I have been extremely fortunate to receive a TON of hand me down or borrowed baby items-- car seat, hook on high chair, RnP, clothes. We are very grateful for all of it! That said, I definitely can tell people who took care to clean things thoroughly before storing them. My sister clearly did not clean some things very carefully, nor store them that carefully-- like, the hook on high chair had some food crusted on it when I took it out! Another friend stored her items in the original packaging and it was all fresh and clean when I opened everything.

Thanks to that experience, I made sure to keep any packaging that will make storing items easier and will clean everything well before putting away for future LOs. I don't think I would have been so careful if I didn't get the less pristine items