Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap

There's no way around it, kids grow like weeds. One day you're cuffing their pants because they drag on the ground and the next they are 2 inches too short. Sometimes clothes have barely been worn before it's time to get rid of them because they simply don't fit any more. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way you could somehow put those clothes to good use? Well, it turns out that a group of people had the same thought and created the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap.

[caption id="attachment_775" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Founded by Annastasia McPherson and joined by Sarah Cardio.
Current coordinators are Kristina Trujillo, Kristy Wells, Elaine Wang, and Courtney Walinski.[/caption]

 

What exactly is the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap? In a nutshell it's an event that happens every 3 months where you can bring the clothes that your kids no longer have use for and swap with others who have done the same. Great idea right? Top it off with some super organized individuals who run the group and you have yourself a really great program.

It all started in April of 2009 when a military spouse who was stationed here in Okinawa put together the swap. At the time the group consisted of only about 12 people who met to swap clothes on Camp Foster. This, however, quickly grew to the large event that it is today and consequentially needed to move to a larger venue to accommodate all of the interest.

"How do I get started?" 

Before you run into your closet and pull out everything that you would like to bring to the next clothing swap there are some things that you'll need to know. First of all you're going to have to go over to the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap Yahoo Group and register as a member which you can do by clicking here. This page has boatloads of information for you to read and to get you on the right track to participating in the next swap. You can also check out the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap Facebook Fan Page  where you can not only get links to important information but communicate with others who are participating in the swap. I myself have check out the Facebook page and WOW! The great people over at Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap also would like to stress that if you have any questions ASK AWAY! They do a great job of giving you all the information you need.

Once you are registered it's time to get all of your clothes prepared for the event. I spoke with the coordinators over at the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap who explained that this is the most important thing for participants to do before bring clothes to the swap. Premie/newborn through children's large clothing is accepted (sorry they do not accept juniors). You're going to have to sort and label clothing by gender, size and include your last name on each bag. You must double-check for stains, holes, excessive wear, and make sure that all buttons and/or zippers work. It is also asked that you do your best to bring only clothes which are in "like new" or "gently used" condition. Not only will this ensure that the standard of the swapped clothes is high but it also assists the volunteers from having to do unnecessary work.  Once this is done clothes are then dropped off at Kadena Elementary school, in the cafeteria, Friday before the swap (5-6PM) and Saturday morning before the swap (8-11AM). It is kindly requested that those with more than 50 items drop off clothes before 10AM and that those who participate bring no more than 100 items total.

"What can I expect at one of these swaps?"

[caption id="attachment_776" align="alignright" width="300"] This is no little swap. There are LOTS of clothes to pick from![/caption]

After you have dropped off your clothes you are free to leave and return at 12:30 to sign in and receive a credit total for the items you have brought to be swapped. This is done all by volunteers who sort and count your clothes as well as double-check to ensure that clothes meet their "gently used" standards. They will then fill out a form with your name and the total count of items accepted. If your item is not accepted because it does not meet the "gently used" standards you can choose to receive your item back or have it put into a "free" pile. For those of you who are first time swappers and might wonder why what you brought was not accepted the great people of Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap have thought of that. They will give you your items back and show you why they were not accepted.

The swap itself starts at 1pm at which time some announcements are made and then swappers can check out what items are available. Clothing is separated on tables by gender and size which makes things very easy for swappers. The event itself is quite fast paced and by 2:30PM most of the swappers have already checked out. 90 MINUTES! That pretty much means that there is no leisurely browsing once the event gets started so you should probably know exactly what you are looking for!

You can use all your credits at one time or you have the option of having unused credits carry over for 2 future swaps after which they will expire. Once you choose your items you can then go a check out where volunteers will count the items and record the number of items taken. Then that's it! You can go on your merry way and continue on with your day.

Volunteers are always needed!

These types of events and organizations are great but it's no secret that they don't run themselves. The Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap is 100% volunteer run and organized. This is part of the reason that the event is free to those who want to participate. They also welcome any donations of resources to help keep the event going strong! One of the ways that can help is to volunteer some of your time. Here's that the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap told us about what it's like to volunteer for a swap:

We will have 3 shifts this swap. Friday late afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. Friday will be a 2 hour shift for unloading of the stored swap clothes and setup. Saturday morning will be a 4 hour shift from 0800-1200 for clothing checkin, reviewing, and placing on tables. Saturday afternoon will be a 4 hour shift from 1200-1600, and will run the check out tables and assist in filtering out expired clothing, counting items for record keeping, and packing left over clothes back up into our space bag totes.

And just because you're volunteering doesn't mean that there aren't perks:

All swap-participating volunteers receive 10 PREPICKS! This means that if you volunteer, you must be present at 1215 at the swap location to go pick out 10 items to take home before the swap opens. You get FIRST PICKS of all the new swap items, 10 of them, (as long as you have 10 credits to use). This is our way of saying THANK YOU for volunteering and helping to keep our swap running free and smoothly as a service to all military families on Okinawa. We will provide a letter of appreciation and a certificate if needed for your volunteer service hours.

If you are interested in volunteering you can contact the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap through Facebook.

My thoughts: 

At first glance I loved the idea of the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap but it honestly wasn't until I took some time to read more into it and talk with the folks over there that it really started to shine. Looking at some of the online resources and seeing the amount of effort and work that has gone into that alone was great but then to hear how much the volunteers put into this and how many people participate really sold me on how great this is which is why I wanted to highlight Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap for those of you who might be reading this blog.

