I’m trying to declutter my home. I have two children, a daughter (5) and a son (1 1/2). My husband and I aren’t sure if we are done having children.
So what to do with all the outgrown baby and kid stuff? I gave away all of my daughter’s girly stuff to friends of ours who had a baby girl. But there’s the crib that my son will soon outgrow, the stroller, baby car seat, bouncers, Bumbo, baby toys, baby clothes (I kept the neutral ones), cloth diapers, and my maternity clothes.
Currently it all sits in my basement in plastic storage bins. But it piles up! I’ve really gotten rid of a lot, donating to a maternity resource center and passing things along. But what I have left still takes up a lot of space.
If you’re not sure whether your family is complete, how do you handle all the outgrown baby, kid, and maternity stuff?
-Jessica
Great question, Jessica! And I think the answer will look different for different people. But here are some of my thoughts:
1. Get Rid of Everything You Don’t Love
If you didn’t use it repeatedly with your last child, there’s a very good chance you won’t be using it much with your next. Instead of letting it hog up storage space, pass it on, sell it, or donate it.
2. Get Rid of Everything That Isn’t In Good Shape
Don’t hang onto clothes or baby items that are worn out, stained, or ripped. Ditch items that are broken or have missing parts–unless you’re absolutely sure you will fix or replace the parts should you need them again. If you’re not 100% sure you’ll go to the effort to fix or repair an item, don’t hang onto it.
Better yet, if you want to hang onto something and it needs repair, go ahead and just fix it before putting it in storage. If you’re not willing to go to effort to fix it now, there’s a good chance you won’t be motivated to fix it when you need it, either.
3. Consider Whether It’s a Necessity
If you don’t have a lot of storage space, only keep the basic necessities. In my Having a Baby Without Breaking the Bank series, I wrote:
First off, we must start by asking ourselves, “What does it really take to raise a baby?” I believe our society has become so materialistic and consumer driven that we hardly know how to even think in basic terms.
Aside from lots of love and nurturing, here are the essentials I believe you truly need:
–Clothes (For starting out, I think you can get by just fine with around six onesies, six sleepers, a few pair of socks, a few hats, and 4-6 blankets.)
–Bed (unless you’re planning to co-sleep)
–Car seat
–Stroller
–Diapers/wipes (either cloth or disposable)
(And if you are unable to nurse–as I know happens on occasion, or if you are adopting, you would also need to add formula to this list.)
And that’s about it, folks. Seriously. There are other things that are nice to have, such as a swing, a sling (or ERGO), a few nicer outfits for baby to wear out of the house, a diaper bag, and so forth. But none of those things are absolute necessities.
4. Calculate How Much It Would Cost to Replace
If you love it and used it repeatedly with your last baby, ask yourself how much it’s worth. If you could easily and inexpensively replace or borrow something, it might not be worth hanging onto it for months or years–especially if you’re not sure you’re going to use it again.
5. Assess Your Storage Space
If you’re really short on storage space, pare down to the basic minimums. It’s just not worth it to keep items you aren’t using if you don’t have anywhere to store them.
6. Create a “Lending Library”
If you’re not using an item, you might as well loan it out to someone who could be using it. That way, you’re not having to store it, it’s not sitting somewhere unused, and it’s saving someone else from having to buy it!
Do you hang onto all your outgrown baby items and maternity clothes?
When our last baby outgrew things we gave so much stuff away, including our crib and changing table, most of the clothes, stroller, car seat, almost everything! I saved our Moses basket and high chair, some clothes and cloth diapers and that’s it. I am pregnant after a 7 year break and you know what? Everything we really need has made its way back to us. A friend gave me a crib, I found a used car seat (checked expiration and recall status), someone is giving us their outgrown infant clothes and my brother bought us a large quantity of cloth diapers! Most baby items can be bought very cheap secondhand at yard sales and consignment sales. I have learned through this that when you are generous to others that generosity finds it’s way back to you when you need it!
