Many people accept the idea of hand-me-downs or garage sale clothing as a basic part of their lives, but let me just say that I'm just not wired that way...

I grew up being the oldest/only girl of a single mother who was the oldest girl in her family also... there weren't any hand-me-downs as we were the oldest of our generations.... and she as well as I have always had issues with wearning used clothing...  Even thought we were quite poor she would never have considered wearing someone else's clothing.  We did regularly take our things to charity for those people who were "really poor" though...

Flash forward 20 years and a friend/acquaintance gives me her son's clothing when my son is born.... all I can say was that it completely grossed me out...  But she felt the need to reciprocate after I had given her all of the Princess' sweet little dresses for her dd.

I've been gearing up to get over this....(sometimes I wonder if that isn't what I'm really all about... finding things that bug me and then making myself deal with them).

I'm always up for saving money, but when I counted the items of kids clothing that I'm giving to charity I feel so wasteful.... yes... people need clothing, but to buy it, wear it for 4 months and then get rid of it seems wrong on a certain level...  I actually heard the expression recycled clothing versus used... and if I am wanting to really invest myself in recycling on more than just plastics and glass... shouldn't I make this a part of my life,  too?

So, today I went..... GULP....  to the Goodwill store.   Other than a funky smell, it wasnt' that bad... the people there were pretty normal people... overall it was a much more pleasant experience than going to the Cartersville Walmart, but that's not saying much either....

I was very proud of the things that I found... I was able to get shorts for the Princess and the Prince for summer and even a pair of shorts for myself.

When I told Daisy, my mother, she was pretty grossed out, but I'm not letting it get to me...  Actually, I have to admit that when I think about it too much I do get shivers up my spine, not in a good way, but when I think of the money I saved.... it's something I'll just get over....

So here's $21 at the Goodwill Store in Kennesaw, GA......