A Full Plate is a column about family life and the home by contributing writer Laura Fenton, who explores the intersection of thoughtful living and home design through a mother’s eyes.
When I was pregnant with my son, a college friend told me, “I have one piece of advice for you: Don’t buy anything new.” He was a dad of two by then and knew how quickly kids grow out of things, and how short a time we’d actually use our baby gear. I was already a flea market shopper, but I took his advice to heart as we added to our home to accommodate a child: buying a vintage rocker and dresser to furnish our son’s nursery and saying yes to all the hand-me-downs. Six years later, this “nothing new” mindset extends to almost every purchase I make.