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| I drop stuff off at this bin all the time! |
I love hand-me-downs. There I said it. I'll admit, when I had my first son over 4 years ago, I couldn't help but buy stuff for him. We have friends who had boys and we were given a huge stash of lightly used clothing early on. While I was grateful for it, I still had a shower where I received a massive amount of adorable boys clothing in addition to stuff I bought myself. Monkey had SO many clothes, and grew so fast that some of the items were barely worn. When I say barely, I mean, I put it on to take a photo and that was it. Some items he grew out of before he had a chance to wear them.
It seemed only right when 28 months later I gave birth to another boy. I saved everything. Unless it was stained or too worn (which was not often the case unless it was a hand-me-down), I kept it. Of course, Monkey was born in July and Buddha in November so the seasons were a little bit off. But for the most part all the basics were perfectly good for the Bude. I was thankful that I had saved all of these clothes, because when I was 7 mos. pregnant the mortgage lender where I had worked for 4 years abruptly closed down. I was hugely pregnant and jobless. Of course, I had planned to take a maternity leave, but had also planned to return to work in a few months and our household relied heavily on my income. I'll save that whole saga for another post and leave it at that. But the heart of the matter is that I now needed these clothes, more than ever. Even though I bought the Bude a few new items (like, he had to have a new homecoming outfit) he really didn't need anything else. I even re-used Monkey's nursery stuff - furniture AND decor. Sure I felt a little bad that I couldn't/shouldn't go out and give him a whole new room that was just his own, but I knew it was sensible. He wasn't going to know or care that he inherited his brother's nursery. Plus, based on my experience with Monkey, I didn't think he'd be in a "baby" room for long.
Monkey matured very quickly. He was bright and articulate very young and never much cared for his crib. By the time he was 2 he was in a bed and we redecorated his room to a "big boy" room. Turns out things are a little different for Buddha, he is still our baby, loooves his crib likes its his whole universe even though he is a big boy for his age and is probably ready for a bed. We just bought him a mattress, and I've bought bedding, and some other decor items but we have yet to purchase the furniture but are getting close.
But I digress. (I have a habit of digressing). In addition to his brother's hand-me-downs, we also get clothes from a cousin of his who is a few years older. Some of the clothes fit Monkey, but most of the time when we get the clothes they are just a tad too small for him and just perfectly too big for Buddha. I love this. And I love giving away my boys clothes and I know that I have taken very good care of them. I have meticulous laundry habits, except for the fact I hate to iron and pretty much don't do it unless its absolutely necessary. I feel that we are being kind to our environment by not "wasting" perfectly good clothes, by not adding more to the landfills and helping to reduce gasses emitted from manufacturing new clothing items. Whenever I get a hand-me-down with a stain or a tear, or have an item to give away in that condition, I take it to a nearby clothing and shoe recycling bin. These things are amazing, as the fabric can be recycled which helps the planet, if it can't be used for others in the community. I try not to give to places that turn around and sell the clothes, I prefer churches and community organizations that give to the needy, if not someone I know personally.
I don't really use shoes that have been passed down to us, unless they are in "barely used" condition. Especially when the boys were younger, I had read that it was important for children to break in their own shoes so as not to influence how they walked. I think of all the children in our country and other countries who live without shoes, and always donate the shoes we receive or recycle them.
Do you give or accept gently used children's clothing? Do you exchange or share clothing through friends, community, clothing swap parties?
