gadanke.  What you may not know is that this girl has a serious knack for hosting parties, decluttering, and getting some craved stuff all at the same time.

If needed, I was completely ready to get on my knees to beg Lisa to share her ideas with us.

But she wouldn’t have it.  All she asked was that I show you the fabulous skirt that she made.  (See her wearing it below?  Isn’t that the cutest?)  She and I both sewed our first piece of clothing at the same time… and that’s such an empowering achievement.  So GO LISA!  ;)

I think you’ll love this party idea!

It started with two things: a messy closet, and a craving for waffles. Oh, and Katie’s post about her lonely citrus juicer. So: three things.

I had a closet full of neglected garments that I just knew could find happier homes with my friends, and I figured their wardrobes looked the same. So I organized a clothing swap among my women friends.

They brought their unwanted clothes to my house — along with a hefty helping of accessories, to ease the burden of size-matching — and we had a dress-up party over baguettes and spreads. (Note for next time: buy more baguettes.) Everyone went home with something, and I took the leftovers (clothes, not bread!) to a local women’s shelter.

At the same time as I was organizing the clothing swap, I developed a craving for waffles. A strong, lingering hankering. Waffles are one of those things that — as far as I know — you just can’t make without specialized equipment.

I decided to buy a waffle iron, but I don’t like Belgian waffles (the thick ones with big, deep indentations) and it was shockingly difficult to find a reasonably priced, non-Belgian waffler on Amazon.

So I posted a request on Facebook.

My friends and I soon had a thread going about the relative merits of Belgian and classic waffles, waffles for breakfast versus waffles for dinner, and best times to throw a brunch party. Out of all that, I discovered that my sister’s fiancé had his mother’s old waffle iron gathering dust in the back of a cabinet. He brought it over to our house, and I threw a brunch party with the help of my friend Chelsea‘s waffle iron (which she got from her mother).

Somewhere in the midst of all that waffle talk, I read Katie’s post asking if anyone wanted her citrus juicer, and it occurred to me that everyone seems to have these sad orphans languishing in their kitchens: the impulse purchases, the Christmas gifts, the now-ignored friends of bygone days of differently-focused cooking.

Why not host a kitchen swap, modeled along the same lines as my clothing swap?

And this time men could be invited too! I haven’t actually hosted the party yet (it has been a busy couple of months), but I got so excited about the idea, I hopped up out of bed and wrote it all down. Here’s how I envision it:

The swap will be comprehensive, covering everything a kitchen might possibly need.

1. Kitchen gadgets are a no-brainer, but guests should also bring cookware, bakeware, dishes, drinkware, and cutlery in clean, functional condition.

2. Cookbooks and food books will also be welcome. I confess this is the category I’m most excited about.

3. This part might be tricky, but I suspect many of us also own edibles/ingredients we don’t use. My friend once gave me an almost-new bag of whole wheat pastry flour he’d bought for a single recipe. He was happy to unload it; I was the one who scored. My line on edibles-swapping is that they must be fresh, look fresh, and smell fresh. So a recently-purchased package of arborio rice would pass muster, but a questionable jar of jam with no sell-by date shouldn’t leave your house. (This is where it helps to swap with friends whose fridges and pantries you trust.)

4. To me, the garden is an extension of the kitchen, so my swap will also be open to garden items and bounty: herb cuttings, extra pots, a bumper crop of avocados or Meyer lemons (we can hope!).

5. It’s perfectly okay to show up empty-handed with intent to leave the party otherwise. Non-cooks and owners of tiny/growing kitchens should bring drinks or potluck dishes as their contribution.

I’m very excited about hosting the kitchen swap and am looking forward to making it happen.

Recently I also learned about a growing “food swap” movement, where avid home cooks, bakers, and jam-makers get together to share their creations. My friend Emily started the one in Los Angeles; there are also others across the US. Check out this article to read more and find a swap near you.

So how does the kitchen swap sound to you? Would you attend such a swap? What would you bring, or hope to leave with? (And if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area: would you like to come to my swap?)