Check your area for Rhea Lana or Just Between Friends
With 3 years between #2 and #3, 3 years between #3 and #4, and 7 years between #4 and #5….we did not hold on to much. Clothing, Toys, Car seats and bassinets were donated to a local baby pantry. I only held on to one small tote of favorite toys and clothes…though I didn’t for #5 and we are completely starting over. As they outgrew one size of clothes I would sort through, pick out the favorites and then make a trip to donate. Not having all those toys and clothes piling up saved my sanity for sure! If my babies had been closer together, I think I would have held onto more.
You can get a good deduction on your taxes by donating and getting a receipt. Here are the guidelines for donations: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Eight-Tips-for-Deducting-Charitable-Contributions. I donated a bunch of clothing and made an itemized list using the tax donation values from the chart at Goodwill.com and which added up to a deduction worth over $700!
i never had any babies, but in our area we have a wonderful Pregnancy Help Center, which is there for parents who choose life over abortion for unplanned pregnancies. they take in all sorts of donations, then their clients (moms AND dads) can “buy” items using credits they’ve earned by taking classes, volunteering for the center, holding a job, etc – things that will hopefully help them mature and be better parents and productive members of society. it’s a really nice place to donate your old baby things. i’m sure they have those kinds of places everywhere(?)
I volunteer at our local Pregnancy Care Center sorting the donations. I was going to suggest this also. We give items free although there is a limit to how much a client can receive and counseling is required. For some things, clients take a short class.
This may just be our center but due to recalls we can’t give out baby cribs. We also don’t give used car seats because of recalls and because we can’t know if the seat has been in a car accident.
I got a new crib and carseat at the pregnancy center. Definitely agree with not giving out used ones. I think it’s fine to pass them momma to momma, but I not from an organization. I see used carseats for sale on Facebook marketplace, and it bugs me out. I need to do a blog post on things that are unethical to sell on marketplace.
One thing that might be helpful, is as car seats have expiration dates, (usually 5-6 years from the date they were made) might not be any point in holding on to that, since they are so bulky. We aren’t able to reuse any of #1’s car seats because #2 is coming along about 5 years after, and the infant seat already expired a year ago. We did hold on to it because I used it when watching my niece, but otherwise, would have given it to someone else.
After having twins, having a hard time getting pregnant and also a hard pregnancy. We decided 2 was plenty for us. First as someone else mentioned, car seats expire, they all have dates on the manufacture label. It is because the plastic gets brittle with time and can break and crack. All other things like toys to toddler beds, we have brought to consignment. All the money that is made has been put to the side, to be used for the kids college education. We are looking at the best way to invest it, so we can make some money on it.
I only hold onto super nice things that I love as well…everything else gets sold at our local children’s consignment event. It’s called Rhea Lana…there’s about16 States that these children consignments events are in: http://www.rhealana.com
Like Jessica, I participate in a mom2mom sale–Just Between Friends. I participated in the sale after having my first, knowing we weren’t done yet (baby 3 arrives this April). It’s a great way to balance saving and buying new. I don’t know of a single mom who doesn’t buy new things for whatever number baby is arriving. I think it’s part of our nesting. I actually posted today on the process.
Mom2Mom sales seem to be very successful, guaranteed target audience and all.
Don’t count on baby showers. It used to be common back in the day to only have a shower for your first born. Weddings were the same way, first wedding (or according to some older people, only if you hadn’t been living together or away from home already). A) not everyone is kosher about a second shower. B) even if it’s your first shower, you may not get items you are counting on and end up with a ton of newborn clothes and a 16lb baby. I have a second job at Gap, and you wouldn’t believe how many items are purchased too far in advance, meaning that the 60day return policy has expired before the shower date, and often things aren’t even in the system anymore to give a $ or two back! (Though I definately recommend gap kid jeans, and the punch card during back to school.)
I don’t recommend buying used car seats unless you know the person you are buying it from well. Think about it, many people get carfax just to tell about the condition of a used car. Car seats can’t tell you if they’ve been in an accident, if the driver was rough (putting extra wear on the seat to expire sooner, if the seat wasn’t properly fastened to the car, sliding and stress to the base), or if the child outgrew the seat but still used it (same as before, extra wear, using straps when the child is too tall stresses the straps…). It’s not worth the risk to your child. If you buy used, even from a friend, please please please inspect the thing. Straps, main seat, base, connectors.
