5 Ways To Declutter Your Child’s Room

Everyone knows kids need a lot of space to explore, and a lot of toys to join them in their journey, but this can lead to cluttered rooms. While your child sees an epic land comprised of Teddy Bear Island, Bed Mountain, and the magical portal of Wardobia, you might see little more than a monumental mess. If you’ve decided it’s time to declutter, then here are some top tips for going about it!

How to Declutter Your Child’s Toys

1. Discuss It With Your Child

No one wants to enter their room and find that a fraction of their things have disappeared, so don’t force your child to experience the same! Explain to your child why you need to declutter, and how it’s important for you both that they keep things neat and tidy, and aren’t hoarding more than they need. It’s a great way to introduce little ones to the concept of recycling, as well.

We’ve found that kiddies lose interest in toys is as little as five weeks*, so you may find your child isn’t as averse to letting go of some of their playthings as you think. Plus, everyone knows kids (and maybe some adults, too!) only want what they can’t have, so it might be better to work in tandem with your little ones rather than lay siege to their toy box while they’re at nursery or school.

2. Evaluate Each Toy

And we don’t mean guess what they’re worth on eBay! Kids like their toys for different reasons, so maybe you think they’ve outgrown their Mega Bloks and are ready for big-kid Lego, but they actually just love creating with the colours. This is also why it’s important to get little ones involved, so you can gauge which toys have the most value for them — you might be surprised!

You should also consider things like educational and creative value. A cuddly friend is nice, but an educational toy or one that lets them express their individuality might have more longevity and continued relevance to their development.

3. Set a Rule

You could try setting a rule for your child to help minimise clutter and ensure they make the most of the toys they do have. Try setting a limit like a ’15 toys rule’ so if your little one wants a new toy, they need to recycle or donate one they already have. This may seem like a harsh limit to impose on a child, but really, it’s teaching them great life values and they’ll learn to treasure what they do have. After all, we all have memories of building hideaways out of bed sheets on the line because we couldn’t have a swanky tent like the kids next door. By encouraging little ones to make the most of what they have, you might just spark some real creativity.

4. Remember, They’re Toys

With the rise of the decluttering trend on social media, it’s far too easy to decide that your whole home needs to be a picture-perfect Instagram-able masterpiece with not a thing out of place. Unfortunately (or, we think, fortunately!) a spotless home where everything is always in place is not normal, and it’s not much fun for little ones, either. Don’t impose your new minimalism rules on your child’s room because, simply put, it’s not going to work, and even if it does, it’s not going to last.

The main lesson here is to not go to the other extreme and declutter toys that your child genuinely enjoys or needs. Remember, these things are toys, they have value to your child and they are key to their development. You may think that they don’t need three dolls, but maybe they each play a very important role in your child’s playtime games. Going in too strongly when it comes to organizing toys to the point that you only see them as a mess that needs sorting can seem less like decluttering and more like actively depriving your child of opportunities to play, learn, and create.

5. Try Whirli

Maybe you’re wishing there was a helping hand to all this, an innovative service that could just let your little ones enjoy toys for that magical five week window of interest and then replace them with brand new toys when needed. Luckily for you, there is! Whirli is a clever new way to keep kiddies entertained and parents safe from cluttering and costly piles of neglected toys. Our subscription service lets you pay a fixed fee per month which gives you a set number of Whirli tokens to spend on toys.

Choose which toys you want from an ever-changing selection of over 1,000 products, including books, cuddly toys, and educational toys. We send them to you and your little one can play until their heart’s content, with no deadline on when to return them. If your child decides they aren’t interested in their toy anymore, no problem, post them back to us, and receive tokens in your account which you can use to rent your next toy. And if your little one has decided they simply can’t be parted from their new play thing, that’s fine too — you can purchase the toy from us for less-than-retail price. Plus, because we love it when a toy has found its forever home, any toy you keep for 8 months is yours!

Whirli has saved almost 240,000 toys from the landfill, for a more sustainable way to play. Plus, it could mean big savings for your wallet, as well — for every £10 Whirli customers spend with us, their little ones play with £40 worth of toys.

