I’ve always been the two sets of clothes type of person.

My kids have always had the good stuff they go out in and the stuff I can’t seem to get the stains out of or that clothes that have seen better days, or pants with holes in them that the boys play in….that way, I don’t have to get all crazy when they ruin something. And I’m not all Kate Gosselin about stains when they are doing a craft or digging up worms.

I could see myself giving away stained clothes. We’re on the fence about having a second, but for now our first’s clothing is all packed in boxes in our basement. When I put them away, I didn’t think about culling them for stained items, because it was all stuff I was comfortable with #1 wearing, and good enough for #2. If we decide against #2, though, I’ll start to give away clothes, and I’m not going to bother going through them before I give them away.

something no one ever mentions is you can dye the clothes another colour to hide the stains. it works great to do that!

I think it’s a matter of preference. I don’t mind stains on clothes as long as they’re not horrific. A few spit up stains on infant clothing? No problem! I actually hit the craft store, buy a couple of cool iron-ons for a dollar, and cover them up. Voila! Instantly new again, personalized clothes. I think the stuff you would be embarassed for your child to be seen in? Make them into rags!

I agree with Barb – there are a lot of different ways people can use clothes, even those with holes or stains. I for one love going to Salvation Army and buying up clothes for art projects, felting, quilting, etc – much of which ends up as new clothes for my own kids. (This winter’s project was felted hats made out of old sweaters – totally cute!)
I think especially in these times of both economic uncertainty as well as a growing ‘green’ awareness, we should really be doing a better job of using our resources.

“Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”

I think it depends on how “needy” you think the recipient is. I have a friend who can afford all the clothes she wants for her daughter, but I do like to pass on things that are really special and in perfect condition. I’d never pass on to her anything with the least stain, and the really stainy stuff I’d give to charity so nobody I know would have a clue at how bad I am at removing stainage.

I would look at this in the broader context of give away clothing in general. People donate thousands of unwearable items to charity for resale every year. I think it is offensive to donate something unwearable and think that someone would actually want to wear it again. I’m sorry but even if it is Prada, if it has a stain, is ripped, coming apart, or anything else, please throw it away. hand-me-downs are a wonderful tradition, but it can be insulting to receive someone’s trash, please don’t give it to your friends or Good Will.

I have a neighbor who keeps giving me bags of clothes for my son. Most of them are so stained or torn that the Salvation Army wouldn’t even take them. The last bag she gave me was filled with used underwear and socks! Second hand toddler underwear, I’m sure you can guess what it looked like. It’s insulting, but my husband keeps on taking the bags “to be polite”. He won’t even let me throw the bags out with the rest of the trash because he is afraid the neighbor will see. He drives all the clothes to the dump himself!