Recycling your baby items – good for your pocket, good for the environment

Considering the short life span of baby clothes, equipment and toys they can be frighteningly expensive, especially when they are often grown out of before they need replacing. So for this reason it makes economic and environmental sense to at least consider buying some ‘nearly new’ goods and selling on your good quality used items.

Aside from the obvious cost savings, the environmental benefits of doing this are significant with reduced landfill being the major one. And as most of these items would not be biodegradable they would sit around in landfill for many years to come rather like disposable nappies, but that’s another story.

As our babies and children grow quickly, their unused clothes and equipment are often in good condition and so make perfect items for resale. With summer underway it’s a great time to sell those unused garden toys and summer clothes.

There are several mechanisms for buying, selling and giving away items that you no longer need, these include Charity shops, Nearly New Sales, Car Boot Sales, Classified Adverts in Newspapers, Freecycle, Online Auction sites and Online Market Places. The latter three eliminate the legwork as it’s all done online (a definite perk if you have small children in tow!), and you only need to leave the house to collect or post your items.

It may seem obvious but in order to attract the best price for your items it’s really worth taking the time to wash and iron clothes, and grobags, wipe down toys and clean up your pushchair. Whichever method you use to sell, the better your items look the faster they will sell for a good price. To avoid a disappointed buyer always describe your goods honestly and only sell items in a condition that you would like to buy. As a rough rule of thumb you can sell items for between 30-50% of their original retail price though this can vary and you may get more for expensive pushchairs in good condition.

There are some things that you should avoid buying second hand though, namely car seats and cot mattresses. Car seats may be fine to use if you are getting them from a trusted friend or relative as you need to be sure they haven’t been in an accident as this will reduce their effectiveness. Second hand Cot mattresses should also be avoided if possible as recommended by FSID.

So have fun browsing and bargain hunting, dig out those unused items from your loft or garage, recoup some money and do your bit for the environment. In the current economic climate it’s a great way to make some cash or buy some bargains for your little ones!