April is the month to Buy Recycled for your Kids!

April is the month to Buy Recycled for your Kids!

by Ellen and Lisa of http://halfpintresale.wordpress.com.
Each year at this time, the first puddle in our driveway makes me want to go and buy up every spring thing I can find – boots, raincoats, spring shirts, skirts for me and board shorts for the boys. I go into the stores and see the big cardboard flowers hanging from the ceiling and the start scouring the racks for the cutest things I can find.

As I’m doing this, I start to feel that twinge that I know all too well. It’s too easy to get wrapped into the consumerism of needing things as soon as the stores tell me that it’s time to buy them, instead of waiting to see what I can find recycled. We try and live green in so many other aspects of our lives, and it’s important that we show our kids that this is a way to recycle as well.

Some of the ways we do this throughout the year is making crafts out of recycled items (such as crayon hearts for Valentines Day, and Robots out of Cans, pieces of metal from the tool box and simple magnets). We make a point of recycling and talking about how this is the only earth we have.

How can you take the best advantage of buying items at this green and budget conscious resource right in your community? We created a downloadable “Cheat Sheet” that can help you determine what items you really need for your kids for the upcoming season. You can find this printable on our website and our blog. Do you need dresses? Rain Boots? Can your kids still fit into their rain-coats from last year? Maybe you have lots of jeans, but you lack khakis for special occasions. Perhaps your child’s birthday is coming up, and you want to find a quality toy or book. Starting the new season off with recycled purchases not only sends a great message to your kids about how they can participate in the environmental and financial choices your family makes, but also frees up extra time and money taking the stress out of the remaining shopping that will be done in other retail venues.

Last year, one of the consignors in our twice-yearly children’s consignment sale told us the best story. She lives right in our neighborhood where we hold the sale: “This afternoon I went to pick my daughter up from school, and there was a little girl on the playground wearing an outfit of hers that I’d dropped off at the sale during consignor drop-off last night! Apparently they’d purchased it this morning and it had to be put on *right away.* What a great neighborhood!”

For more information on how you can find consignment sales in your area, we recommend checking out http://www.consignmentmommies.com/ to find one in your area. For more tips on budget conscious and green child rearing, or to print the downloadable “Cheat Sheet”, visit our blog at http://halfpintresale.wordpress.com.
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Tips courtesy of Ellen and Lisa, two local moms who organize Half-Pint Resale, a twice-per-year children’s consignment sale. Their spring/summer sale is slated for April 2010. Learn more about the sale and read more tips at http://halfpintresale.wordpress.com.