Ugh! I Just Can't Give Away the Clothes-?!

I would save items like the crib, car seats, strollers, bikes, shoes. My oldest son was almost three when I got pregnant with my second son. I wished that I had saved my oldest son's crib, stroller and infant clothes, because trying to get all that stuff can be very expensive. I did still have some item like shoes, booster seats, bikes, toys and clothes from the oldest which is a big help. Most of those things look hardly used. From what you wrote you have more than what you need so maybe you should consider giving some of the items away to someone who needs it now.

I saved everything from my 1st daughter and was pregnant again when she was 15 mo. old, so I kept saving, and sure enough I had another little girl! I used everything when she was a baby. Now that my older one is wearing out her clothes before she outgrows them, I'm able to re-use less and less. Plus, they have 2 different body types, so some hand-me-downs are the wrong season. I am still saving most of the baby stuff (toys in good condition, crib, playpen, high chair, walker, etc.) and all the clothes my 2nd daughter outgrows as long as they are still in good condition. Not sure when we will have another baby, but we know we want at least one more, so it should come in handy! We have saved so much money doing this!

Hi Karen,

I saved EVERYTHING (including maternity clothes) from my first child (girl) who was born in 2001; used it all for my 2nd girl who was born in 2005, and am using it all again (except for the girl clothes) for my now 10 month old little boy who was born in Nov 2008. I am a stickler to taking care of all my stuff which in turn makes everything remain in "almost new" condition. I thought about giving away or selling the baby items after my 2nd daughter got older but had the same "what if" thoughts about baby #3. Baby #3 was a surprise at the age of 41 but I am on top of the world! :>)

I have a ton of girl clothes (infant - 7/8) to sell/give-away and started to think that it is time to see the items my little boy has outgrown to make room. I am taking this whole process slowly since it is a mental preparation...the time will come when it will be "right" to see them go but I haven't reached that point yet. Plus, I just don't have any spare time to get the items ready for sale.

I know of a few folks that got rid of all their baby items and ended up getting pregnant with either baby #2 or #3. This is something that I never wanted to do.

Do everything at your own pace...unless there is an urgent need, just take it at your own pace.

Hope this helps!
K.

See if you can find someone to trade with. I used to trade my son's clothes to a friend and she would give me clothes for my daughter. It helped me to move on and get rid of the stuff, but softened the blow by getting stuff in return.

Hi Karen,

I agree that you should save the pricier items like crib, carseat, etc. Maybe you could stash some stuff in the attic?? I saved everything from my first (boy) and ended up having a girl. So, the big non-gender stuff I reused and gave all the clothes to a friend who had just had a little boy. And we were so sure we were through, I gave away/sold my daughter's stuff as soon as she outgrew it. Of course, 2 weeks after giving away the last thing, the high chair, we started contemplating #3 LOL! I figure it will all work out somehow :) So I'd say if you can't stash it in your garage or attic or closet, send it packing-only keep unisex items. Because there's something to be said about decluttering your life. And I'm sure you'll find a way to cloth and entertain that new baby without breaking the bank :) Good luck with your decision!

My friends and I loan each other baby stuff. We just use a permanent marker (fine tip sharpie works great) and write our initials on the tag. Everything from maternity clothes, baby clothes, big baby items...we send out on loan. When we need it we put out a call and people start returning your things. I always keep 10 or so outfits that are my most precious memory items from each child.

In fact not too long ago I saw a maternity blouse on a friend of a friend and commented that I used to have that same blouse. She told me it was mine...my initials were on the tag.

Well I saved everything myself. Now I am prego with number two and it is another boy:) So I am really excited to know that I have lots of clothes to get started with. I think when I am done having kiddos I will get rid of all of it. How about just going to Target and getting some of those big plastic boxes with lids and putting your kids clothes/toys in there. Even if you stack them in the corner of a room, they will be organized and ready to go if/when you get pregnant and also organized and ready to give away if you don't need them. That is what I am planning to do between baby two and three. Then if I don't have another boy, or don't have a third at all I will have already done the hard work or sorting and labeling. Best wishes:)

This is a great question, and we've handled it in different ways. After baby #4, I felt we should be finished having children...we had two of each...so I gave away all the baby stuff...of course a few months later we were pregnant with baby 5, with baby 6 to follow. You know we didn't really miss all the stuff, and purchased a few things that were necessities and didn't bother with much of what we thought we had to have for baby #1. We were blessed with hand me downs from a generous cousin and didn't have to buy clothes or shoes for the last two children.

I've kept a few precious things from each child and stored these...baptismal garments...a few blankets that have passed from child to child...I passed the oldest girl's to the next girl...but now after she's done with them I give them to the cousins and friend (the next 4 were boys so if the moths don't eat them they will probably be out of style...except for a few classic pieces...if we were to ever have more children)

I only keep what I feel is in good condition and will be used again.

Another solution I've found is to find other ladies with a range of ages and do a clothing swap. We don't really purchase the clothing, we bless eachother with them. Our home school group sets up in a park and puts blankets down and puts girls clothes and boys clothes in separate piles and everyone takes what they need from the sizes they need. All left over gets donated...We were able to find a great boys coat and my girl's clothes were snapped up by several moms with sizes mine had out grown. I didn't have to find storage and it blessed others.

If you have the room you could hold on to your things for awhile and use from them as you need...especially gender neutral items...it wasn't as much fun to shop for new baby items with the second as with the first for me...and because you are having second thoughts about this may just be enough for you to wait a little before making that step...but it seemed that even the things we gave away were not missed. Blessings to you!

Relax, that is what stores are for... right now it can do more use for someone else.

Hello Karen,

I kept thinking, "i need to save it we might need it." My daughter is now 3 and I kept everything. Turns out i did need it but it was actually to help out another family who decided to take in her relatives children. My heart went out to them because I know how it is to start out with almost nothing.We went through the same, but I thank God everyday for blessings, The adoption is almost final!!
I agree with all the mamas, keep the unisex clothes and especially the crib and other big ticket items. I felt silly holding on to all the clothes, You know when you look through all the clothes you could probably recall when they wore it and what they celebrated or did,I know i do that all the time. So what i did is kept a couple of her dresses and some outfits that she always liked wearing, What i plan on doing with that is actually making a quilt for her out of those. I thought it would be a nice gift to give her when she gets older! I am doing the same with my son. He loves picking out his fav tshirts and then bags up the ones that will go to other lil boys. It makes him happy that he can help another child:)So it makes it easier on me to actually give away the clothes.Hope this helps.

Try a site called GumdropSwap (http://gumdropswap.com). No need to hold onto all of that stuff. Save a few fave outfits to pass on if next is same sex but get some return value on that money and free up space in your home and your parent's. You can swap from anywhere in the US by sending the clothes your kids outgrow to this kids boutique in CT. It's instant gratification. As long your things are in good condition they don't turn down anything because of brand, size or season. They take everything unlike resale store like Once Upon a Child! They give you points to shop on the website and send the clothes that fit your kids. It's great if you don't have time, patience or know how to do consignment, Ebay, craigslist, tag sale, etc.

Cover the big stuff with garbage bags and store in the attic.

Get those large plastic storage bags that you suck the air out with a vacumn cleaner. You can buy them at Wal-mart in the storage section. This will save you a TON of room and they really work.