Donating kid's stuff: Les Petits Riens

Pingu just turned 15 months and he's a baby no more.....sigh....

Now that he's officially into his toddler period, that time has come for the first "baby stuff clean-up".

I believe in "reduce, reuse and recycle", so since birth, Pingu has used Bibu's old clothes. We have bought hardly anything brand new for Pingu, and the few things he did get were presents from other people. Up until recently, as soon as Pingu was outgrowing his clothes, I would pass them along to a good friend of ours, whose baby boy is a few months younger. But now, both boys are wearing the same size and I have no other acquaintances with babies, so it's time to go the donation route!

The same for toys. I kept all of Bibu's old baby toys for Pingu to play, but he has consistently insisted on playing with his older brother's stuff (pfff) So early baby toys were hardly used and also on the list to be donated.

I find the simplest way to donate kid's old stuff is to do it through "Les Petits Riens"/ Spullenhulp. They are a non-profit organisation that collects all kinds of used goods in good condition (mostly clothes and shoes, but also toys, furniture, electronics, etc), which they recondition and sell through their boutiques. With the resulting money they provide shelter to homeless people, among other charity activities.

Their clothes containers (or "bulles") are dotted all around Brussels (there are about 900 in Belgium), so there is bound to be one close to you. In them, you can deposit clean clothes and shoes, inside a closed plastic bag. Here is the "bulle" closest to my place (vandalised a bit, poor thing) :

For other donations, you have to either go to Les Petits Riens donations reception centre in Rue de Prevost 30-32 in Ixelles (very close to Parc Tenbosch) or, if you have a large piece of furniture to donate, make an appointment for them to come pick it up at your place.

This week, I gathered a bag full of old baby toys and threw them in the wash, then bagged them and off I went to the Rue de Prevost.

The donation centre is in the Chatelain area. You recognise it immediately by the three yellow "bulles" standing by the door.

You just need to head inside the garage entry, and there in the back you'll find lots of volunteers sorting through bags and bags of goods. It has to be said that 25% of the donations they receive are in such bad condition that they have to just throw them into the garbage. So please, make sure what you give is clean, not broken and inside a sealed plastic bag.

After unloading my donation into the hands of one of the volunteers, I headed to their "Baby Paradise" boutique in Rue Americaine 97, which sells the donations for laughable prices. They have plenty of baby and toddler clothes and piles and piles of toys and baby paraphernalia such as potties, car seats, car booster seats, playing mats, etc. I saw a brand new Bumbo seat for 3,5 EUR and a Maxi Cosi baby car seat for 18 EUR.

I got a book and a little toy piano for Pingu (which works perfectly) and a toy beetle for Bibu for the large sum of............... 2,5 EUR!!!!

I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to donate and buy from Les Petits Riens/ Spullenhulp. Our kids' unwanted old stuff can become another child's favourite, while helping those who need it more in the process.

If you are interested in donating more than material things, Les Petits Riens are constantly looking for volunteers. Check out their job section.

And to finish, a very nice video from their Christmas campaign of last year.

DOD: Great clothes at great prices

When I think about kids clothes, especially boys, I know they have to be nice but also have to be also great quality and stand the wear and tear of two active little fellows. On the other hand, I don't want to spend a fortune dressing my kids.

DOD Junior in Avenue Louise

DOD is one of those shops I go time and time again. It's not only a kids' clothes paradise, but also caters women and men's fashion. I think it only exists in Brussels, and, since I've become a Bruselaar, it's one of those places you need to visit. There are few shops dotted around the Madou Tower area (metro Madou) and one in the Bascule neighbourhood, but the ones I go to most often are in the Rue de Bailli area, in Ixelles (tram 94, stop Rue de Bailli). The women, men's and 6 to 16 year old shops are located in Rue de Bailli itself, while the babies, toddlers and kids up to 6 years is around the corner, on Avenue Louise (a few metres from the Michael Collins Irish Pub)

What is the secret? Well, you can find a huge variety of clothes and footwear of well known, good quality brands, for a fraction of the price you pay elsewere. Some of the brands in the baby shop include Noukie, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Chevignon, Okaidi, IKKS, Geoxx shoes, etc.

I believe the way they work is that they stock clothes from a couple of season's ago. It does not really bother me because, hello, who cares about following the latest trends in kids fashion? A body (onesie/ romper) is a body and a sweater is a sweater. Over the years I have bought tons of clothes and shoes for Bibu and Pingu in DOD Junior and I have always been very happy with the quality and with the price, of course. Just as an example, last year, my mother in law bought Bibu a very nice pair of sneakers from Geoxx in a shoe shop close to their home. They paid something like 70 EUR, which is I think an average price for kids sport shoes. A few months later, I saw similar Geoxx shoes in the DOD for less than half the price, and it was not during the sales, just their regular price. Also, more recently, I bought a lovely light sweater from IKKS, for a 6-month old baby at 14 EUR.

So, cannot recommend the place enough. For me it really ticks many boxes.

The only drawback from DOD, and one you have to bear in mind, is that they do not make exhanges under any circumstances. Once you have paid for the item, it's yours........ for all eternity, even if you find out it's too small for your kiddo or he/ she hates it. So, maybe a tricky one to go for presents, unless you know the size of the kid perfectly well. The same applies for shoes, so make sure they try them properly before leaving the place.

Another point to bear in mind when shopping in the DOD Junior in Avenue Louise is that the shop has just enough place to manouver a pram/ stroller. The babies clothes up to 3 years is on the groundfloor, but for older kids, up to 6 years old, you need to go upstairs and there is no elevator, so not really recommended if you want to go shopping for your baby and older kids at the same time (unless you are accompanied by someone who can mind the baby in the stroller while you go upstairs). Same happens in the DOD Junior in Bascule.