Share the Clutter

So, if you’re finding yourself overwhelmed by play things, try cutting down on toys, without cutting down on the fun. Whirli lets little ones enjoy a toy for as long as they like, while parents can enjoy knowing there’s an easy, cost-effective, and sustainable way to swap them out for something new when they start being clutter. Get started with your Whirli subscription today!

How to Save Money on Toys

Every child loves toys, and for good reason! As well as being fun, or cute, cuddly, even educational, they’re important as your child’s key to a little bit of freedom. So what if daddy says it’s time to stop talking to friends on the phone? There’s no curfew on talking to Mr Teddy under the covers! And maybe they have to share the TV remote with their older brothers and sisters, but their dollies are theirs and theirs alone. Unfortunately, while toys have limitless ways to help your child develop all sorts of key life skills, money isn’t quite so unlimited.

But what if there was a way to balance the fun with finances? What if we told you your little one could play with £200 worth of toys for just £50? Read on…

1. Go old school

It goes without saying that the true value of toys is never in their price tag. Remember back to when you were little, or even when your own parents were little and take a leaf out of the history book! Why buy an expensive art kit when you can do a bit of finger painting or a potato print? Why splash out on costumes when you can have fun creating one together from clothes destined for the bin? So, don’t always assume buying the latest and greatest toys is the only answer — there are endless ways to have great fun and make great memories without the price tag.

2. Find opportunities in the community

Most of us had hand-me-downs as a kid, getting to enjoy toys that still had a lot of life in them even if their former owners were too old, and why should that change for your little ones? Swapping and exchanging toys is a great way to greener-minded play. Talk to other parents, friends, and family members who might have toys from their own little ones that they would love to give a new home to. Check out your local area to see if there are any bargains or freebies out there for you. Whether that’s hitting up charity shops, school fetes, or the local social media marketplace, you might be surprised to see how many affordable (even free!) playthings you can get your hands on. And of course, it goes without saying that for books, your local library will be happy to have you!

3. Make it a teachable moment

Of course, we all love getting something new that we really, really want — that’s something even adults can agree with. But, as all adults can also concur, that doesn’t mean we can always have them. Remember, no one can have everything they want, and if they did, all those things would probably start to seem a little less special. Take a moment to talk to your child and tell them precisely why you can’t always buy them all the toys they want, while also explaining that they shouldn’t always expect to get them, either. Life’s tricky moments are always great ways to teach invaluable life lessons.

4. Make it about their finances

If being able to afford a new toy is your top worry, a problem shared is also one halved. Do you give your child pocket money? Here’s an amazing opportunity to teach them money saving habits and to make saving up for that toy something you can do together! For more affordable toys, you can have them save up until they can buy it all by themselves. You can even make this fun by creating a count-down calendar for the wall and marking off each milestone with a stamp, sticker, or fingerprint (see? We told you finger painting is still fun!). And when the big day comes, make a special event of going to the shop to buy it, or being extra clever and ordering it online.

5. Try Whirli

Now, if you are already our customer, you know exactly how much you can save. Our average subscriber plays with £200 worth of toys for just £50 so you can ensure your child has big fun, even if you don’t have big funds.

Whirli is super easy to use:

Pick a subscription plan — they’re billed monthly, half-yearly, or yearly. Your account will be credited with Whirli tokens which you can use to order toys. Our plans start from as low as £9.99 which gets you 80 Whirli tokens*.
Pick your toys — settle in for a few hours of excited toy-picking with your little one, because we have over 1000 of them! Every Whirli token is worth £1 of a toy’s retail price, so a £20 toy will cost you 20 tokens. Our lowest-cost subscription gets you 80 tokens*, and just like that, you’re getting more for your money!
Play time! — We’ll send your carefully chosen toys to you and your little one can play for as long as they want, there’s no return time! Any time they feel like something new, just send them back to us. We’ll credit your account with tokens and you can pick the next toy.

Our toy range covers just about everything your little one can want, accommodating new-borns to those who are around 8 years old. Discover books, scooters, cuddly toys, building toys, educational toys, musical instruments and much more!

