Trash to Treasure: Spring Cleaning Meets St. Patrick's Day!
It’s March! For those of use who leave in climates with cold winters, there’s something exciting about Spring months— the end of the crazy cold is near. The season change also tends to make me want to refresh some things around the house and do a little Spring cleaning.
Many of my friends have also been in declutter mode after the holidays. Have you ever gotten a peak into someone else’s donation pile, and thought, “What, they are getting rid of that?” Hearing how many of us were busy cleaning out closets and drawers, my party wheels started turning and the idea of throwing a home décor & accessory swap was born!
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, I decided to make it a Trash to Treasure theme and incorporate some holiday fun as well. St. Patrick’s Day theme or not, follow these tips to host your very own swap meet!
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Decide on item categories
A free for all is definitely one way to approach a swap, but narrowing the types of items to bring can help guests narrow what to bring. For this swap, the focus was on home goods and accessories. Think kitchen gadgets, decorating items, and jewelry and handbags.
As guests arrive, have them sort like items together. I created little “zones” by using these printables from Elva M. Design.
Determine “The Rules”
To keep things fun and fair, we had a few rounds of structured rules.
Round 1: 15 minutes of shop time, could claim 3 items
Round 2: 10 minutes of shop time, could claim 3 items
Round 3: Free for all!
Honestly, anything goes here. You can add or subtract shopping time depending on how many people you have in attendance and how many items people bring! I gave each guest a pen, “Claimed” tags, and some tape.
The free-for-all round was a great way to let people have one last pass at any items left. Whatever was left, we boxed up and I donated it to my local Goodwill.
Décor
To add some St. Patrick’s fun, I re-purposed my DIY backdrop with some black curtains and layered on a LUCKY balloon banner and some other festive garlands and banners.
Treats
Keep treats easy with grocery store buys! I snagged some green cupcakes and added gold coins to the top! Popcorn, cheeseboards, and any green beverages are always good additions. You can check out my Pinch Me Punch recipe here or consider serving Guinness floats!
It was such a fun evening with friends!
Shop this Party:
It can be nice to have similar things arrive right to your door! I’ve curated similar items used here from Amazon to make it easy for you to re-create this look!
