Clothes Exchange
Filed Under Mom Talk |
How much money do you think you spend on children’s clothes every year? Probably a lot more than you spend on your own wardrobe. Kids’ clothes seem to be increasingly expensive, but the need for new ones never seems to end.
With three boys, I always have people telling me I’m lucky because I only have to buy one set for the oldest and then hand them down to his younger brothers. If only! If I can get through a month without a rip or a tear or a permanent stain, I’m lucky!
We do recycle a lot of clothes in our house though. It not only saves a ton of money and time shopping, but it also saves the environment because any reduction in consumption is a good thing. As kids get older, they grow more slowly, so they can stay in the same shirt (provided they don’t trash it) for a full year. If you buy big and roll up the sleeves you can save yourself a lot.
Baby clothes are a different story. Kids grow so fast that you constantly feel like your baby has nothing that fits him or her. A lot of our clients set up clothes exchanges with friends. Here’s how it works. Box up your baby clothes in batches from 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, and 12-18 month containers for each gender. Label each item with your initials. Send out an e-mail to friends you know who are expecting, have babies, or who have friends with babies, and then arrange a pick-up time for the box. Soon, you will have much more room in your closets and someone will be returning the favor, giving you stuff their child has grown out of.
If you want the items back to use for a second baby or for your sister who hasn’t had kids yet, make sure you let people know. In our experience people treat these clothes with respect and take good care of them. Expect a few to get stained or torn, but your generosity will come back to you in the savings of hundreds of dollars as full boxes of clothes for your own baby arrive on your doorstep. You are also saving the environment, and thus your child’s planet, by reducing your consumption and the consumption of others.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