We love helping little ones find toys they just don’t want to be parted with, so if they don’t want to return one, we’ll let you buy it from us for less than retail price. And, if your child keeps it for 8 months, they can keep it forever!

Like we said, our users get to watch their money go further thanks to Whirli. For every £50 spent with Whirli, your child can play with toys worth up to £200. It’s a great way to save toys from the scrapheap, and save on money, too.

So, ready to let little ones play in a big way? Get started today!

*80 token allowance is available once the introductory period is completed.

We’re moving (ware)house

The last 2 years since we started have been really exciting here at Whirli as we have been growing our range of toys, and more and more families have been subscribing to Whirli. However, much like having children, we have now run out of space at our ‘starter home’.

That means it’s time for us to move to a bigger warehouse!

Brief Delivery Changes

Unfortunately we won’t be able to hit our normal high standards of deliveries whilst we are moving, but rest assured we will be back to normal in a few short weeks! Things you will notice between 12th – 26th July:

We won’t be offering express delivery or nominated day deliveries
Our standard deliveries will take 1 – 2 days longer

New returns labels

We will soon be sending out returns labels with a new address in Rainham.

Don’t worry if you use an old ‘Tent Street’ label, we’ll still receive your parcel. However, you may experience a slight delay in processing your return.

Great customer benefits

By having more space and being in a better location, customers will soon get to benefit from:

A growing range of toys
Heaps of stock availability
A slicker operation to turbo boost swaps and make sure you continue to get the same speedy service.

A note from our Head of Operations

Hello! I joined Whirli in May of this year, and I’ve been amazed to see how many families are already enjoying swapping toys, and the amount of toys that we are preventing going into landfill! It gives me so much joy to see families sharing their experience on social media and the inventive ways they play with their toys.

My sustainability mission

When it comes to being sustainable, I’m passionate about us walking the walk. We are already reducing the amount of toys that end up in landfill, with around 50,000 toys circulating within our community. But there’s always more we can do. This year I’ll be ensuring we use the most sustainable, reusable and recyclable packing currently available.

I’m also continuing to look at how we reduce our carbon footprint. One way we’ve done this is by moving our warehouse closer to our couriers depots which in turn means there’s less distance to drive. In the not so distant future, I also have my eye on electric vehicles and how they can help Whirli take a giant step towards emission reduction.

A new warehouse also gives us the chance design and create energy efficiencies in our warehouse. Here, it’s the little things that make a big difference. Such as making sure that we are using renewable energy to power the warehouse, and we install motion sensor LED lightbulbs.

Always improving

As well as moving our warehouse, 2021 is going to be an important year for us in upgrading our operations. We are developing technology that will allow our warehouse team to process orders accurately and at speed. Plus we can expand our toy range to include some exciting additions later this year (I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet as to what they are!).

Treating people fairly

I am also hugely passionate about treating our team fairly. To create a comfortable, supportive working environment and develop opportunities for good people to progress. Not just within Whirli, but looking at our supply chain and ensuring our suppliers hold these same values.

Thank you

Finally, a big thank you from all of us for continuing to support us and our mission to make playtime better. A thank you in advance for bearing with us as we settle into our new home, and we’re looking forward to you benefitting from a better Whirli service!

Craig Simpson
Head of Operations

Whirli Announces Seed Funding Round

Every year at Whirli HQ, we take a moment after our busy Christmas period, to reflect on our progress towards our mission to help parents live more sustainably without breaking the bank. Similar to every business and every family around the world, 2020 has been full of surprises, uncertainty, and overall it has been incredibly challenging for us.

I have been incredibly proud with how our team responded to these challenges. Most of all, we have been so delighted to have received so much support from our subscriber community. Thank you for continuing to believe in our mission, for recommending us, for buying gifts for your friends, and thank you for all the kind notes of thanks and encouragement we received throughout the year. It means a lot and shows that what we’re doing has mattered to thousands of families and children across the UK. We will continue doing our best and going the extra mile for you.

This level of customer love and support has meant that, despite a challenging year for business and fundraising, we have been able to secure a substantial investment in our business, in a Seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from MMC Ventures.