I laughed when I saw this and thought “No. keep it all.” The only reason every time I got rid of the stuff we had another one. My daughters were 7 and 4 and I thought we were done so I had a garage sale and got rid of all of it. Two weeks later I was expecting. When he was abot 18 months I thought 3 is good. Yep we now have a 14, 11, 6 and 4 yr old.
With that being said….. car seats expire. I got a new one for each child. clothes that are gender nuteral I kept (finally, and then gave them to my friend who just had a baby). Think about what you need for your kids and not what others tell you you need. I found by #4 that less to keep track of is better.
Where I live, car seats are not a necessity either — in fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one here (babies are carried or strapped to you). My car was wrecked a few months ago, and miraculously, the four and six year old in my car were unharmed (and the 13 year old twins in the front seat). I think they were safer in a way because they were laying flat asleep when it happened as opposed to sitting upright in a car seat.
My friends on FB are always talking about slings and baby carriers. They will debate for pages on the best kind, etc. and say how each of their kids have required a different kind. I’ve never seen any of the fancy kinds where I live. The women just tie their babies with blankets, and it works.
So I definitely agree that the US has fostered wants. I am glad you all are privileged with what you have, and its good to have a good sling, but its okay if you can’t afford the stuff too. After my car was wrecked, I was OKAY with not fixing it at all (we did get it fixed since it ended up not costing much). I filled up my small car this week for the first time since early December, and yes, its several miles to church, etc. But I have found that bicycles work, and they are free to use. And so most of life is all about keeping what really matters in perspective.
I have a 4 year old daughter and a 1 year old son. We are not sure if we are done or not. So I went through all the clothes and packed them up and labeled the bins, I put all the clothes except the ones that were badly stained. As for the toys, we are in the process of going through those and giving them away to others. The car seat is about to be expired, I’m saving it for the BRU trade in this fall to get a new convertable car seat for our son. The stroller I want to sell to get something else that will work better for us.
For our family, this is how we’d handle it:
Clothes: ripped – stained go to the garbage. Ugly, overly complicated, or just “not my style” – donate to charity or give to friends. I save all my favorites.
Books/DVDs: I usually buy these used on half.com or Amazon, so it only makes sense to resell these items rather than store them. I can always buy them again when the time comes for the same price I sold them for (or maybe less). Sure, I’ll have to pay the price of shipping when I buy them again, but I get cash to spend now and free up storage space.
Car seat: This one depends on the expiration date. If the seat is likely to expire before we have the next kid (if we aren’t done), then there’s no point in storing it. I’ve been the recipient of an awesome used convertible carseat from a friend who had secondary infertility issues and knew she wouldn’t be pregnant in time for her baby to be old enough to use the carseat before it expired, while our family could use it right away. So I’d pay it forward. Some people even buy used carseats on Craigslist, which is risky because you have to take a stranger’s word that carseat hasn’t been in a car accident. So while I wouldn’t buy a used carseat off Craigslist, I’d have no problem selling my own used carseat if I didn’t have a friend in need of one.
On a final note, I’d be careful lending any baby equipment for an extended period of time. For a few days to try it out, sure! But baby clothes or anything else that the borrower will have for months or some undefined period, I would steer clear of. I personally wouldn’t borrow anything long-term, because there’s no way with a newborn and pregnancy/mommy brain I would be 100% sure to keep track of which clothing items I got from which person, when they wanted it back, etc. It’s much easier to just give things outright and let them pay it forward by giving it to some other family when they see a need.
I absolutely refuse to borrow kid’s clothes. I can’t be for sure I’ll get it back to you and don’t want the stress of keeping up with it.
Larger stuff? harder to lose/easier to keep up with? sure. I borrowed a swing this time and really appreciated it.
Perhaps, trust that whatever you give away, you’ll be able to find/replace at a time you need it. (I call it karma, you may call it trusting God.)
We only have one baby, but I am still constantly in this process. When we finish each stage, I evaluate how much we used the item before deciding to store or give it away. I’m also working on lending most everything out! Then someone else can use it without buying it – and I have a clutter-free house! Win, win!
