Post by OrangeBanana on Mar 31, 2015 15:51:54 GMT -5
I ran into a really awkward situation a few years ago when my SIL bagged a bunch of clothes up for my son off her tables at her garage sale and gave them to us. She was selling them for dirt cheap. I offered to pay her for them. She declined. I stupidly thought that meant they were ours to keep. Makes sense right? Well that wasn't the case apparently. A year later she sent me an email asking for them back so she could give them to her sister. Well, after I had gotten home and looked at them, half of it had gone to the trash or Goodwill. I wasn't interested in putting my DS in thread barren faded shirts and pants.
I had to send her back an email politely telling her that I would box up what I could find and to please not send anymore clothes home with us if they were intended to go back and that I was sorry for the misunderstanding. She had also recently given us a few coats and pairs of boots that were still to big for DS and I had to ask her if she wanted those back eventually too. One of those coats was a nice Carhart coat. Apparently she wanted that one back because it help sentimental value to her (WTF). I had no idea that was the deal and didn't want the hassle of trying to keep a sentimental coat in good shape while my son played in mud. It all went back.
Moral of the story....don't take clothes from anyone without 100% clarification.
Post by emoflamingo on Mar 31, 2015 16:15:51 GMT -5
I had a friend "give me" (her words) 2 big ass boxes of clothes from her daughter and I started to look in one of the boxes when I realized that the sizes/seasons would be off on most of it, so to be nice (because no one has given me clothes before), I asked her what she wanted me to do with the stuff as it was outgrown. She said she would take them back because "hopefully she could use them again." I have both boxes, left untouched, in my basement, to return to her the next time I see her because I don't have time to keep track of hers vs. mine with 3 kids and a full-time job and a lot of what I did see that I would possibly used was stained and I wouldn't have donated to the thrift store.
If your H feels compelled to accept (work politics or whatever), just stash the bag in a closet for a few months and then return as soon as baby "outgrows" them.
Post by cheeseandcrackers on Mar 31, 2015 16:39:33 GMT -5
Why do people think it's normal let people "borrow" baby clothes? I don't understand lol. I am usually happy to give away used clothes that I don't want anymre.
I had two friends lend us clothes. One marked the tags and I marked the other stuff. Both knew the risks of lending clothes and didn't mind that some of it didn't come back. One friend and I have now passed many clothes through all 4 of our boys (though she also got them from someone else, so my the time they get to DS2, there aren't many pieces left!). Since both knew that some stuff wouldn't come back (& they kept the stuff they cared about), it wasn't a big deal. As they outgrew sizes, I'd throw them in a box. Every once in awhile I'd just divide them by tags and return a bag to my friend. By size 18-24 mo, though, kids are ROUGH on clothes! If knees aren't torn out by #3, they will be by #4!!
I wouldn't do it with someone I wasn't really close to, though!
Post by definitelyO on Mar 31, 2015 17:54:25 GMT -5
we pass down and around kid's clothes - never borrow. it won't end well....
that said - we have clothes that we pass down that have been through 3 boys that are still in great shape - the kids grew so fast that they barely wore a lot of them.
I write an initial on the tag. My niece loaned me a bunch of clothes. So I write "B" on the tag for each item. Then when DD starts outgrowing clothes, I just check the tag and put them in the appropriate piles.