It’s an incredibly exciting time for us, as we have so many ideas and plans for the business that will make it even easier to use, more flexible, offer more choice, whilst still offering amazing value for money. Some of the first things we are likely to do include:

Adding more toys and products to our range: we loved hearing all your suggestions for products you’d like to borrow from us. With plans to open a larger warehouse underway, we’re really excited to turn to this shopping list and having more brands and products available to borrow through your Whirli subscription.
Better delivery/return convenience and control: adding more courier networks to give subscribers more choice about how and when to receive their parcels or return them. Better platform integrations to give you more visibility, notifications, and control for upcoming deliveries.
More engaging content and guidance for parents: helping you with advice and recommended toys for learning through play
Improved product feedback and suggestions: helping you discover new toys your family may enjoy based on your feedback of toys you’ve borrowed
Better overall operations: to ensure a consistent and high level of service for every parcel delivered to every customer

Again, a big thank you to all our subscribers and to all our staff who have gotten us to this point. Together, we have truly demonstrated the demand and strong potential for a different way to shop and consume – one that is better for consumers, better for children, and better for our environment.

Merry Christmas!

Nigel Phan
Founder & Managing Director

How I saved money with Whirli

In three years, my husband and I have gone from £16,000 in debt, to debt-free with savings. In doing so, we’ve completely overhauled our lifestyles, going from purchasing mindlessly to consuming intentionally. Shortly after I had our son, Leon, we discovered Whirli and it was a game-changer.

Babies grow so quickly, and their needs develop on a weekly basis. Before Whirli, we often purchased new toys to keep up with Leon’s development. This is so expensive and comes at a huge cost to the planet. Think of all the plastic toys that also come with a mountain of plastic packaging!

One might argue you can buy secondhand, and this is something I fully advocate. However, it’s likely that a toy is only passed from one home to one or two more before being thrown away.

So when I heard about Whirli from another mum, it was a revelation. This is the solution for parents who want to live more sustainably and save money.

Saving money using my subscription

I was so excited when my first Whirli box arrived. All the toys were in great condition and specific to Leon’s development stage. I love that I can exchange the toys when we are ready to move on to the next stage.

We’re currently on the Toy Box half-yearly plan which costs £81 and this allows us to play with toys worth up to £120 at any one time. This year, I plan to use our subscription to order all of Leon’s Christmas presents, meaning that Christmas is already paid for. I’ll also use Whirli for his birthday presents! I usually swap toys every month, so after 6 swaps, Leon would have played with £720 worth of toys!

Saving money using my referral code

I belong to several parent groups so naturally I’ve raved on about Whirli and shared my referral code with them. Therefore, I get to save money (Whirli adds £20 credit to my account for every referral) and help out other parents too.

Saving money through Whirli gifts

For Christmas 2020, many of us are turning towards gifting our loved ones with vouchers to limit purchasing unwanted gifts. This year, I’ve asked Leon’s grandparents to gift him a Whirli voucher so we can continue our subscription next year. Receiving the gift of Whirli means you aren’t just getting one gift, you’ll get a new one every time a new box arrives. It is the ultimate present for any parent or child who wants the gift of choice.

Whirli has allowed us to cut our plastic consumption and save a lot of money. It has truly been a joy to discover, and I recommend it to any parent out there.

Our top 10 toys for Christmas

For Christmas 2020, more than any other year, you probably want to treat your kids to something extra special. Being a ‘re-commerce’ retailer, we can offer parents, friends and families the luxury of ordering a desirable toy or gift (desirable for the adult often means expensive, beautiful and purposeful….desirable for the child usually means bright, flashy and plastic) but only paying for the time it has actually been played with. A natural money saving and enviable space saving, not to mention landfill avoiding, choice.

So our Top 10 Toys for Christmas 2020 list is slightly different to those you may have seen from more traditional toy retailers. We naturally have a preference towards the responsible and sustainable, as well as an understanding that millennial parents are keen to offer their family choice and swerve outdated stereotypes.