We have 2 kiddos, a 6 yr old boy and a 4 yr old girl. I have kept EVERYTHING! I always feel foolish looking at all the stuff piled in the garage, under beds and under the stairs. I’ve had 2 miscarriages, but now I’m preggo with #3! I’m very excited that I’ll have most of the stuff the baby will already need.
This may have already been said, but I would recommend selling the bigger items at a nice consignment sale and then keeping the money in cash somewhere to re-purchase those items later if you decide to have more children. Especially with things like the stroller/car seat, which will probably be outdated when you have another child.
How about this question? What do you keep and what do you return from a baby shower? My co-workers gave me a shower this last weekendd and were incredibly generous. I got two bouncy/swingy things and a fancy highchair that I know I could find used for sooooo much cheaper IF I wanted them. Gift receipts were attached. I feel guilty about returning, but could really use the money for diapers/formula in future. Dillema or no-brainer — opinions??
I had a similar experience. Got lots of frilly outfits from Belk (along with great stuff we really needed, like carseats), but I already had a stash of yard sale clothes. I returned the stuff we didn’t need and used the money to buy things we did need. Just try to recognize that the gifts were meant to be a blessing to you, and if a gift receipt was attached, then they know it may not be what you need and made it easy for you to exchange.
If a gift reciept was included, I don’t think it’s wrong to return it. I’d be inclined to feel just like you!
Also – if these weren’t items that you registered for, then you certainly shouldn’t feel bad about returning them!
I am not finished having kids, but one thing I plan on keeping for a while, even when my kids are older, is my pack and play! A friend of mine (whose youngest is five and she’s done having kids) still has hers and I use it when I take my 11 month over and she’s lent it out to friends coming from out of town also! It’s not that big to store when folded up and if you can use it for grandkids also!
I kept almost everything. We live in a small house and I was starting to feel like I was foolish. We weren’t even sure we would have #4. Then we ‘accidently’ got pregnant. I was SO happy that the stuff I saved from ds#1 was the perfect season for the size! I didn’t have to buy any clothing at all — what a blessing! I wills a I did get rid of my bouncy seat, carseat, swing, etc. after #3. It was kind of nice to have a few newer things with #4 that were more up to date. But in my case, hoarding (har har) did turn out to be a good thing. 🙂
My babies are 3 & 1, and I’m not sure if I’m done either. I have been so incredibly blessed with clothes, shoes, toys, big items lended to me and gifts. I had been hanging on to EVERYTHING feeling like all the stuff would hold the door open for having another baby. I didn’t want to share & it was for the wrong reasons. I had to come to terms with my faith on this one, so for me, Ive had to let go of the stuff (I do keep special outfits & toys). God has a plan for me and my family and no amount of stuff will EVER change that plan. If God has blessed me this much with my 1st two, then He will bless me again. He needs me to transfer his blessings on to someone else that needs it right now. This has been a very emotional & spiritual process for me. But once I decided to let go, I’ve felt really free & really peaceful about the whole thing. *You reap what you sow*. 🙂
My children are the same ages and God has truly blessed us with toys, clothes, shoes and more for both my daughter and son. God must be teaching us both the same lesson here. It always seems that when I get things bagged up to give to others that someone else is running over to give me a HUGE bag of things for my kids, LOL!
Donate to a crisis pregnancy center or battered family shelter! We take anything! Also, in my town there is a facebook group where you essentially post if you have something or need something. Awesome bartering group.
I do a good job at paring down the supply stash out of necessity–my family of four is in a 2-bedroom 1000-ft townhouse with one small 6×7 storage nook. My girls are almost 3 and 7 months. We are 90% sure we will be having a third child, but it will be another 4-5 years before we reach our financial goals and can make that happen.
I get rid of just about everything. I am young and will not want to wear my maternity clothes from 2008-2009 in 2016 or 2017. Baby clothes have been swapped, sold, shared and donated (and are on a regular basis). Big things like the swing and bouncer have been sold on Craigslist. I should not have a problem buying them back for about what I sold them for at some point during my pregnancy–I love Craigslist for that reason!
