Taking care of a baby can be quite expensive. While there is the temptation and pressure to buy everything new and branded, accepting hand-me-downs or buying used and pre-loved items can make child-rearing a bit more practical.
Advantages of Buying and Using Preloved Baby Things
Save money. It is more practical as you get the items you want and need at bargain prices.
Environment-Friendly. Buying lots of baby items will leave you with a slew of products you will not need in a few months. And this will turn into junk in your garage or basement that may just end up in a landfill someday. Supporting pre-loved items means more things to be reused and repurposed and fewer to be discarded.
Less clutter. You wouldn’t be buying and storing lots of items and you’d also be helping someone declutter their own baby stash. And expect that you’ll end up with many things that your child will either outgrow real fast or those they were not able to use at all.
Sources of Preloved Baby Items
Family and Friends – Check within your circle and network if anyone is giving away their baby items. You’ll be able to get the items either for free or for a really good bargain and you personally know the person who previously owned the items as an assurance.
Facebook – There are swap groups, secondhand buy and sell groups, and of course, Facebook’s Marketplace. Details and photos are posted and you can either pick up the items or have them shipped to you.
Garage Sales – This is usually a way for families or communities to declutter and a way for new parents to score really great bargains. The best part: you personally get to see and check the items yourselves and even talk to the previous owner.
Secondhand shops and markets – These can also be called thrift shops or consignment stores which specialise in looking for used items. Items here can cost a bit more than at garage sales or fairs but you have the chance to score better quality items.
Online Auctions or Marketplace – These are platforms like GumTree or eBay that allow people to sell items to their local area (or even a bit farther) by posting listings online. You can find almost everything and anything on these channels but transactions come with the perils of buying things online plus the additional costs like handling, packaging and shipping fees.
Preloved Items you can Safely Buy and Reuse
- Baby Apparel (Onesies, Sleepwear, Beanies, Jackets, Shoes, Etc.)
- Reusable Nappies
- Nursery Furniture (Dressers, Changing Tables, Playpens, Swingers, Bouncers, Baby Monitors, Bathtubs, Highchairs, Beddings, Blankets And Decors)
- Pram, Strollers, and Carriers
- Books and Toys
Newborns and toddlers develop in a matter of weeks and will outgrow many of the things you thought they needed. Many items will be barely used or not even used at all, which is why it’s more practical to get them secondhand. These are also often age-appropriate and have to be updated or changed at every stage of their development.
Some parents may not be comfortable purchasing used nappies or clothes from other families, but these are made to be reusable and can be sanitised just by washing. Throw them in your washing machine, clean them with baby-safe detergent, and you are good to go!
Nursery furniture, prams, strollers and carriers are bulky and expensive when bought brand-new. But if these are being offered as pre-loved and are still clean, structurally stable, with all parts intact and still in adherence to the safety standards, these can be reused.
A word of caution: Strictly check each item that the threads are still intact and that zippers, velcros, straps, buttons and elastics or garters are not compromised in any way. Also, the furniture must not contain lead paint, tears, sharp edges or loose parts.
It would also be better to get the item’s manual or instruction pamphlet to see its model number and materials for checking with Product Safety regulations or if there were any product recalls.
Preloved Baby Items to Avoid
- Car Seats
- Cots / Cribs
- Mattress
- Breast Pump
These are the items that should be avoided from being reused or bought secondhand. In the case of breast pumps, there is a risk of contamination, especially since these are usually for single users only.
Cot and crib mattresses absorb many excretions from the baby: from little to major spit-ups, sweat, or accidents that diapers were unable to contain. Since mattresses are not machine washable, you wouldn’t want to risk your baby lying down on something that is not assuredly clean and safe.
Safety standards and features for car seats, cots and cribs are constantly updated for every baby’s protection. Also, you may never know if these items, like car seats, were previously compromised in accidents or were produced too long ago.
Final Thoughts
The goal to provide everything your child needs is ideal but will cost you big bucks, especially for first-time parents. However, you’ll need to exercise discernment on which items to splurge on and which ones can be repurposed and secured for a bargain, peppered with an additional dose of caution and inspection.