The Pros and Cons of Hand-Me-Down Clothing

I always seem to be wearing hand-me-downs; with two older sisters and countless generous neighbors, hand-me-downs account for much of my clothing. As a new mom, I have found that most of my little girl's clothing has been worn previously by her older cousins. From these experiences, I make my list.

Pros of Hand-me-downs:

1. You receive a variety of clothing. I remember my neighbor dropping off bags full of clothing! It was a blast sorting through the clothes and picking which ones we would wear to school the next day.
2. The clothes get better wear. Babies can go through so many outfits in a day! However, they grow out of the clothing so fast that people discard many articles of clothing without much wear. With hand-me-downs, the outfits get the wear they deserve.
3. You don't need to worry about dragging your kids around shopping. Shopping for clothes is hard enough. Adding kids to the mix doesn't make the experience any easier. Hand-me-downs doesn't eliminate this problem, but it sure does help.  
4. You are teaching your children about frugality. We live in an extremely wasteful society. Kids need to understand the importance of using hand-me-downs. No one should ever feel ashamed for admitting their clothes were from the older sibling.
5. You can build new friendships. I have had moms that I barely knew give me clothes that their kids have grown out of. Immediately, I felt like they cared about our family! In turn, this quickly led to long friendships.
6. Hand-me-downs bless more than just your friends. Especially during the winter, there are hundreds of places to donate old coats, shoes, and clothes for kids that have nothing. Being willing to part with old clothes can be a miracle for someone in need. 
7. You don't have to feel as bad when your kids hate an item of clothing. It is frustrating going to the store, spending a ton of money, and having your child hate a new pair of pants or a shirt you bought for them! It isn't near as frustrating when the article clothing was free. 
8. Save tons of money! I was so grateful to have only spent a total of $5 on clothing for my little girl. The rest of her clothes were hand-me-downs or gifted! Have you seen how much money little girl's clothes cost? I saved so much money!

To help you understand how much you can save I averaged out the first 20 result for different articles of clothing on an Amazon search (sponsored items not included). This will give you a rough estimate of how much you can spend on a child's wardrobe for a week's worth of clothing. Shipping isn't included.  Note: Don't worry if there was more than one article of clothing in the package, I calculated the cost/ item 

How much are you saving by using hand-me-down clothing?

*The older your child gets the more costs will vary. I chose the younger ages to help give you an idea of how much you save. 

Cons of Hand-me-downs:

1. It can make a child feel bad. I remember feeling a little bad that I didn't get as many new clothes as my older sisters due to the number of hand-me-downs that filled my closet. I loved the old clothes, but at times I wanted new ones. FYI: This situation wasn't psychologically bad for me! :) Note: This doesn't mean you should feel guilty about giving younger children fewer clothes due to hand-me-downs. Just make sure you communicate the reasoning why. Examples: Living frugally or not being wasteful.
2. You may have to store your hand-me-downs. I received many hand-me-downs that were too big for my little girl. These clothes will be in storage for months if not years. 
3. They could be hand-me-downs for a reason. When you receive a bag full of outlandish prints, cringe-worthy textures, and countless stains, you know you have received some "great" hand-me-downs!
4. They may not end up fitting. It can be frustrating to save clothes from one child to another. It is also frustrating to realize that the different body structures of your children make it so the hand-me-downs won't fit. 
5. These clothes may not be your style. I am so grateful that my older sister was super stylish. Haha, because I never could match clothes! Had our birth order been switched, my poor sister would have been wearing a collared shirt, sports shorts, and calf-high socks in Jr. High.

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey."                                         - Pros and Cons TeamWritten by: Kristen