Reusing
I am pulling winter clothes out of the totes stockpiled in the garage, hoping that some of these pants will fit Asher now. The few pairs of pants in his dresser are now too small, and the trees’ brilliant hues are telling me that cold weather is coming. I try telling my boys that, but they still insist on shorts and bare feet, whenever they can get away with it.
I do this turning over of belongings several times a year, unearthing Lucas’s old items from years’ past and diving into bags of clothes outgrown by friends’ children. The process isn’t pretty. Things are dusty and worn. I never manage to make the garage pile neat again when I’m done, much to my husband’s dismay. I also inevitably find a bag or box of forgotten items we just accidentally missed out on reusing. Sometimes, timing is everything.
This suburban archaeology makes me realize how my boys are always growing, growing, growing—whether I am OK with it or not. I feel nostalgic when I touch some old things again, after several years of their being absent and in storage, and I sometimes feel sad when giving current now-too-small things away. However, mostly I feel connected and grateful whenever I do this. I know that families all over the world do this very thing, every season or two, hoping to eek a little more use out of this shirt, these socks, those pants. We pass items along to younger siblings or friends, or strangers, with the hope of being helpful. And this pleases me.
To all those who have passed well-loved and still-useful items to us, thank you. Your generosity keeps us warm.
November 10, 2013 at 9:16 am
i just did this yesterday as well. had the boys go thru their stuff and hand things down, make a list of what few things they might need to make it thru the very mild fall and winter here in AZ. i really love being able to do that, and that my boys are not so hung up on fashion that they turn up their noses at each others old fashions. funny enough, they usually end up arguing over my oldest sons stuff. LOL they all want his old t-shirts and sweaters. LOL