Recycle, Reduce, Renew: your kids’ clothes!

Few things are more irresistible to new parents, and well, this Nana, than the cute mini-Levi jeans, sundresses with bows, Robbie shoes, designer label clothes and adorable onesies for baby and toddler.  For one thing you can play dress-up in whatever uber cute outfit you desire–until the toddler starts expressing his or her sense of self by preferring one thing over another (over and over, day after day … sigh, am I right?).  The downside is, babies especially, wear these stylin’ clothes approximately two or three times before he or she outgrows it.  And the cost of the one-off, one day micro tuxedo or photo-op dress?:  might be better spent on groceries.

No one likes to overpay no matter how much money one has in the bank–everyone loves a bargain!  What’s more, people are recognizing that recycling and upcycling is the way to go, a trend that’s gaining traction as concerns about sustainability extend beyond energy and buying local into a greater social awareness.  Time for some respect for Mother Earth! In the past, hand me downs from family and friends were commonplace and a welcome help to stretch the clothing dollar.  Mommies now are getting more creative by looking to online and consignment stores for pre-owned, quality children’s clothes and accessories.  Baby and special occasion outfits often are a fraction of the price of new for style & fashion conscious mommies on a budget.

Some things to look for when purchasing pre-owned used children’s clothing:

• Inspect used clothing for loose buttons or snaps, unraveling threads, scratchy appliqués, and elastic
• Don’t buy anything that looks like it may be unsafe to you, particularly things like drawstrings on infant clothes
• Look for clothes that are machine washable; if it needs hand washing, dry cleaning, ironing (except the special occasion wear), you’re making work for yourself.  Seriously, ironing baby clothes!?