Last Spring, I was lamenting to a friend that my 3-year-old son had not a single pair of shorts that fit him. Last year's weren't even close, and even the few pairs I had purchased for our Christmas beach holiday were too short and tight. We live in the Chicago area, which tends to turn from Winter to Summer overnight [1], giving me little notice before warm-weather clothing wasn't just optional, but an absolute requirement. No kid wants to wear sweatpants when it's 82 degrees with 90 percent humidity outside.
"Oh, I mom hacked that problem [2] a long time ago," she told me. I was intrigued. Was there a secret shorts stash somewhere in our area that no one had told me about? Or perhaps she'd figured out a way to stretch out last year's shorts in the washing machine [3]? It turns out her genius ideas was a lot simpler. "Cut off all his sweatpants, and voila, you have shorts," she told me.
I have to admit, I was kind of shocked I hadn't thought of the solution myself. After all, almost every single pair of his pants were, at that point, featuring either threadbare or ripped knees after a season of tough wear, meaning they'd all probably end up in the garbage instead of the donation pile. I was thrilled to give them a second life [5], and moreover, I'd seen pairs of cut-off sweatpants at multiple stores selling for $20 to $30. Three pairs in, and I could justify buying myself a new pair of shoes.
I went home and immediately got out the scissors. I had him try on one pair that was still in pretty good condition so I could cut them off at the appropriate spot, but for most of them, I simply hacked them right above where they were already torn or worn out. I have to say, every single pair turned out even better than I expected, and he lived in those shorts all Summer long [6].
I was so pleased with my hack that I moved on to my daughter's outgrown-pants stash. Leggings became bike shorts she could wear under dresses, and jeans easily turned into cut-offs that she adored. All told, I ended up cutting off about a dozen pairs of pants into shorts, and my kids wore every single pair all Summer long. So, moms, before you throw out those worn-out sweats, jeans, and leggings with yesterday's slime, consider giving them a second, shorter life. Then take the money you saved on buying your kids a new Summer wardrobe and buy yourself one instead.