I would also like to add a special thanks to the people over at the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap who assisted me by answering my questions. You guys are doing a great thing over there so keep up the great work!

Unfortunately I was unable to post this before the last event which happened this month (November 2012), however that give those of you who are interested in participating in the next swap plenty of time to get prepared and read all of the necessary information.

 

Fashion On A Budget

I was recently sent a message by one of my Facebook Followers asking about getting some fashionable clothing on a budget. This is a great question and one that I am often asked.

The great thing about Okinawa is that it is a small island and therefore you can go to pretty much any shop on the island without having to make a huge trip out of it. The bad thing is that there is a chance (especially for those in the military or dod community) that someone else will have the same thing that you are wearing. This can be avoided with a little bit of creativity but we'll get to that later.

So let's get to the answer. There are a lot of places on the island where you can get clothes which are affordable two of the places which I prefer are San A and AEON. These two places have a lot of affordable options and they usually have a great deal of sales. Another place that I find some great options is UNICLO. They have a lot of good options as well including jackets in the winter time. Of course there are options which are more affordable than others in these places but with a little bit of time and a little bit of luck you can find what you are looking for.

Another place that I find a lot of fun clothing options at is called VILLAGE HOUSE which is in the American Village area. They have various types of clothing there for every different style. Another great thing about this place is that they have various sizes, styles and sales which fit every budget. This is also the place you can go to get some fantastic accessories at an affordable price.

Like I say for many things Okinawa is small, but with a little bit of time and effort you can get what you are looking for.

Katventure: Tokyo Prep

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This morning I had found myself doing something that I usually do a few weeks before I go on vacation. . . . packing my bag with all of the things that I plan to bring with me on the trip. So I pulled down my suitcase and pulled out some of the things that I had been planning on bringing to Tokyo and began to put some of these things into my suitcase. Thank goodness that I did because I realized a few things but mostly that I am not as prepared for this trip as I thought I was.

So let me start from the beginning. Basically what I do in the event that I want to travel is that I take everything I plan on taking with me and put it in one place. Once that is done I find myself taking the clothing and other stuff, putting going through it (and testing it out in the suitcase) and seeing how much I can fit and if my outfits were not planned in the proper direction or not. This is basically what I did today.

As you might see in the photographs above some of the stuff that I have to be packed is not clothing related at all. In fact as I had mentioned my plan was to bring foods like snacks and other treats on the trip with me. This would allow me to ensure that I have some things to snack on and eat for breakfast when I get to tokyo rather than trying to find something at a local konbini or having to pay more buying from a kiosk. . . . at least right away. I have these snack bars called "Lite Meal" and I also have some other instant oatmeal and drip coffee which will assist in the breakfast part of the day. FInally I also have some sports drinks packets which can be added to water bottles to ensure that we are getting the proper number of electrolytes when being out in the summer heat for most of the day. Of course this is not to prevent us from buying anything when in Tokyo but it will allow us to save a little bit of money and be able to use bubblers rather than having to buy bottles of sports drinks. There are various other products that I am bringing with me to include some different types of wipes for keeping clean and cool as well as a few other fun and interesting snacks like Salty Pocky. Not sure whether that will be a fan favorite when I get to give it to Mom (who will be meeting me in tokyo) or not but either way it is going to be fun. I also have a few fun treats for my mom which I am bringing with me. These items do take up a lot of space in my bag but I do plan on these spaces being cleared out for when I travel back which will allow for me to have more space for fun things I might purchase during my time in Tokyo.

I have also decided that I am going to travel with some of my electronic devices in my bag rather than on my person. Of course because airport security will require electronic devices to be taken out of the bags and put in different containers for screening it seems like there are some which are not necessary to take with me on the plane such as my camera. With me iPad and cell phone as well as my video camera there is really no reason to have the still shot with me. This will most likely be carried in my bag although I am still not sure what I am going to do quite yet and it all depends on space.

Finally we get to the clothing which is the most important part of the stuff I pack. Of course most of the stuff that I need to take needs to be ready for the warm weather but also needs to be what is considered appropriate for the different things that I will be doing during the time that I am in tokyo. I want to ensure that for the days when I go to certain places I look appropriate and on other days I can move comfortably and have a good time. A good way that I do this is to supplement some outfits with the use of scarves. I have three scarves that I will be bringing with me to tokyo all of which are basic and can go with any of the color combinations that I am taking on the trip with me. I will also be bringing some cover ups for my arms. The reason for this is because seeing as how I have a tattoo that covers my arm I want to ensure that I am being appropriate for times when it is needed but also I need to ensure that I also am protecting my expensive asset from the very harsh sun. This is not difficult and will only require a bit of sunscreen at most times although on some days a long sleeve or three quarter length sleeve shirt will also do the trick.

What I seem to notice from going through my clothes, however, is that many of the things I am packing are in need of some bottoms. I have the tops ready to go but no pants. This is really not to much of a problem because I have the pants lying around I just need to get them and put them in the pile of stuff for tokyo but at the same time the fact that I haven't set them aside yet and thought I was almost ready to go is a bit concerning. I will also need to ensure that I am bringing some night time clothes which I have not set aside yet as well as some under garments which also have not been set aside.

Overall today's mock up was very successful because it allowed me to find out what I am going to need but it also allowed me to see how much space I have left in this little suitcase of mine which turns out to be about half of the suitcase left and that doesn't count my carry on bag so I seem to be in good shape. Hopefully it all turns out well and I can get everything I need to tokyo.

Thanks for following! More soon including tips on saving space.