Top 10 Toys for Christmas 2020

1. Lottie Dolls

Millenial parents are keen to swerve outdated stereotypes and offer their children life goals that are not destructive, unrepresentative or limiting. So naturally Lottie dolls were an obvious choice for us. Lottie dolls were developed on the basis of positive messaging for kids. Each doll is inspired by a real life child and is designed using real life children’s body proportions. They do not wear make-up, jewellery or high-heels and have childhood focused interests, not adult ones. They represent children who are bold, creative, innovative and curious.

2. Pikler Triangles

Whilst traditional playgrounds are only accessible for confident walkers and climbers, Pikler triangles are designed to promote motor development in much younger children. Those who are practising to grasp, reach, stand and climb, all in their own time.

With upper weight limits of 50kg (that’s 7 stone) they are also suitable for older kids too. Plus, they’re not limited to climbing. With just a dash of creativity and unbound imagination, our subscribers have turned their triangle into a den, tunnel, baby gym and so much more. These toys are responsibly and sustainably made by small businesses so no wonder they are hands down one of our most popular toys.

3. Playmobil 1 2 3 Zoo with Penguin Enclosure

Playmobil encourages creative play and this zoo enclosure set is perfect for the little ones. The pieces are sturdy and large enough for their little hands to play with. We also assemble all the pieces together before sending them out so the kids can play with them straight away.

Fun fact: Nigel, Whirli’s founder, loves building Playmobil sets for our subscribers.

4. Fisher Price Zebra Walker

This is a Whirli classic. A toy that may only be needed for a month at best and then is no longer needed. It is very popular, affordable, durable and the perfect Whirli swap.

5. Plan Toys Doctor Set

Plan toys are made from rubber trees that no longer produce latex. These trees are reclaimed and made into chemical free toys. They are really hard wearing, super durable and are even waterproof so make great bath toys. In recognition of our NHS heroes we’ve popped their Doctor Set in at number 5.

6. PJ Masks Fold & Go Headquarters Playset

The kids just got over their Peppa Pig phase, but now they are obsessing over PJ masks. You are now worrying when will they stop re-watching all the episodes. It’s ok, we got your back. Why don’t you gift this action-packed Fold N Go Headquarters Playset? It will help them take a break from the screen and recreate their favourite scenes instead. The best part about this playset is they can pack it up so there’s no toy-clutter in sight.

7. Melissa & Doug Wooden Ice Cream Counter

Kids love nothing more than pretending to be a grown-up; no wonder this is one of our most popular toys. The little cute shop keepers will have ample hours of fun, scooping and serving different flavoured ice cream. This is a great imaginative playset to help develop their communication (and business management) skills.

8. Micro Mini Micro Deluxe Scooter

Scooters kept many kids active during the lockdown. So you have probably seen Micro scooters everywhere and now you are wondering if they are worth it. Yes, they are! These scooters are light, durable, easy to use and the handlebars are adjustable. It is the best scooter for a safe and smooth ride while helping the kids develop their coordination and balance.

9. VTech 2-in-1 Sports Centre

You can keep your little ones active inside the house too with the VTech 2-in-1 Sports Centre. When they score using the football net or basketball hoop, fun animations will light up and it will play encouraging sounds. This is one of those bright, flashy and possibly annoying toys you might not like but your kids will love! It’s ok…you can swap it when they are done with it.

10. Magformers 30 Piece Set

This is the best present for kids who are obsessed with Lego or construction sets. They will love using their imagination to build colourful structures, improving their creative thinking and motor skills. The pieces easily connect to one another so you won’t hear any frustrated sighs during their play. Another amazing toy that is guaranteed to give you some peace and quiet for a couple of hours.

Guest Post: Borrowing things for your home

WHIRLI INTRO: As part of our Ownership is Overrated series we have been chatting to the team at The Library of Things. We want to encourage our customers, who may themselves be new to the circular economy, to think about other areas of their home and lives that they can borrow rather than buy.

The Library of Things is a London based community-led library of…well, things! Things for adventuring, hobbying, cleaning, DIY, cooking and more. We’ve been speaking to them about their London successes and their recent drive to expand across the UK.

