'I turn clutter into cuddles with my Teddy Bear adoption service'

EXCLUSIVE: This is no ordinary maternity side hustle. For Aussie mum and teacher Sarah, she's saving more than pre-loved bears..

Cast your mind back... Can you remember your very first teddy bear? 

Sarah Menna can. 

“I still have my Mickey teddy from when I was a baby. I've kept that,” she tells Kidspot fondly.   

For Sarah, a Sydney teacher and mum of three, toys aren’t just playthings—they’re treasured connections to our inner child, and long-ago childhoods.

Which is one of the reasons why, through a lucrative soft toy business called Reloved Treasures, she's offering everyone an affordable chance to re-love a treasure.

But it's no ordinary maternity side hustle. For Sarah, it's almost a calling.

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Turning clutter into cuddles

With her hands full raising twin one-year-olds and an almost three-year-old, Sarah began pursuing a mission close to her heart: creating a stuffed toy empire inspired by her childhood memories.

“I'm an adult, but it's really enjoyable to me to be around plush toys all the time,” she says.  

Image: Reloved Treasures

Which is why during her most recent 'nesting' period, she found herself being, “That mum who could not get rid of anything."

But preparing for twins meant she had no choice - she needed storage space.

“When you have another child, or in my case twins, you get triple the amount of things. It just becomes completely infeasible to keep it all,” she says.

“It was just getting to the point where it was really, really overwhelming. I just didn't have anywhere to store this many plush toys.”

Wishing there were a way to give the toys a new life, rather than a cold donation, she created Reloved Treasures, a teddy bear adoption business.

“I want these 'used' toys to go to families that are going to care for them," she insists. 

This is how it works: The teddy bear fairy godmother rescues toys destined for op shop shelves—or worse, landfill—and gives them the Cinderella treatment. 

“They get washed, cleaned, sanitised and repaired if necessary. I give them a name and a story card handwritten by me. And then they get adopted out into new families."  

Each bear comes with their very own story card. Image: Reloved Treasures

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It’s not just about teddies

Each toy also comes with a unique tale, encouraging imaginations to run wild.

“I will look at the teddy and then a name will come to me,” Sarah explains.

“ If the teddy has clothes, if the teddy looks a certain way, if they look cheeky, if they look joyful, then they get a personality from there. So it's just completely creative on my part.”

The bin isn't the only thing she's saving. She's sparing the environment, too.

“80% of toys end up in landfill in their first year of their life,” she says.

Sarah even ensures the cleaning process uses eco-friendly products.

“Everything is as environmentally sustainable as possible. They're probably more clean than from a store that gets touched by all the kids on the shelf!"

Her impact doesn't stop there, with a portion of her profits donated to charity.

“I donate to a charity called Dandelion Support Network. They are all about mums and bubs and disadvantaged families in our community in New South Wales."

Image: Reloved Treasures

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"Make it easier for parents"

Her adoptees come from right across Australia. One bear has even made it as far as Canada.

But one story stands out.

“I put an Instagram story up of like a preview of teddies that I had just washed and she messaged me straight away,” she recalled.

“She picked two Australian-themed teddies. A wombat and an echidna.”

The teddies were included in an Aussie themed nursery that her customer was finally able to create following eight years of fertility struggles. 

“It meant so much to me. This was her rainbow baby," she said. 

Sarah understands letting go of children’s belongings is a confronting reminder.

“They're growing up. It's a symbol of growth and change. A lot of us struggle with that. This is a way that I can hopefully make that a tiny bit easier for those parents,” she says.

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Her hopes for the future include growing her business, while further enriching her own children’s childhoods.

For example, Sarah's daughter often 'fosters' some of the donated toys while they await their forever families.

“She's like ‘okay this one's getting adopted by me for a little bit before we pass it on’ and I am so not opposed to that. 

“I think it's a really good way to teach circular economy and moving things on and finding them a new life without them ending up in the bin.” 

As the saying goes, every toy has a story; and Sarah's making sure they all get a happy ending.

Originally published as 'I turn clutter into cuddles with my Teddy Bear adoption service'