According to Mint.com, the average U.S. household has spent an average of $1258.62 on clothes this year. That seemed completely astronomical to staff writer Sierra Black from Get Rich Slowly who only spent about $200 on clothes for her family of 5 this year. She was able to do this, in part, with the help of clothing swaps. She says that these friendly get-togethers serve double duty. They help you clean out your closet and also give you the chance to freshen up your wardrobe.

Just because something doesn’t fit you anymore or you’ve stopped wearing something doesn’t mean that it’s in bad shape. Instead of immediately donating those items to Goodwill, try out the clothing swap. You can spend a few hours hanging out with your friends, bringing the benefits of “thrift store” shopping into your own home. Here’s what Sierra has to say about her experiences with clothing swaps:

I find the selection at a clothing swap is better than I get in most thrift stores. My friends’ tastes in clothes are fairly similar to mine, so I don’t have to wade through rack after rack of 1970s polyester blouses to get to the good stuff. The last swap I was at had an entire business wardrobe of designer-label stuff in my size, a lot of it still with the tags on. I also picked up half a dozen cozy, long-sleeved t-shirts and a pair of great jeans.

As long as you encourage people to attend your swaps with clothing in clean and good condition, you have the ability to have a very successful experience while spending nothing. Head over to Dress Yourself For Free: How to Host A Clothing Swap for a detailed how-to about hosting your own clothing swap. Though this idea isn’t new, Sierra does a great job of outlining exactly what to do if you’re thinking about hosting!