Borrowing in a pandemic world

During lockdown, we’ve all spent a lot more time than usual at home. And without our usual activities to keep us busy with friends, we’ve all had to find creative ways to keep busy. From clearing out the house, to giving growing a go in the garden, or even bringing the cinema home, like Laura and her partner.

“We love going to the cinema and we’ve really missed it during lockdown. We’re also trying to find interesting things to do on the weekends to mix it up a bit, so we decided to borrow the projector to watch Hamilton and create our very own movie theatre.”

It’s now almost three years since we opened the very first Library of Things. If you wander down the high street in Crystal Palace, South London, you’ll find our kiosk in Upper Norwood Library Hub. Here you can borrow everything from fun stuff to get started with a hobby or activity like Laura – we’ve got a sewing machine and ice cream maker – to tools like a drill, carpet cleaner, or strimmer. There’s even camping equipment for a weekend getaway, like tents and backpacks too.

We were inspired by communities across the globe who had set up lending libraries in Berlin, Toronto and beyond, to share items with their neighbours and cut down on waste. We knew our community would love to get involved with this, so we brought Library of Things to London.

Since then we’ve been helping our neighbours cut down on the clutter in their kitchen cupboards and garden sheds by making it easier and more affordable to borrow, rather than buy, the useful things you only need occasionally for your homes, projects and adventures.

You can borrow items for as long as you need them and drop them back once you’re done for another neighbour to use, and because you’re borrowing, it’s a fraction of what it costs to buy something new.

But it’s not just our purses that stand to benefit. Borrowing means that we produce, buy and waste fewer natural resources. Together, our Crystal Palace borrowers have saved a whopping 15,900 kg of waste from going to landfill by borrowing rather than buying.

Sharing is more important now than ever

Over the years we’ve seen how powerful sharing can be as a way of bringing local people together. As well as borrowing items from Library of Things, you can join or host practical events like repair parties and sewing classes. Something simple and practical like borrowing a drill can become a transformation – making friends with your neighbours and learning skills that change your outlook on life.

During lockdown, sharing has brought our community closer together, even though we’ve had to stay apart physically. When the Library Hub closed back in March, lots of our members got in touch to say that they couldn’t do the activities that were important to them, because they couldn’t get the tools they needed. So we floated the idea of trialling a home delivery and collection service and we got a big thumbs up.

A fantastic bunch of volunteers signed-up to run our community-powered delivery service to help their neighbours get hold of the things they needed. This is what Lucy, one of volunteers had to say:

“I’m no longer working due to Covid, so I wanted to spend my time supporting the local community and helping people stay entertained during lockdown. It’s also a great excuse to chat to people and meet our lovely neighbours (from a safe distance, of course!)”

92% of people who borrowed during this period told us it has helped them feel closer to their neighbours and community. Now, more than ever, sharing has the potential to change how each of us live and relate to our communities and the planet around us.

Ready to give borrowing a try?

We’d love it if you’d be up for giving borrowing a go. If you live in South East London, browse our catalogue of things and make a reservation for delivery .

There’s good news for other Londoners too. We’ll be extending our delivery service to reach more of South London and new kiosks will be opening in the autumn across the city. You can already sign-up to become a founder member in Dalston.

And if you are interested in setting up your own Library of Things in your community, register your interest and see if there are any other people interested in helping in your area.

Guest Post: Making Kids Clothes Circular

Collaborating with Whirli

I’m Charlotte, the founder of The Little Loop kids clothing company. We have many shared values with Whirli and when they asked if we would be interested in collaborating with them on their Ownership is Overrated series, we jumped at the chance.

If you, like many people, have a house full of majority ‘owned’ things and would like to borrow more of the things that you only need for a short time, then you may be interested to learn about what we do at The Little Loop.

The truth about children’s clothes

Your littlest family member will outgrow over 1000 items of clothing before they are fully grown. Their voracious need for new clothes from ages 0-12 (about every 3 months due to growth and changing seasons) means the average household in the UK will spend around £11,000 on clothing each child. Ouch!

And what do we do with all those clothes when they’re done?

