Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Sasha is wearing the most adorable little outfit today. Green and purple checkered trousers, a lilac turtleneck body and a lilac BabyGAP hoodie. I cannot take credit for her excellent dress sense though. I have to thank my very generous neighbour. Yup, the same neighbour who watches our house when we are away also clothes our baby. How we got so lucky I don't know. She has a 3 year old girl so we get loads of hand me downs. And when I say loads, I mean bags and bags of near perfect, weather appropriate clothes. I asked her recently, as she passed me yet another bag of winter clothing, if she wanted the clothes back after Sasha is through with them. She said no, I am to keep them and pass them on to anyone once I am through with them. Sort of like a baby clothes pay-it-forward. I love this idea. Of course I have set aside certain outfits that Sasha may want to keep, like her going home sweater suit, her cukur jambul outfit, her first mary jane socks (they are socks that look like shoes), her first bikini, her first sweat suit, and her first hat. I have bags and bags of clothes that I will keep for the next one, but then what? I now know that I am to pass them on to another baby girl whose Mummy will reduce, reuse and recycle. But it is not as easy as it sounds. I thought of doing this to a friend of ours here who just had a baby girl, but I get a sense that she may find it insulting. I dont know her well enough to ask her. While I find hand me downs so very useful, another may find it demeaning. Sigh..