Search Results for: blog how to store hand me downs

Changing from Summer to Winter Clothing

I woke up this morning somewhere around five am and nudged my sleeping husband. I can be mean like that. “Did you get the winter coat bins down from the attic?” I asked. With an audible groan he berated himself, “No, I forgot.” I tossed and turned a bit and then got up. I knew four things: 1. With 30-degree temperatures out, I could not send the kids to school without winter coats; 2. There was no way I was going to get back to sleep; 3. I might as well get up and put the time to good use … Continue reading →

Would You Get Secondhand Gifts?

Today we were at a large local thrift store. We love this store, and most of our clothes that aren’t hand-me-downs come from there. Yes, even my clothes once lived at this store, and I’m perfectly happy with that. We get other goodies from this store too. Kitchen items, sports items, and baskets for cookies are all there. Today I got some yarn for our Brownie group’s project, a parrot for my daughter’s Halloween costume, and shirts for my daughter. I also got Christmas gifts. This might seem tacky. Perhaps it is tacky. I am likely quite tacky without realizing … Continue reading →

Need to Furnish Your Home? Act Now

If you are looking to furnish your home any time soon, whether that means rooms of furniture or a few art and decor pieces, you may want to keep reading. That is because now is the time for great bargains from antiques to durable family-friendly pieces. Why is it the right time to furnish your home? There are a number of reasons. First, right now there are a lot of younger baby boomers going into retirement who are ready to downsize their living space. At the same time, older baby boomers are moving into retirement homes or with family. They … Continue reading →

No More Color-Coordinated Christmas Trees for Me

When my kids were little, my Christmas decorating was what I would call “eclectic.” This was mostly because a lot of what I had in the way of decorations were hand-me-downs. So I made due with what I had. One of my favorite things to decorate was the Christmas tree. There were the “special” ornaments that went up every year…baby’s first Christmas ornaments, our wedding ornament and then all the homemade ones from my children. At some point, my Christmas decorating began to change. Suddenly I wanted things to match. I wanted my tree to have the same colors as … Continue reading →

How Do You Feel About Hand-Me-Downs?

“Mommy, what is fungus?” Not exactly the type of question you want to hear from your second grader at the end of the first day of the new school year. Actually, it’s not the type of question I ever want to hear from my kid unless she is reading a Science book. Yet, it was exactly the question my daughter lobbed my way as we drove home last week. “It’s a kind of spore… like mold that grows on… well… it feeds on materials like…” I stopped myself. “It’s really gross, icky stuff that you don’t want to touch.” “Why … Continue reading →

Five Things to Do When Your Child is Diagnosed with Down Syndrome

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I recently read an essay by a woman who knew from the moment her newborn daughter was handed to her, that she had Down syndrome. She waited for someone else in the room to notice, and waited while the pediatrician looked her daughter over, and waited for the words to escape from the doctor’s mouth, knowing all the while, what wasn’t being said. She was scared and she wanted to reverse time to before her daughter was born. She wanted to run away with her toddler and husband and never look back. That is how it often feels at the … Continue reading →

Choosing a Store for Your Baby Registry

Before you pick what goes on your registry, you have to choose a store to host your registry. Sometimes picking a store seems harder than choosing the right stroller. Here are some things to remember when selecting the right store to build your registry. First of all, think about your shower’s guest list. Where do they live? Are they willing to travel? It is important to choose a store that your guests will easily be able to get to. A registry won’t do any good if the people who are shopping don’t even have access to it. You also want … Continue reading →

Avoid the Pitfalls of Preschool Hand-Me-Downs and Thrift Store Finds

I adore thrift stores. So much so that when I opt to spend less on impulse buys, I have to swear up and down that I will stay out of thrift stores. It’s so tempting. A few dollars, a few more essential items…. That said, most of our toys are second hand. They’re either from Freecycle, from neighbors, from relatives who are all grown up, or from garage sales or thrift stores. I know so many people who feel great guilt about the number of toys that their children have. I don’t. While my daughter gets some new toys at … Continue reading →

Hunters and Gatherers Be Wary – Some Reused Children’s Products Can Be Dangerous

We had a Storkcraft drop side crib. The cribs were also sold under the Fisher Price label, and they are now the focus of a massive recall across the US and Canada due to concerns about. Thankfully, with a preschooler our crib days are long behind us. However, I now have a lingering sense of guilt. Like many others, we sold our lovely crib through a consignment store, and the people who purchased it will now have to retrofit the crib to make it safe. This got me thinking, though. I am a dedicated reuse advocate. The hunting and gathering … Continue reading →

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Home Pregnancy Tests

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If you are trying to get pregnant, it’s time to get familiar with the home pregnancy test. There are so many choices to choose from. You now have the option of using a digital or a “line” test. Once you’ve got the stick in hand, how do you use it? You can either use mid-stream urine (pee on the stick) or dip it in a cup. Once you have results, how do you figure out what those are? What about false negatives, false positives, evaporation lines or errors? It’s enough to make a woman pull her hair out! Digital Tests: … Continue reading →