The few things that I do hold onto are a small container of clothes for each girl that I add their special birthday outfits and memories to. I also have kept/will keep some smaller things, some of which are on loan to my cousin now–Bumbo, Boppy, and Ergo (still in use). My goal is to have everything I’m saving in one 22-gallon storage bin (and the Bumbo and Boppy in separate bags!) by my younger daughter’s first birthday.
I don’t think it makes sense to hold onto anything that you can replace cheaply and keep safe and sanitary–don’t buy used breast pumps! Anything could change in your situation, and it’s a lot easier to get rid of recent models of products than older styles in five years in case you decide that your family is complete!
About 4 months after my daughter was born me and her father split up. At that point, not sure if I would have any more children I quickly gave away a lot of her things as I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment. Now my daughter is 4, I am in a steadily relationship that is headed towards engagement and marriage and we both know that we want atleast 1 more child. (He says 2). For me, I gave everything away because I knew I would replace alot of it. Also my family is big on baby showers so I know I will have another. When I was pregnant with my daughter I had 3 baby showers: 1 from my job, 1 from family (DC) and 1 from friends and his family here in GA.
So I would say, for those who work or have close family by and you know you will probably have a baby shower then get rid of clothes, bottles and things that you know will be replaced during the shower. Things that are inexpensive I would get rid of also.
I gave alot of my daughters things to friends, consignment stores and donations. She is getting older and I donate alot of her clothes to the school or the local charity.
find your local peace. love. swap and swap your outgrown items for ones you’ll use – while helping your community at the same time! 🙂
if you don’t have one near you, you can start one – i did! 🙂
http://peaceloveswap.com/
There are so many comments I don’t know if anyone suggested this yet.
I am a single mom with one child. I do not plan on having any more kids anytime in the near future (or ever!) and lack storage for everything.
I plan on having a yard sale this spring and selling everything. All the money I make from it will go into my son’s college savings.
I have a daughter that just turned two and not sure when/if we’ll have baby #2. However, in my limited experience, I’ve found that loaning out clothes, accessories is a great, free way to store things (aka, get it out of your house!) and bless another family in the mean time.
There are tons of great children’s and maternity consignment sales out there where you can price your own items and earn way more for them than taking them to a consignment shop. My favorite is Just Between Friends. They are all over the place. I am (pretty) sure that I am done having kiddos, so it was great to unload the good and get a check for over $400 a couple of weeks later! Good luck!
I have a 3 year old and coincidentally had the same dilemma having more kids(not sure), cannot give stuff or not…lol…you do not know when to stop having babies but since they are god’s gifts to us we should as one reader pointed out, make the decision prayerfully…I also wanted to get rid of large items and things and was encouraged to do so becos I belong to a huge group of MOPs group and they always pass along stuff…keep that in mind as to what can be passed along…
I am not totally sure we’re done with children, but I have gotten rid of almost all baby & maternity things. We’re not planning on more children for the near future, and it’s not worth it to me to cart around the extra stuff. Like Crystal said, I think there’s not as much that you need as I originally believed when I had my 1st child.
call your local dept of children & families office. if they can’t use they might be able to refer you to an organization that will take and distri consider donating items to these organizations: http://thewishproject.org/, http://www.hgrm.org/donate_goods.htm. it’s nice to know my stuff isn’t going into a landfill but to help someone else start a home.
call your local dept of children & families office. if they can’t use they might be able to refer you to an organization that will take and distribute. if u live in NE Massachusetts consider donating items to these organizations: http://thewishproject.org/, http://www.hgrm.org/donate_goods.htm. it’s nice to know my stuff isn’t going into a landfill but to help someone else start a home.
Keep in mind safety too! Like others have mentioned, car seats expire.. and there was that recent HUGE recall of cribs. Don’t take up space saving something that will be unsafe for the possible next child to use.
Our #3 is 8 months old… we’re on the fence about there ever being a #4 but we do know that we have decided to wait a few years before we make that decision for good. The infant carseat that has gotten us through the last two babies will expire in 2014 so I will be selling or donating as soon as we switch out for the convertible car seat. Clothing styles change and babies are born in different seasons. I’ve always saved our favorite clothing items… each kid has a bin that they go in when they are outgrown and my plan is to make them each a raggy quilt for their 18th birthday or some other special milestone using the fabric from those clothes.
