When I was pregnant with my first child, many friends and family members offered hand-me-down stuff from their kid’s closet that they had not used much and outgrew it. You may have seen such mothers too who are willing to share their kid’s belongings with the new couple entering the era of parenthood.
Accepting baby clothes is a big relief to your budget as you are not going to use them for long. However, there are some etiquettes associated with accepting the hand-me-downs. In this article, we are exploring the etiquette you should observe when getting usable items from someone’s kid’s belongings. Let’s dive in to learn more.
Things Moms Should Do When Accepting Hand-Me-Downs
If someone is giving you items outgrown by their children, it does not mean that you need to be a hoarder and get everything they are giving away. Here are the tips that will help you to navigate the best way of getting some good kid stuff that you can use for a long.
- Accept Thing That You Are Going to Use
In the baby shower or post-delivery gifts, you find many items for a newborn baby. Thus, it means even if you are not buying anything, you still have a lot of stuff for your newborn. To be honest, your baby will grow quickly, so you don’t need lots of baby clothes, unlike the teen clothes that children wear for more than a year.
Therefore, before making a deal with the mom who is offering her kid’s clothes, analyze what you have and what you need. Reuse the items from your older child and don’t accept the things about whom you are unsure that your baby is going to use. Maybe they know someone else who needs and is going to use the items that they are giving up.
- Don’t be Grabby
Bringing up children is always an emotional journey for the parents and they want to save as many memories as possible. For an outsider, the baby clothes stored in a separate bin can be just normal pieces of clothes but for the parents, these are the memories from their kid’s childhood that they want to cherish for their whole life.
Therefore, it is a big no to ask for the hand-me-downs from a woman who has never initiated the offering as she may hesitate to say no but deep inside, she is not willing to share as she has attributed her sentiments and feelings to each of that item. Wait for an offer even if it’s about your sister rather than putting her in an awkward position.
- Appreciate Their Kind Gestures
When someone is handing you something from their kid’s closet, they are letting you have a piece from their childhood memories. The least you can do in turn of their kind gesture is to appreciate them regardless of the volume of the items you have taken as their contribution is worthy of admiration.
Whether it is outerwear , a big bag of clothes or shoes for your toddler, it won’t hurt to send a small gift because still you are saving lots of money on buying expensive clothes for your children. Appreciation can be in any form like a thank you note, a bottle of champagne, or a gift card for their nearby local marts like Target or their favorite restaurant.
- Continue the Sharing Cycle
If someone is sharing their kid’s clothes, it means that they want to circulate the items instead of letting them rot in the closet for years and throwing them away when the situation gets worse. If you have received something and after a few months, it is no longer needed, you must further pass it down.
Moreover, you can also ask the giver if they need something back when you have done with its use. Items like strollers, swings, or cribs can be reused longer than others like clothes or toys. So, they can be passed on to various families.
- Be Committed to Your Demands
We have seen many people appreciate the items that we have for our baby and ask for them after we have done using them. However, when the time arrives and you are ready to give them away, they never show up and such things sit in a corner of your home.
However, if you are asking for something, stay committed to your demand or let them know beforehand so the owner won’t end up refusing the other request and it goes wasted.
Final Words
Hand-me-downs help you save money on children’s clothes or other items that are not used for long. However, if you are accepting something from your relatives or friends, only take the items that you are going to use and appreciate people for giving away their memorable items. However, don’t forget to continue the cycle of sharing by giving away toddler boy clothes to someone expecting a boy.
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