You’ve probably all heard about clothing swaps, and maybe even experienced one first-hand, but do you know about the S.W.A.P Team?

The S.W.A.P. Team is behind North America’s largest clothing swaps. So far the organization has exchanged over 12,000 items! I had the pleasure of volunteering with the Calgary (Alberta, Canada!) chapter this spring, experiencing the beautiful chaos that is a clothing swap. And it’s definitely something everyone needs to know about.

For the “Take Off Your Clothes” events, a S.W.A.P. Team staple, volunteers collect clean, undamaged items ahead of time (people can also bring them to the event, though they have to wait for them to be sorted.), at which point they are sorted to make sure they are swappable. If your stuff meets the criteria, you (the swapper) are given one ticket for every item you bring in. Then, on the day of the event, you take those tickets and go shopping… er… swapping, choosing from the thousands of items in the “boutique.”

Yup, you get tons of “new” stuff and you don’t have to spend a dime! That’s the beauty of the swap.

Not tempting enough? If getting a bunch of “new” free stuff doesn’t do it for you, perhaps some designer duds will. In addition to the stuff you bring in, S.W.A.P. chapters often get items donated from designers, meaning you can end up with gorgeous, high-end duds that are 100% one-of-a-kind!

It’s absolutely brilliant. But if you’re still not convinced that swapping is right for you, well, listen up, missy. There are three huge benefits to swappin’:

1. It’s free stuff: How can you not love that?!

2. It reduces consumption: We all love ourselves some new clothes, but do you ever think about how much that wastes? Forget just the materials – think about the energy to make it, the gas to ship it, and everything else involved in bringing that new shirt to you. Swapping allows you to update your wardrobe without all that mess.

3. It helps the planet and the people who live on it: With leftover and un-swapped items going to organizations like the Salvation Army, swapping helps people in need and keeps much-needed clothes from filling our land-fills.

See? Swapping is the answer to all of our problems and The S.W.A.P. Team is taking it to a whole new level. Interested in joining a “Take Off Your Clothes” event? Check out their website to find one near you. Or, better yet, to bring one to your town!

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I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve sort of been getting bored with most of the clothes in my closet lately.  I tend to keep wearing the same things again and again, while other stuff keeps getting pushed to the back of the closet.  I’d love to get rid of all the stuff I’m not wearing and raid the mall for some new stuff, but I can’t really afford to do that.  But recently, I’ve found a way to get rid of the clothes I don’t want anymore AND get some new stuff at the same time–without having to spend a lot of money, either.

ThredUP is an online clothing exchange that lets you trade the clothes in your closet you don’t wear anymore with clothes other people don’t wear anymore.  Right now, the site’s only set up for shirts, but I’m betting (or at least hoping) that new categories will be added soon.

To start exchanging clothes, you’ll first need to create an account.  Next, start adding items you want to exchange to your online “closet.”  No need to hassle with taking and uploading pictures–all thredUP wants is a good description of the brand, color, size, and, most importantly, the condition of each item of clothing.  The golden rule of thredUP is “send only what you’d be willing to receive,” meaning everything should be new or like new condition (because seriously, no one’s going to want that white top you never wear anymore if it has pit stains, no matter how cute it is).

Once you create your closet, you can set up the preferences for what you’d like to receive.  Choose the category, size, use (work or play), and even the brands you’re looking for.  Once that happens, thredUP will “match” you with clothes from other people’s closets that match your preferences.  Clothes are “matched” based on similar-brands, however: so don’t think you’ll get an Armani shirt in exchange for your Old Navy one.  Once the match is made, you can then choose to claim it, and then make the swap!

In order to exchange clothes, however, you’ll need to order some of thredUP’s postage-paid envelopes.  The envelopes can be purchased in groups  and range in price from $6-$8 each (the more you buy, the less they cost).  If the thought of spending that kind of money makes you cringe (because it does start to add up), think of it this way: you’re getting a brand new (to you) shirt for that much–that’s pretty cheap, even by Target or Walmart standards!

Looks like I’ll be cleaning out my closet this weekend!

So you’re stuck on campus for Spring Break, watching people flee to warmer climates or their parents’ house. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be bored. There are plenty things to do on campus that are fun and don’t break the bank.

Have a beach party – just because you’re not at the beach doesn’t mean you can’t pretend you are. Break out the bikinis and shorts, blend up some margaritas and blast the songs that remind you of summer. Invite others that stuck on campus. You might even find a cute boy you can ‘lei’.

Theme parties – Still not in shape to don your bikini? What about another type of theme party? Have a moustache party (no you don’t have to grow one, just squiggle a nice one on your finger and hold it up to your face). Or you could try out our makeup tips for a decade party. Or how about a party from one of those fabulous places you didn’t get to travel this break. Fiesta anyone?

Be a tourist in your city – Chances are while you’re in school you don’t have a lot of time to get out and explore the city or town you’re living in. Getting to know your town is one of the things you must do before you graduate, so why not do it now? If there are museums in your area, find out when they have free admission, or discount days and check them out. Or find all the weird and wonderful attractions and go take pictures with everything! Not only will it be fun finding all the odd things in your city (my hometown has a parking garage filled with life-size cow statues) but you’ll also end up with a fun set of staycation pictures for everyone to look at!

