A Simple Life 6

Muffin is quite a poor little boy. His siblings were such a novelty, being twins. As a result, they got loads of stuff. And as a result of that, Muffin has had loads of stuff and none of them his own. The only things he has that are really his are his diapers and his milk bottles. Everything else is old.

There is a lot good with this system.

1. Hand me down clothes are more comfortable, having been worn.

2. We don't waste. Others don't waste. I hate the fact that I have to throw away stuff because of what it does to the environment. I feel downright guilty. With Muffin around, things have had an extended shelf life and they aren't dumped.

3. The toys get a new lease of life. I just watched Toy Story 3 and cried like a baby when the toys thought Andy going to college was the end of things for them.




















4. We save a lot of money. Even when we do buy things for him, my first stop is the "want to sell" page on the forum pages. Why buy something new when I can re-use something that still has some life to it for a fraction of the price. That was how we bought him a pram.

5. We intend to pay it forward. When he's done with it, I'm handing it down to friends who don't mind taking it. Some people do mind; they think their children shouldn't suffer the indignity of using other people's things. One word. WASTE.

What's not good about the system.

1. Nothing really, except Muffin doesn't have much to call his own. His cot used to be his sisters. The mattress was hers too. His little bean pillows were made with sprout shells that were used in the twins' pillows. We unpicked the pillows, washed and sunned the shells and made new pillows out of it.


2. Sometimes the things that he inherits don't work too well. Toys that don't make noises and replacing the battery doesn't help. But then, what he doesn't really know can't really hurt him.

























In my more frivolous moments, I want to shop for him. But I know he doesn't really need much and he really is a happy baby despite not having anything spanking new. But considering that some of the clothes he gets from his siblings still look new and he doesn't go out in rags, it really doesn't matter at all.



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