No New T-Shirts Club!

The girls and I have formed a club. Because clubs are kind of a cool thing when you're 6 / almost 7. (And when you're 4, whatever is cool to your big sister is cool!) We're calling it the "No New T-Shirts Club!" It's a very very small step to simply life. I've been reading a book called Simple Life. It's about simplifying life in regards to time, relationships, money, and God. Good book. But it's had me thinking. My girls are very very blessed with clothes. They have been given hand-me-downs galore. And of course, grandma likes to treat the girls to new dresses from time to time. Our closets runneth over! Literally. And they have such variety..summer, winter, spring, fall, dressy, casual, school, play, "fancy" (Hannah's favorite!) I almost never need to buy them new clothes other than underwear and socks, and sometimes shoes for Hannah. Oh, and she needed a couple pairs of jeans this past year for the first time. When they outgrow a set of clothes, we have a set in the next larger size waiting to unpack. And they like it. They are thrilled with their "new" old clothes each time it happens. Sometimes, we come home from church or school or something with a bag of clothes from a friend. The first question asked (with eager anticipation) is "is it mine?". They both are hoping it's clothes for them. And *just* when I think..uh oh..I'm going to have to go buy Hannah some new clothes, this is her last size of hand-me-downs, well, someone blesses us with a set of clothes in the next larger size. It's amazing really. God is truly clothing my children every year. (Makes me think of the passage in the Bible about seeing how God dresses the lillies of the field..how much more he meets our needs). So, the point is, my children do not need new clothes. They are not in any danger of not having something to wear. But I'm wondering how many parents have noticed how many oranizations / actitivites / schools / even churches sell t-shirts for everything!! There's the school t-shirt, the field trip t-shirt (sometimes same as school but not always), the dance recital t-shirt (not that they wear it in the recital - just that they purchase it to wear after the recital), the field day t-shirt, the baton t-shirt, the vacation bible school t-shirt, and more. And I? usually buy the t-shirt. Because I don't spend money on new clothes so I can't say "it's too expensive". Because I don't want my kid to be the one without the t-shirt. Because everyone gets it. And you know, those arguments don't hold water with me for most things. But I usually give in and buy the t-shirt. And my girls really don't care about t-shirts. They don't. And a confession? Sometimes I have to actually MAKE my girls wear the t-shirt we bought for said occassion. Like tonight, Hannah did not want to wear her VBS t-shirt for the VBS celebration! She wanted a "fancier shirt". But I made her wear the VBS shirt - because I bought it.

So, we are done with new t-shirts. Mostly. Of course, some come free with participation in a certain event. If my child is handed a t-shirt, fine. But we will not blindly buy t-shirts for activities any more. By the way, this is not just about my kids. Even as an adult, it seems that some group is trying to sell me a t-shirt at least 2-3 times a year. And there's nothing wrong with that. If you buy a t-shirt to support a group you are connected with - great. And there are a few times I could forsee we *might* consider buying a shirt. But we're going to think long and hard first. And if there's not a compelling reason to do it, we're not going to do it. When Sadie starts kindergarten (not this year, but next)- I will buy her the kindergarten field trip t-shirt. Because it's a safety issue. I want the teachers to be able to glance around and know "yep, she's with us" when they're all at the pumpkin patch. So sometimes, there is a good reason. I've realized that I don't really support a group when I buy a shirt from them. Not really. Most sell the shirts cheap enough that they are not making a profit. The t-shirt company gets the profit. So it's not a fundraiser opportunity for an organization (generally with us..I realize that's not always true). Sure, we show our support by wearing the shirt..or team spirit..or whatever. And there's nothing wrong with that. But like I said, we're going to think long and hard first. We don't need t-shirts for everything we're involved in.

So - we started the "No New T-Shirt Club". But maybe we'll change the name to something else if we think of a good title. Basically, any time we choose NOT to purchase a t-shirt that an organization is selling, we're going to put a construction paper cut-out of a t-shirt on the wall in the kitchen. Then, next summer, we're going to count how many t-shirts we *didn't* buy. (I'm predicting 10 total: 5 for Hannah, 3 for me, 2 for Sadie..but we'll see. And we're not actually involved in that many activities!). Then, we're going to go buy new shirts for children who *do* need them in our community. Because there are children right in our own community that would find having 10 new t-shirts very very special. Kids that need them. So, that's our plan in the "No New T-Shirt Club". A very very small way to simplify our own lives by not buying what we don't need and a very very small way to help my kids learn to give to others.

In case you're curious about my kids' reaction to this idea: one of them thought it was great. The other had some hesitation..and I told her she didn't have to do it, but that I was going to do it and would love to have her join me. I told her I could not / would not buy a t-shirt for everything she was involved in, but if there was one or two special ones during the year..we could think about it and decide then. She informed me this morning "I don't even wear most of those t-shirts. I want to be in the club and help kids who need clothes, because we have enough clothes".

So, if anyone would like to join us - let me know! My children would love to have some more members in their "club". (And we don't even charge dues or have meetings!)