My favorite piece of the kids’ furniture, is a beautiful little rocking chair I found on Kijiji. Made out of wood, it’s heavy and chunky, with little dents on the arm rests and naturally beautiful tear and wear. You can tell it’s a chair that’s been lived on, and I like that about it. The seller’s children had outgrown it, and I was so happy to find it and give it a new home. A beautiful little rocking chair, and I only paid $10 for it.
If you’re a Canadian (mama), I don’t have to explain what Kijiji is, because chances are, you’ve used it before… many times. If you’re a mama, I also don’t have to explain how quickly babies outgrow everything, especially in the first two years of their lives. As a parent of two young children, my oldest just a little over two years old, I love buy and sell sites and children’s consignment stores.
It has saved us a TON of money.
I remember being pregnant for the first time and looking at baby items. Wow. You hear that babies are expensive all the time, but, wow! We’re an average middle class family, but I think regardless of where you sit on the income scale, when you start to shop for baby stuff, you just feel poor. Or at least I did. The list of necessary items easily adds up to thousands of dollars, and as a first time mom-to-be at the time, I wanted the latest and greatest, because for a second there, I had a little bit of “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses” (Fun fact: My neighbors are actually the Joneses #truestory).
My children don’t care about the latest trends, and honestly… neither do I.
90% of the time, my children are wearing second hand clothing or hand me downs from friends and family. They wouldn’t know it, you wouldn’t know it, and they always look pretty freaking adorable. My 2 year old and 8 month old don’t care if they are wearing the latest in kid’s fashion, and how much I pay for my children’s clothes doesn’t mean they aren’t wearing good quality items. Especially when it comes to baby clothes. There are times I have gone to consignment stores to find children’s clothes with a tag still on them! Another one is strollers. We found both a single and double stroller second hand, both in great shape and for a great price. If I was a jogger, and needed a stroller that was specifically meant for running, I would absolutely spend the money, but… I’m not jogger, ha! You get the point though. As long as it gets my kids from point A to B, is compatible with our infant bucket seat, and in fairly good shape, it was all the things I needed. We were able to find that and more.
Toys may not be new to you, but they are “new” to your children.
Baby toys are very age specific, hence don’t have a very long life. Chances that you’ll find a baby toy that is almost brand new, or in excellent shape, is high. Give it a good clean when you bring it home, and the kids will be so happy with their “new” to them toy!
The 3 R’s
In buying second hand, I’m reusing baby items and extending their life, which in it’s little way, positively impacts the environment. I like the idea of repurposing baby items as well, an idea of what you can do with old baby gates here.
A little extra cash is always nice.
The day will come when your baby outgrows his baby items, and you will be the one getting ready to donate or sell these items. Since you didn’t spend much money on these items to begin with, you could equal your investment, or even make a little profit. If you think this sounds selfish, then you’re morally superior than I am, haha. Jokes aside, it’s part of the second hand economy which is a win for both buyer and seller. Plus, I prefer to buy from another fellow mama, and give her a little extra cash to do whatever she wants with it, like a pedicure, which all of us mamas deserve!
My children have everything they could need, and more. Buying second hand gives me the ability to provide them that, and allows me to spend money on other things like activities, outings, travel for them.
Kijiji is one of my favorites resources to find second hand baby items. It’s easy to post and search for baby (and non baby) items in your area, and I have found a lot of little gems through it. Facebook is another great resource, with a lot of buy and sell groups you can join based on the area you live in. Once Upon a Child is another favorite. I have bought some the cutest baby clothes there, always in excellent shape, and for a great price.
At the moment, my youngest is outgrowing a lot of the baby items his sister used before him, so we’re slowly getting ready to part ways with a lot of items. It’s a bittersweet thing. Every swaddle blanket they broke out of, the bouncer they needed in order to nap for longer than an hour, the stroller they visited the zoo in for the first time; they all become items that carry memories with them. On the other hand, the day we say goodbye to these bulky items, with color palettes that stand out like an eye sore, and play the same 3 songs over and over again, it’s a happy day, ha. These items are also finding new homes and helping out other young families, the same way it helped us, and that makes me happy.
