While there are a million reasons why having three kids of the same gender rocks, one of the top 10 (on my list) is hand-me-downs! Passing down clothes is a great way to keep your “cost per wear” low. Particularly when you consider that for the first year of a baby’s life, they often only wear clothes a handful of times as they’re usually only designed for a three-month period. With hand-me-downs, when a new season rolls around and the kids start to outgrow their clothes, I don’t need to RUSH to the store as I have bins full of clothes ready. We are also very fortunate to receive hand-me-downs for my oldest son Kyle from family, friends and neighbors. There are only a handful of clothes that I have personally purchased for my kids.
Since we are done having kids and my youngest son, Nate, is already 18 months, we are now at the stage where we are passing on our clothes to others. Of course, not all hand-me-downs are created equal. Some of the styles and fashion might be outdated, but more importantly, older clothes can be full of stains, holes or just past their prime. When passing the clothes on, it’s important to take the time to ensure that they are in great condition, otherwise, you can just donate them or reuse them as a cloth or painting smock.
Church & Dwight has put together a list of simple and affordable ways to keep your kid’s clothes in great condition and hand-me-down ready:
- Host a clothing swap. Gather all your friends and have a clothes swap. Everybody can bring their kid’s old clothes that they have either outgrown or are simply tired of. It gives you and your friends the chance to catch-up and socialize while refreshing your kids wardrobe and saving money. Bonus: gather your friends who wear the same size as you do for a clothes swap of your own (I did this 5 years ago and it was a blast. You can read more about it HERE).
- Keep it in the family. At the end of every season, have your children pack away any clothes that are getting too small for them. Label the box with the date and season so in a few years, when your next child is ready for a new outfit, you know exactly where to find them. Make sure to wash everything before you store it away, so that it is clean and fresh when you pull it out of storage. Pro Tip: OxiClean Foam Pre-treat rids your children’s clothes of tough dried on stains – even grease!
- Embrace the bold colours. Fun, bright and colourful spring clothes can lose their vibrancy quickly during the year – making it hard to pass them on. The right laundry detergent can go a long way in caring for clothes. Pro Tip: Upgrade from ordinary detergents and give your kids clothes a high definition clean with OxiClean HD Laundry Detergent(available in liquid and packs). It will ensure your whites stay radiant and your colours vibrant.
Funny enough, I was at a parenting workshop this past weekend where we discussed the challenges of each child based on their birth-order and one of the “negatives” that came up from the middle and youngest children was “hand-me-downs”. So I might have to change it up a bit and still buy a couple of pieces each season so my youngest two boys don’t feel completely “neglected.” Currently, I’m playing up the fact that it’s awesome that they get to wear clothes that was previously worn by their older sibling. It’s like wearing a famous person’s clothes. I think, right?!?!?
Do you have any great tips for re-using old clothes and saving money?
Ira says
I always thought that I’d prefer to have kids of the same gender, doesn’t matter which one, but life had different plans. I still get to reuse a lot for my youngest, especially winter clothes, I just have to correct people a LOT 🙂