I love bargain shopping and would prefer to sell most items as we are done using them because I know I’ll most likely be able to hunt for a good deal on items if we ever need them again.
We do have a very basic pack & play (not one of the cadilac versions with all the attachments) and I think I will keep that regardless of our baby-having status. Always nice to be able to pull out when you have company with littles who need a place to take a nap safely 🙂
My sons are all pretty well grown-29, 26, and 21. After the third, I still really wanted a girl, but…. wasn’t meant to be, so I got a house full of Boy Scouts and football players instead, and girls as their friends-so I did really get my wish.
On space-saving for clothes and blankets, and bedding, I would recommend space-bagging what you’d like to hang onto-either for the next possible baby or as mementos to pass down. I still have a few frilly dresses that my mom saved for me. Just make sure they’re clean before you seal them. It really takes up so much less room that way.
Car seats expire, and drop-side and older cribs have been recalled, so don’t keep those. Diaper elastic can go bad, too, and some stains seem to show up after clothes have been put in storage, so I’ve given away most of our stuff, and don’t miss it. I also have enough mom friends to ask for handmedowns, in case of another kid.
I really struggled with this. We have two kiddos and know we are planning for more, but we just don’t have room for everything. While we have room to store the big stuff, we have a ridiculous abundance of clothes due to my kids being the only grandkids. After a lot of prodding by my husband, I finally admitted that I needed to get rid of most of their things. Other than onesies, blue jeans, or things like that, it is unlikely that my next child will be the same gender in the same size at the same time as either of my kids. So keeping seasonal clothing just doesn’t make sense! Also remember that it doesn’t make sense to hold on to trendy clothing as it isn’t likely to still be in style with your next kiddo. We have started selling most of their things at a local consignment sale. Our profits at the spring sale paid for a mini vacation and the fall sale paid for a bulk of Christmas! Knowing that these were taken care of made it much easier to part with even the outfits that I loved!
You might benefit from reading about my experience with co-op consignment sales. Here is my review for Just Between Friends,
http://buyonsaleandsavethedifference.blogspot.com/2010/09/just-between-friends-review.html
I have a 8 and 5 year old and I kept almost all of the stuff we had. Baby #3 will be here in a few months. I am soooooooooooooo glad I kept the stuff. The clothes now are terrible compared to the pre-recession clothes and the cost of baby stuff has almost doubled. Since this is our last child, all the baby stuff will be sold on Ebay, on consignment and donated.
The other thing to consider is to check the expiry dates on car seats etc to help you determine whether to sell it now or hold on to it. Because, like me, we want to try for a second but are waiting until after my husband takes the plunge of dropping from a full time job he hates to part time so he can expand his hobby into a business…but in the mean time, the car seat would expire in my basement. So we decided to sell it so someone else would get good use of it instead of going to waste in our basement, and buy a new one whenever the second baby comes.
I think Money Saving Mom should do a post on the whole “Lending Library” concept. I am guessing that baby clothes/stuff are not the only things that lend themselves to being lent out. 30-cup coffee makers. Breadmakers. Folding chairs. Even lawnmowers. How does one set up a good one, and avoid the tragedy of the commons?
Just a side note: I would add a breast pump to the list of necessities, even if you’re home full time. I work at home and so 90% of the time I’m nursing my baby, but having the pump means I don’t get behind if I skip a feeding. [A breast pump would not be a good addition to that lending library! Some things need to be all yours…]
I pass my son’s clothes to my nephews. It’s neat to see them wearing them, but hard to believe how much my son has grown! I sell my daughter’s clothes at Kid 2 Kid and donate what they won’t take. I keep their favorite outfits and toys.
Donate to a women’s domestic violence shelter; these ladies often arrive with kid and only the clothes on their backs.
We are expecting #5 in the next month or so, but we had given away or sold 90% of what we have used with children #1-4 (#5 was an unexpected bonus)…and I don’t regret it. Storing the equipment and loads of clothes takes so much space. We have been able to use many of the same clothes for our 3 boys which has been helpful, but after the 2nd or 3rd season of use, I let them go. We are having our 2nd girl and there will be about an 8 year spread from our first daughter so I’m glad that I have incrementally gotten rid of girl things in those 8 years as much of it would be out of style/not seem as cute to me now.
