Since we announced free wind credits for tip suggestions last week, the tips have been rolling in. Today we'd like to focus on a tip suggested by John of Santa Barbara:
Buy your kids clothes and toys at garage sales. We've been doing this for months for our newborn. Kids outgrow clothes and toys so fast that you can get almost-new items for next to nothing. We pay on average fifty cents for each piece of clothing. Not only do we save money, but we are also contributing to buying less, which will hopefully encourage manufacturers to make less. And if you walk, you save gas and get exercise!
Thanks for the tip, John! You've just offset two months of your life! You've also pointed out something that we've been noticing lately, too. Babies get lots of presents. And since they are, well, babies and all, they tend to receive a lot of clothing. It's tough to lay the blame on this one – those clothes are so gosh-darned cute.
But it's true – babies grow fast, and they really don't need to put on a new outfit every day. In fact, most days they'd probably prefer a simple organic onesie. Many babies we know have so many clothes that they only get to wear an outfit once before they grow out of it.
Plus, garage sale shopping is a bit of a sport and can be pretty fun! Thanks for the tip, John!
Rebecca says: I don't have kids yet, but I'm planning on trying a little experiment. I bet (if I wanted, I'm sure I'll break down at some point) that I could go the whole first year of my baby's life without buying him clothes. Between gifts from the grandparents and aunts & uncles (both official and unofficial), and hand me downs from the rest, I'm pretty sure we'll be in the clear. And maybe I'll take John's advice and hit up garage sales for the rest.
Suggest a tip that gets posted and you could win 2 months of wind offsets, too!