Be productive – You’ve got things to do and now is the perfect time to catch up. Some schools even have seminars during reading week. At mine they have a weeks worth of job-hunting, resume writing, interviewing seminars that may come in handy. And with the head start on the job hunt, maybe you’ll score an amazing job that means you can go away next Spring Break!

Movie marathons – Get together everyone you know for an epically long themed movie-marathon. You could have everyone bring their favorite movie and watch them all, have an 80s movie night, a slasher-flick marathon or a cheesy-chick flick night. Or, if you’ve missed all your favourite TV shows, catch up on those.

Clothing swap – Get all the girls together for a clothing swap. Chances are your closet needs some new life, so trade in the items you no longer wear for something new. It also gives you a chance to get rid of the temptation of any super tight items leftover from that pre-frosh-15 days.

Game Night — Got any board games lying around or know any good card games? Why not have a games night? Are there cute boys around? As they demonstrate in Friends, every game can have the ‘strip’ element added to it.

So even if you are on campus there are plenty of ways to have fun this break. As with any break, there are the people to avoid after you head back to classes. What is everyone doing to recession proof their breaks?

Finals week drained me of a lot – my last pint of Cherry Garcia, my final cup of Folger’s, my sanity – plus the extra cash I had stashed in my wallet all semester. Cash that was supposed to help buy gifts for well, everybody, on my holiday gift list.

But it’s the holidays and sometimes magical things happen. So I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU! to the Holiday gods for sending this little gem my way: SwapStyle.com. It reminds me of my junior high days when my BFFs would bring over extra clothes for me to model and “borrow.” We all knew that “borrowing,” however, actually meant my friend would never see her A&F tee again. And she was cool with it, because she only brought it over because it made her look fat.

Yeah, so it’s just like that only on a much larger scale. Thanks to the information superhighway you can “borrow” clothes from women from all over the globe! That means you’re not limited to extra large, ratty Mickey Mouse T’s and super-flare Mudd Jeans from your somewhat-frumpy best friend’s wardrobe. Instead you can “borrow” Coach bags, Forever 21 dresses and MAC eyeshadows.

Plus, clothes-swapping is super environmentally friendly (you are reusing other people’s things instead of wasting new materials!) and the site is easy to use. Did I mention it’ s free to sign up?

Check it out here.

With less than three weeks before we welcome 2009, now is the time to do everything you said you would do in 2008. And if any of those plans go awry? You can start off with a clean slate in under 30 days. Now is the time to carpe diem, my friends, so see 2008 out with a bang.

1) Get a jump start on your New Year’s resolution. It’ll make January 1 so much less painful. Dead set on losing weight? Start out each day with a mere 20 minutes of cardio. You’ll lose a couple of pounds before the big par-tay and be motivated to keep toning up throughout January (and beyond). Want to quit smoking? Cut down now. Cold Turkey will be easier when you’ve already cut a pack-a-day habit down to 2 or 3 nicotine sticks.

2) Ask out that hottie from lab. What do you have to lose? The semester’s almost over anyway. And if he’s interested, you might have your New Year’s kiss all lined up.

3) Have a clothing-swap party. Clean out the stuff you bought in 2008 because you thought it would make a fashion statement. Encourage your friends to do the same, and then get together and see if anyone wants someone else’s duds. If your friends don’t want your fashion don’ts, donate them to the Salvation Army or another charity, and start off 2009 with some good Karma.

4) Buy some Obama memorabilia. Come on! Comemorate history in the making with an Obama t-shirt or button or novelty Barack condoms. You’ll be good to go for 2009′s much-anticipated inauguration.

5) Do something BIG. Has 2008 flown by too quickly? Don’t wait till New Years Eve when everyone’s going to be out and about. Grab tickets to a concert, a sporting event, a theater performance, or a comedy show. Get out of the house (and out of your normal weekend routine), and buy a ticket for something that you can file into your scrapbook under “2008.” If you can afford it, take a weekend getaway. If you can’t, try to find one of your city’s secret gems, like a free museum visit or a student discount pass to a local attraction.

6) Make contact. If you’ve lost touch with someone or had a falling out, this is the perfect season to reconnect and make amends. Reflect back on 2008. Should you apologize to your ex-best friend for having a blow out that really wasn’t that significant? Have you grown apart from your Spring ’08 lab partner? Did someone make a difference in your life last year, and you never got to properly thank them? Why wait till “next year”? Do it now.

7. Have a “Best Of” party. Tell your friends to dress in their favorite ’08 trends (even if they went out a couple of months ago), bring over their iPods and blast the best jams of the passing year, or have a 2008 movie marathon. Have everyone write down some 2008 memories, and throw them into a hat; then, read everyone’s contributions out loud. Nothing ends a good year with some damn good reminiscing.

8. Do something small. But still meaningful. Check out this blogger’s “45 Things to Do Before 2009″ List and see if you get inspired. Rent some of Hollywood.com’s “Must See” suggestions. Or, see what other peoples’ goals are, and see if you can relate.

The clock is ticking, friends, and you can’t make up for lost time. What do you hope to accomplish before we begin a new year?