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Kids grow out of clothes quickly. It might not seem quick at the time, but one day you wake up and realise that your cute little kids are now tall and almost teenagers. If you are a parent, a grandparent or even a devoted aunt or uncle, you know what I’m talking about.
A dilemma is what to do with my kids clothes as they grow out of them?
A few weeks ago my friend Melissa came over to drop off several bags of clothing for the Zonta Preloved Fashion Sale. And as I often do when guests are over, I went through my box of things to donate to see if there was anything she wanted. As it turned out, I had a lot of boys clothes that are just right for her eldest son.
Melissa is one of the first friends I made when I first moved to Canberra in 2000, and I’m so thrilled we are still in contact. She grew up in a small (ish) country town (Benalla), and she grew up with strong country values. Read: she’s also a frugalista in her own way. Over the years, we’ve had many conversations of the value of community and giving things to other people. We both find it difficult to believe that some people (especially those with kids) want everything ‘new’. Why buy new when other people are giving away the clothes that no longer fit their kids?
Thankfully for me, Melissa’s boys are younger than mine and while she gets a lot of kids stuff from her sister, she still doesn’t mind a few extra stuff. She left with a pile of around 15 items including T-shirts, pants and even socks for her son. To my mind, having a cup of tea with a good friend and getting clothes is much more fun than shopping!
Joyful Giving
Around 15 items of children’s clothing.