A whopping 183 million items of outgrown baby clothing (not to mention all the other ages) are stashed in UK homes. Many parents intend to reuse them for second and third children. But if they are a different gender, or born in a different season, the clothes may never be worn again.
⅓ of parents have thrown away children’s clothes because they didn’t know what else to do with them. Yet only about 5% of those clothes are damaged, and many are not worn at all.

But why is that a problem?

Kids’ clothing has the potential to be worn by up to 4 children. Compared with one use, that would reduce its carbon and water footprint by up to 75%.

Or think about it like this…for every garment which isn’t re-used or handed on, 3 more brand new garments have to be bought. This takes 3 times more cotton, thus 3x more carbon and 3x more water.

So the knock on impact of that 183million item clothes stash is the purchase of 549 million garments which didn’t need to be manufactured; creating 2 million tonnes of CO2e…the equivalent of powering 200,000 homes for a year!

It would take 33million tree seedlings to grow for 10 years to absorb that much carbon.

So what can we do?

Reducing the environmental and financial burden of clothing our children is getting easier and easier. There are several ways to tackle it and we cover the full list in our most recent blog “5 ways to dress your kids for less”. But of all of them there’s one thing which is guaranteed to have the greatest impact. Moving away from ownership and toward a world where we treat things as a service to be borrowed as and when we need them. A circular economy powered by rental.

Kids clothes rental ensures that every garment reaches its maximum potential and is never left to languish in a cupboard until it is no longer usable or desirable. Clothing can be reprocessed, professionally laundered, repaired where necessary, and circulated until it reaches its rental life end. And even then, it can be up-cycled into new products. All things which cannot be guaranteed or controlled in the world of ownership.

If you were to rent just 6 items of your child’s wardrobe for three months you would prevent another 18 from being manufactured, saving 67kg of Co2e, and up to 58,000 litres of water. The carbon saving alone is equivalent to driving 166 miles in a car.

Increase that to a modest indoor wardrobe (4 trousers, 6 tee shirts, 4 dresses/dungarees, 2 cardigans/sweaters, 2 sweatshirts), for a whole year, and you’re looking at a saving of 877kg CO2e and upto 756,000 litres of water. That’s the equivalent of 1/10 of your household’s annual energy.

OK, but isn’t rental harder than ownership? It seems daunting…

Not at all. In fact there are many other benefits to rental besides environmental ones.

Quality and Value

Because of the cost saving from buying new, you can generally access more expensive ethical and sustainable clothing, from the best sustainable brands, for far less than their retail price. And you’ll no longer have to:

Buy too big so they’ll ‘last’
Compromise on style, quality or ethics for the sake of cost
Buy gender-neutral in case of future babies

Plus you can exchange items your kids don’t like, or that don’t work as you’d expected. No more unworn items hanging in the wardrobe making you feel bad. And no more wasted money.

Convenience

Every time your kids grow, you have to sort through, pack away, and dispose of their discarded clothes. It takes a LOT of time and energy, not to mention precious storage space. Renting takes the pain out of clothing your children. You send back all of the clothes you’re done with. And get another set with just a few clicks of a button. No more stress, no more guilt, lots of time back to spend with your little heroes.

Feeling like a super hero.

Our children are our world, and we’d do anything for them. But they’re streets ahead of us in their quest to save the planet from the impact of over-consumption, pollution and waste. Rent their clothing to support them in their quest to save the planet. And you can feel like a hero too!

So what are you waiting for? Check out thelittleloop.com to see what rental is all about. Here’s a little taster of how it works.

Ownership is Overrated

With the recent news that Selfridges and John Lewis are the latest retailers to join the rental revolution, and with Ikea set to launch its rental offering at the end of the year, it is clear that Generation Rent is driving the shift towards rental.

Millenials and Gen Z’ers are defined more by ever-changing experiences, careers and lifestyles, than their parents’ were. They are more likely to move home, change jobs and make ever-evolving lifestyle choices. They have also realised that owning everything they need to support this lifestyle is expensive, wasteful and more of a commitment than they would like.

