How to Keep Clothes Hand-Me-Down Ready

I know the hand-me-down game very well – I have 3 girls!

One of the perks of having girl twins with an older sister, is that so much of my oldests ‘stuff’ is passed down to them. One of my biggest tips in saving money when raising kids is to choose second hand or hand me downs rather than buying new {and if you can’t – always buy new when on sale of course – why buy at full price?}. 

I actually very rarely buy new clothing for my girls, instead I buy second-hand or swap with other parents. Once I had someone scoff at me once over a shirt my daughter was wearing at the time, it was a well-known *very* high priced brand. Little did she know, this shirt was passed down from my oldest, after being purchased for less than $5 at a consignment store. So, it was at least a thrice worn piece of clothing and while I’m sure the original person did pay a hefty price tag for it – I sure didn’t.

The key to hand-me-down success though, is to make sure items are maintained and taken care of. You want to pass on clothes that are in good shape! 

How to Keep Clothes hand-me-down Ready

 
Here are some hand-me-down tips:

1. 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!

2. 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: OxiCleanTM Foam Pre-treat rids your children’s clothes of tough dried on stains – even grease!

3. 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 OxiCleanTM HDTM Laundry Detergent (available in liquid and paks). It will ensure your whites stay radiant and your colours vibrant.

 

Do you have any great tips for re-using old clothes and saving money?

 

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post, all opinions are my own.

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12 Comments

  1. My daughter rarely by new clothes and if she does it’s on sale, she goes to a consignment store and find beautiful clothes for my two granddaughters. Her mother in law loves garage sale shopping and find them lots of clothes that way too.

  2. We love second hand clothes and hand-me-downs in our family.

    FYI: If you have clothes that CAN’T be handed down because of rips or the thinning of material see if your local second hand store will accept them for RECYCLING!!!

  3. I have always believed in hand me downs and my youngest got all my oldest daughters clothing, plus I love shopping at the thrift stores and Goodwill, you can find some awesome brand name clothing for less then 10.00 oh ya!!

  4. I bought a lot of my kids clothes at garage sales and then when any clothes are outgrown but still in great shape I wash them and send them to another relative, garage sale or goodwill store.

  5. 90% Of our kids clothes are hand me downs so I know to take care when washing!! We just love Oxi here 🙂

  6. I had 4 girls and 3 boys, so of course everything was passed down the line. I had cartons labelled with the sizes so each year we’d go through the cartons and see what was usable and what not. Seldom could anything be passed on outside the family. Now one of my sons and one daughter pass on their used kid’s clothing to each other. Luckily though they each have two children each born in the same year as one of their cousins, one had a boy first and the other a girl so it works out well.

  7. All great tips. Another one I like it to take pants that your kids have grown out of and turn them into shorts. Easy to cut them off & hem them.

  8. This applies for adult clothing too! Once you find some good second hand stores, you’ll never be able to shop retail again!

  9. I just attended a clothing swap, and I got my daughters 3 pairs of pants and an almost new coat. I was so excited about them.

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