My dear friend gave me a bag of baby clothes last night, which I thought was very thoughtful. She is due to have her first little one here in a couple months, but she had been given so many outfits she wanted to share the abundance with me.

What I found inside was really less than a blessing.

Now, please do not think I am snobbish when it comes to clothing. I am absolutely the opposite! I love hand-me-downs and shopping at thrift stores. Nothing feels better than a good broken-in t-shirt and an old pair of Levi's.

I am extremely happy to receive used baby clothing!......That is, IF it doesn't look as though a toddler barfed spaghetti sauce all over it while a piranha chewed on the collar. I mean seriously, people. Articles of clothing that are stained up and have holes in them SHOULD NOT be passed on to someone else. Throw them out or tear them up to use as dust cloths. Other people, no matter how needy, do not want your old rags.

Just so you don't think I am exaggerating about the condition of these clothes, here are some samples. The stains actually appear DARKER in real life. The camera doesn't give you the whole feel for just how raggedy they are....





To my friend's credit, she has no idea that she gave me a bag of clothes that are in bad condition. One of the ladies in her exercise class gave it to her, and she didn't go through it before she gave it to me. For all she knew, it could've contained really nice outfits, but she explained that she already has mountains of baby clothes and thought I might be able to use them instead. Again, SUPER THOUGHTFUL. I really am blessed to have such friends.

This is simply a rant picking on people who KNOWINGLY pass on virtually unwearble clothing to others, thinking they are doing some great deed. A few years ago, something similar happened to me....although in that case, it was a bag of clothing for me.....and I believe the person knew full well what kind of condition they were in. If a shirt didn't have a noticeable grease stain, it had a hole. Some of the pants and skirts had conspicuous stains as well as broken zippers, areas of almost threadbare wear, and missing snaps. While I really do appreciate getting free clothes (I mean, who doesn't???), I can't help but think that the folks who give away these items (that THEY THEMSELVES WOULD NOT WEAR) are just looking for a place to off-load the junk that is cluttering their closets or attics. They can fool themselves into thinking that they are helping someone out, but if they honestly thought about how they would feel if someone gave them a big bag of shoddy and worn-out clothing.....I bet they would just cut the clothes up to save for craft projects or use them as shop towels.

From now on, if I clean out my closet and decide to donate some items to the Goodwill or Salvation Army, I am going to make sure that none of the clothing is damaged or stained up. If I would be embarrassed to wear it in public because of the wear and tear, I am going to assume that no one else wants it. Why would they?

Labels: baby gear, clothes