Climate Change Collective: Sustainable and Simple Change

What are sustainable and simple change?

This week on the blog I’m sharing our response to the monthly Climate Change Collective lead post about sustainable and simple change. This month the lead post shares several Tiny Steps to Save the Planet as encouragement that collectively we can all do small things that add up to large impact…and these small things don’t have to take up a lot of time and money.

Our blog name was born as Alison and I thought about the changes we wanted to make in our lives as a response to issues in our world, but also wanted to recognize that these changes would have to be sustainable in terms of time, money, and effort in order for us to work toward environmental sustainability. And so very often our efforts take the form of small, incremental changes in the tasks of life that were already on the to-do list.

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It got me thinking about the struggle that parents go through managing their kids closets (I’m contemplating the pre-summer deep dive into closets and dressers as we speak!) There’s the cost, the chaos, and the churn as they outgrow things at baffingly fast speeds. As such this is an area with so many ways to take small steps to reduce impact!

Below are few ideas I’ve incorporated into the cycle of clothing churn to encourage reuse of our clothing items, save a bit on the budget for us and others, and hopefully reduce our environmental impact along the way!

Sustainable and simple change #1: Sort and pass along, rinse and repeat

You know how it happens – all of a sudden the drawers are full but nothing fits! That means it’s time to set aside items that no longer fit and donate, sell, or recycle. But what do you do with it all? I have a few ways I disperse our outgrown items to ensure that their life will continue, and (hopefully) someone else benefits from the use of our items.

1. Give away to those who need them: contact a local shelter or church, or maybe you know someone in your circle that could use the items and help them out while decluttering your home!
2. Consignment: for those items that are still in good condition consignment may be an option. There is a chain of stores close to me that purchases kids clothing for cash. Often they give less that you could get selling on Marketplace or Craigslist, however it’s easy and fast!
3. Re-sale: this is a good way to recoup costs on higher value items like outerwear and boots. It can take some time to clean items, take good photos, draft an informative write-up to proactively answer as many questions as possible, and organize the sale and pick up. However it can be worth it for larger ticket items. I also see people post groupings of clothing of a similar size, however I haven’t had a lot of luck with that.
4. Clothing swap: Have a large mom group? Gather for a clothing swap! We’ve previously posted about how to organize a swap here.
5. Recycling: Have clothes that are so wrecked they can’t be passed along? (I’m looking at my son here) Time to recycle! Find a clothing recycler near you, or you can reuse / upcycle within your home.

Sustainable and simple change #2: Invest in quality basics

While it’s tempting to buy ALL the cute outfits (and there are so many!) investing in quality basics is key. Stock up on versatile pieces like plain tees, leggings, and jeans that can be mixed and matched to create various outfits. Quality basics can last through many washes (and hopefully be passed on to many children!) reducing impact along the way.

Another way to use clothing management to take a small step toward sustainability could be to source quality basics from local providers. This allows for investment in local communities while reducing environmental impact related to manufacturing and transportation of these items. However these brands tend to be more expensive and so the cost can be prohibitive. But that’s where consignment and online sellers can be a win in the other direction! I like to set up alerts on my favourite online clothing marketplace for brands of interest to source quality items secondhand.

Additionally, if your child does not choose to wear a cacophony of clothing each day (like mine!), you may just get away with creating a capsule wardrobe with a few carefully curated pieces that can be mixed and matched. This not only simplifies the dressing process but also reduces decision fatigue for both you and your child. This will not happen in my house where we dress according to mood – thank goodness for thrift stores!

Sustainable and simple change #3: Organize by size and season

Use labeled bins or storage containers to store clothes that are currently too big, making it easy to access them when needed. On a personal note, I will emphasize the “labeled” piece – I have definitely bought duplicate items having forgotten about previously purchased items!

Sustainable and simple change #4: Teach responsibility

Teaching your child to take care of their clothing from a young age instills a sense of responsibility. Show them how to properly fold and hang clothes, put dirty items in the laundry basket, and treat stains promptly. By involving them in the care of their clothing, you empower them to take ownership of their belongings while extending the life of clothing so that it can be reused as long as possible.

Sustainable and simple change: Moving forward

The need to reduce our impact on the environment can just seem so beyond us and unattainable that it really is good to remember that making simple and sustainable changes within our means is a great way to respond! Change that fits within our lives is much more likely to stick for the long run, and pay dividends accordingly.

What is one simple, sustainable change you’ve made this year?

The Climate Change Collective

This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations.

The Climate Change Collective was born out of an exchange that took place between Michelle and Jamie in the comments section of a Jamie Ad Stories blog post. Jamie and Michelle both care deeply about the impact of human activity on our planet and wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone. A tweet was sent out, bloggers responded, and we’ve all now teamed up to create the Climate Change Collective! Learn more about the bloggers behind this group in our post introducing everyone: Get to Know our 5 Fantastic Climate Change Collective Bloggers.

The idea is simple. The members of the collective will take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their concerns and unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group will keep the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas. If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. The more the merrier!

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