Customer challenge

To mark the shift towards a Rental Revolution we would like to challenge our customers to consider which areas of their homes are filled with things they own or borrow. We’ve created a list which you can go through. Mark each category with a %. 100% means you own 100% of the items within that category. 0% means you own 0% of the items in that category and rent them all.

Other Rental Businesses

To compliment the list, we’ll also add a link to any rental businesses we know of that you may want to consider in your quest to own less and rent more.

The Rental Lifestyle List

Women’s clothing

Hurr at Selfridges – peer to peer luxury clothing rental

My Wardrobe HQ – peer to peer and brand to peer luxury fashion rental

Rotaro – a fully centralised clothing rental service

Men’s clothing

Watch this space!

Home interiors

John Lewis Furniture – rent instead of buy your favourite household furniture

Harth – design-led interiors rental

Rise Art – original paintings for sale or rent

Household and personal items

Fat Llama – a peer to peer lending platform for electronics, tools, bikes and more

Library of Things – London based local community library offering ‘things’ across DIY, gardening, hobbying etc.

Kid’s clothes

Bundlee – a pre-bundled capsule wardrobe to rent for 0 – 24 month babes

The Little Loop – a choice of clothes to rent for 2 – 5 year olds from brands such as Frugi, Mini Boden and more

Kid’s toys

Whirli – us of course!

Baby stuff

Buggi – a UK buggy subscription of reconditioned buggies

Pets

Borrow my doggy – want a dog but not full time? The borrow a local dog for the weekend.

Car

Zipcar – the UK’s largest car sharing club in London, Bristol, Oxford & Cambridge

Working at Whirli

Every couple of months we like to give some insight into our business. A opportunity for anyone who may be interested to see how we do things.

Last time on Insta we shared details of our small and multicultural team. At the time there were just 24 of us. We have heritage from 12 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, and there’s a fair gender distribution across departments including our technology and warehouse operations.

Flexible working hours

This time, we want to share with you our working hours and what that means for everyone at the company. Traditionally, companies operate a 9am – 5:30pm policy. Anyone sneaking in the door past 9am is often considered to be late and anyone finishing before 5:30pm, a “part timer”.

Over the years, some business have evolved and we are one of them. We operate core hours between 10am – 3pm and outside those hours, everyone can start or finish when it suits them. It means we can collaborate, pair up and discuss things quickly and easily, without having to schedule every conversation. But it also gives flexibility to those that cannot start at 9am or need to finish before 5pm.

Never late

Something that has been a huge relief to me, especially as a parent, is that I am never late. Turning up a 9:45am is perfectly acceptable yet it isn’t a special privilege given to just me, a parent. The entire company can come and go as it suits us. There is no ‘being late’.

Multiple morning drops off and evening picks ups with small children is not without stress. But taking away the added stress of ‘being late’ for work has made such a difference.

Making work work

I started working at Whirli after I’d had my second child and the core hour policy created made full-time possible. Had the policy been stricter, I’m not sure me and my husband would have been able to make it work. We equally share our family’s needs between us which has meant he has a career that he has an equal opportunity to succeed in and so do I.

A post-pandemic working world

Now our World has been flipped on its head, I’m curious to know how all businesses will adjust. Working from home was always a possibility at Whirli. But perhaps they’ll be more of it or it will be structured differently. As a business we’re doing really well. We’re growing quickly, hiring more people. We’ve launched a new website, built a heap of new things and it was all done from home.

But many of us are missing face-to-face contact. So it’s likely, post-pandemic, there will be an even blend of office-based and home-based working. Perhaps readjusting the reasons for location-based activities, especially as the team grows. Most screen time work can be done from home, especially if it is quieter and less distracting. Perhaps office based work prioritises face-to-face contact, such as meetings, break-outs, collaborations and socials.

It will be an opportunity for every company to re-write the rules and create a working environment that is flexible. Support the person that needs quiet, focused time or encourage people to collaborate and interact more. Support the person that is simply not a morning person and does their best work later on. Or support the person that has responsibilities that don’t fit the 9am – 5:30pm structure.

And maybe, just maybe, our roads and trains will be less congested. I think we’d all vote for that!