What items to buy second hand…
1. Kids toys
There are so many options when it comes to buying second hand kids toys. You can venture to virtually any thrift shop and find endless options, or even garage sales come Spring. There’s also the luxury of sitting at home and accessing social media, Kjiji, or dare you enter the crazy Facebook mom groups! You could even host a toy swap with all your mom friends. Your options are endless… keep in mind, your little monkeys are only ‘in it, for a minute'. Plus we all know kids have imaginations and can play with any plain old box, so relax on having to buy every 'it' toy, they change too fast anyway...so don’t splurge on toys!
2. Kids clothing
When it comes to kids clothing, they are just as accessible as kids’ toys! Second hand clothing has the same accessible points as toys. Embrace the idea of hand-me-downs from friends or family. Find out the dates of local mom-to-mom sales. Check out every day thrift shops or even the stores specific to second hand kids clothing like Once Upon a Child. Request to be added to their promo days through email or text updates.
3. Home décor
You could pick up a home décor magazine in the grocery store, you could follow a fav live television daytime show or find some Instagram members to ‘like’, to keep up with the most recent trends. No matter what the designer or wannabe, they all offer simply, easy to follow DIY options. They give you it from the top designers and bring it down a level that relates to the majority of us followers. You don’t have to be artistic to create your own home décor, you are just required to follow step-by-step instructions. Make it your own and find your inner creative side ;) You would be amazed at what a fresh coat of paint can do to an once antique item! Not to mention antique shops are all the rage, Ottawa St. N, James St. N, Queen St W., antique shops in Stoney Creek and Waterdown, ON, to name a few hip areas to start searching.
4. Craft Materials
Many of us get over zealous and purchase or collect heap loads of craft materials for our children. At times they are often gifted to our children and sit in cupboards untouched. Jump on those second hand sales when you see them come up for sale, they come often and in big packs! Crafts are always great for a rainy day, to keep as ‘emergencies’ in your trunk when you show up to a non-kid friendly restaurant.
5. Small Kitchen Appliances
I think we are often caught guilty for saving those small kitchen appliances in the deeps of our cupboards that we don’t ever use. The appliance we put on our Wedding registry because we think we will gain creative time and make ice cream or yogurt from scratch. If it hasn’t been used at least once a year….it’s time to purge and sell it! How about that bread maker that we went heavy on for 6 months and made fresh bread every week for months straight, and now it sits, taking up space in our laundry room!?! Borrow those appliances from family, neighbours or close friends if you think you’re only going to use it sporadically .
6. Holiday Décor
We often change our preferences and choice of style. Seasons in Canada are continuously changing as well as our holiday décor. Neighbours take pride in keeping their front porch up to date with the latest seasonal wreath or urns. Keep the staples from year to year…use the same neutral front door wreath, just add a seasonal colour of flower or fresh green to the base. Keep some of your greenery trimmings from your garden or a friends cottage and add those to your urns. Or simply choose to stay basic, select perennials and year long porch pieces, you don't have to always spruce things up.
7. Cars, automobiles,
We have all heard it before…. You loose money as soon as you drive that brand new car off the lot! Do your research. Look into resources like Consumers Report or the Lemon guide to cars, to find out the common issues of the vehicle you’re looking at before you buy. They are a depreciating item and will continue to consume money as you own them. None the less, an extreme necessity in most of our lives in Canada, so make some educated decisions on what works best for you as an individual and even as a family. Be sure to check out the current incentives the government has to offer when it comes to driving a more eco-friendly vehicle. While a Tesla might be out of your price range, many other companies offer more affordable options to keeping it green!
8. DVD’s, CD’s
Always great to keep at the cottage or for a portable DVD player for long trips in the car. These are pretty easy to come by because not everyone likes to hang on to them. Kids have visual tangible options of what to pick, instead of the endless amount of options when it comes to streaming or apps like Netflix. Great to create some defined options for them.
9. Every day Sports Equipment
For those items that are not very specific or needed for the competitive level, it is fairly easy to come across those generic items. Items such as ice skates, first bicycle to learn on, hockey sticks for a good old road hockey game, soccer shin pads for kids, or hockey protective gear. It’s important to mention the everyday generic sports equipment, because as most kids grow in maturity and cognitive awareness, they will have preferences and choices. Having a great appreciation for sports myself, I do value having quality sports equipment, as it does make the sport more enjoyable and refined. Chose wisely the pieces of equipment you find worthwhile splurging on apposed to the pieces that make no difference in the performance of the sport.
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Share with us what item you think is easy to buy second hand!
Tell us what you think.....
Happy Holidays!
SGM's