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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Motherhood: Moms Can Be Frugal Creatures
We moms and moms-to-be are resourceful creatures.
Hubby and I are expecting baby No. 3 this summer. Having rid our home of essentials such as baby bottles, infant clothes and more, I am finding we are less than prepared for the arrival of this Bundle of Joy.
God bless friends and family who have offered hand-me-downs. Granted, it’s a golden opportunity to unload their garage full of no-longer-needed items, but I’m OK with that.
Not only did my closet quickly fill up with maternity clothes, but upon the “it’s a girl” announcement, Baby’s closet began to acquire lots of pink, frilly items of which many are like-new.
In fact, Baby Girl now officially has more shoes than I do.
I am no stranger to the game, nor are my boys. My girlfriends who have sons younger than Nicholas — soon to turn 4 — will likely never have to buy clothes for their kids again.
“These are for Carter,” Nick will tell me when his pants are too tight.
In anticipation of a batch of hand-me-downs from Aunt Patti, I plow through dressers and closets frequently unloading too-small clothes on appreciative mothers.
Noah thinks it’s fantastic when Aunt Patti sends home a bag full of clothes that no longer fit the rapidly growing Cousin Erik. Since Erik once wore it, it must be a “cool” shirt.
When the clothes migrate into Nick’s dresser, he loves it because it was Noah’s. (Hmm … I wonder how long this will last?) For now, this works well for Daddy and I, who aren’t being coerced into buying preschooler-Polo.
Considering how fast children grow, most of the items are in great condition — other than boys shoes, which suffer some serious abuse.
Of course, when others’ closets are filled to capacity, there are places such as the Pregnancy Resource Center, the Mercy Parent Infant Center and Hannah’s Treasure Chest that distribute children’s items to families in need.
There is always a need and always a use for children’s items — clothes, toys, books, gear, food, formula, diapers, bottles and more.
Garage sales aren’t a bad place to load up on kid-gear, either. Not to mention, garage sales are a great place to teach little ones the value of their piggy-bank change.
Of course, “new” stuff is fun, too, even for parents (more fun if it’s on clearance).
But, if children express as much joy and contentment with gently used items, why rain on their parade?
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0356 or dmjordan@coxohio.com.
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