Swapping outgrown toys and books

Some items have been sold at a greatly discounted price through a page that another friend created on one of the many social networking Internet sites. My son was relieved to part with his belongings he had no more use for and he was extremely happy to pocket the money he made on the sales. After selling some things, we decided to take some of the outgrown belongings, particularly books, and swap them for other items that would be more useful for us at the present time.

And so, my friend arrived with an ice chest with hard-to-find food items that she had picked up for me while she was out shopping and a hammock that she did not use, but that we can use in our little garden. In exchange, she received from me a large bag of books to read to her son, some imported cheese brought by a visiting friend and an inflatable child’s wading pool. Both satisfied with our exchanges and glad to both have a chance to relax for a short time, we sat and chatted for a while as we entertained her baby.

As we talked, we both bemoaned the lack of affordable clothing options for children, who all too quickly outgrow their clothes. Unable to find more than a handful of resale stores, most with vintage clothing for adults, we found the easiest way to obtain clothing for children was to network with other parents we were close friends with. As our children outgrew their outfits, we saved up the ones in good condition and offered a pile of slightly used clothes to parents we knew with younger or smaller children. Likewise, many of our friends with older children often recycled larger-sized clothing to those of us with younger offspring.

Both of us are from North America, me from the United States and this particular friend from Canada. In both countries, it is not uncommon for a family to buy clothing from a used clothes store or to accept hand-me-downs from other family members, friends or neighbors. In today’s tough economic climate, trading or reselling clothes or household items no longer needed, or even giving them away free, makes good financial sense. Buying second-hand items that are in good condition instead of purchasing new can bring substantial savings. However, we both found that when we spoke to other families outside our very close circle of friends about the possibility of expanding the slowly growing group that traded or sold slightly used clothing and toys for children, we discovered that there were some cultural differences we had not taken into consideration.

A few people immediately vetoed the idea, acting as if they felt that we might be insinuating that we did not think they were financially able to support their own family and were in need of charity. Some almost shuddered physically at the thought of their child wearing clothing or playing with toys that someone else had used.

Even when it was emphasized that all items had to be in good shape and clean, they did not jump at the idea. Instead, they preferred to only accept hand-me-downs from members of their own families, feeling more comfortable with actually knowing the people who had previously worn or used the items. Any articles they had that no longer fit or were no longer used were recycled back into the family or to household helpers. With these friends, we both simply dropped the idea and did not pursue it so as to not cause unease or misunderstandings to arise.

Unfortunately, it had not occurred to me that some people would find it offensive to be offered items that were not new. This was an important lesson learned. However, other friends enthusiastically embraced the plan and began making lists of items they could clean out of their homes and things that they would like to get by swapping or buying second hand.

While not everyone is comfortable in exchanging items previously worn or used, or even swapping as my friend and I did, it is a great way to save money and get rid of things that are simply sitting around collecting dust at home. At our home, my son is thrilled that his savings have grown a little and we are both looking forward to taking turns lounging in the hammock that will soon be installed on our patio. For both me and my friend, it was an excellent day of visiting and swapping.

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