Hand-Me-Down Children's Clothing

Hand-me-downs have long been the bane of younger sisters and brothers. Parents, however, have held a much higher opinion of hand-me-down clothing. It has, for some, meant the difference between eating and eating well. There is no denying that handing down clothing for re-use by others is an extremely wise and frugal way to get more mileage from clothing.

Hand-me-down clothing has been a great blessing to many generations of us. In times of old, people only owned a few sets of clothing. Often each one was designated for a specific purpose—weekly work or Sunday “go to meeting” outfits. Even with so few articles of clothing, people took care of what they owned, washing and mending carefully with long term wear expected. They also took care of their clothing so each item could eventually become a hand-me-down. Today, our closets are often bulging with clothing that would be perfectly wearable by someone else.

Whether you are a brand new parent or a seasoned one, learning a few ways of planning for hand-me-downs can maximize the benefits of this excellent resource for clothing.

Planning Ahead

Perhaps the very first thing one must do to develop a “hand-me-down attitude” is to consider this eventuality when purchasing clothing. Purchasing “cheap” clothing in the name of frugality is not always the better choice over purchasing quality clothing with long term, future use in mind. Cheap clothing has its place. Purchasing an expensive, high quality t-shirt for a young boy may satisfy the current fashion trend, but at the end of the summer it will be just as stained and hole-y as the low price, discount store brand. For most young boys, the destination of their t-shirts is often Mama’s rag pile rather than a hand-me-down! Some of the members of the mission teams at our church purchase second-hand or good thrift store clothing to bring on their foreign mission trips and leave the clothing with the residents of the village where they minister. It is a blessing to the villagers and leaves room for souvenirs and other purchases on the return trip.