For me I wasn’t able to purge everything at once, but bit by bit it did leave the house.
We have gotten a couple new things for each kid, so the new stroller I received when we had our 4th replaced the older one we had, etc.
Things I do save:
– coming home outfits and baptism outfits
– jeans in good shape (good for boys or girls)
– coats, and shoes in good shape (I buy Lands End coats in basic styles/colors on clearance and expect them to last through at least 2 kids each)
We have also been blessed to be able to borrow as well as loan out equipment over the years.
This time around we did have to buy a new car seat and I chose to buy a pack and play, but I think if we don’t get anything else we’ll manage just fine. We have seen time and time again how God has provided so I’m not sweating it. Friends insisted on throwing a shower so I’m hoping for a bit of clothing.
Finally, re: car seats, the ones which we’ve had and have expired have had recycling codes so I have taken off the covers, straps and any adjustment bars (making them unusable) and just recycled them with our curbside service.
If you are really hoping for clothes, I would definitely do some baby registries and in the comment section put something about how you would like to get some clothing. With my second child I put in a note about how diapers would be a blessing and when anyone asked what I needed I told them, “Diapers and wipes.”
Believe me, you will know when you are done. If you are unsure, I would prob. hang on to the bigger items, even if you are limited on space. Give it 2 or 3 years. I am a Mom to 6, and I was always unsure until Baby #6. Then I knew…. now everything GOES!!!!
In regards to the when to know when to stop having children question, I was once told that when they become a burden instead of a blessing it is time to stop.
That’s a tough one. Once they feel like a burden, isn’t that too many and then you can’t go back? I want to stop before they aren’t fun anymore not when it’s not fun anymore.
Thanks, Carrie! I didn’t have that worded the right way! It should be.. if another child would be a burden instead of a blessing then it is time to stop!
In each size of clothing I get a plastic double shoebox and pack it with clothes from each child after they grow out of them. Whatever doesn’t fit in the box goes to someone else.
I kept the crib and have a fold away bassinet that we will keep for the next ones but I am seriously considering getting rid of the bouncer, swing, and jumper after our youngest (9 months) gets a bit bigger. He really didn’t use any of them and neither did our daughter but I thought I had to have them. We still have our single stroller and will keep the double. We will replace our car seat after G is done using it though, because it will expire shortly after he stops using it.
I wish I had done better about keeping some of the things.
Its getting harder and harder to find neutral items. I had my first child in 2007… and within 6 months was pregnant with #2 child. It was “easy” at that point. I wasnt done with anything and could just save for baby #2.
My husband and I assumed that I must be able to get pg easily and decided to save items…. well, Child #2 turned 2… and then 2 1/2. At that point I made the decision to get rid of the stuff. I assumed we were done for now. I sold the carseats, stroller, everything, kept ONLY their Christening outfit, Their 1st Christmas outfit and their knitted gift item that a friend lovingly made. I sold everything else.
Child #2 turned 3yrs and I began to be more confident in my decision. Especially since I am a plan ahead kind of gal. 2 totes of clothes and whatnot was taking up space and I needed room for the clothes that my children were going to grow into. Especially in our uncertain age and time.
Well, Child #2 is now 3 1/2 and I am 7 months pg. I cannot find neutral clothes, I am having a horrible time with maternity, and we just dont have the money to replace everything.
So, in purging baby items, I would look at the NEED vs. storage.
You NEED a car-seat. You NEED some sort of bed. You NEED clothes for both you and your child.
There are 3 other things that I put up there up there that are so nice to have. Baby swing and Stroller, and bumbo (works great for when they are learning to eat. Never had a highchair, took up more room than a Bumbo on the table beside me)
Bumbo’s are expensive to replace. Sometimes you can find them second hand affordable but its getting harder and harder.
Carseats are recommended getting replaced every 5 years. And with the laws constantly changing, that is probably something I wouldnt hang on to if space was a problem.
Crib, you can usually find these second hand pretty easily at a consignment sale, craigslist, garage sale, etc. People do not need them for a while like they do twins bed, etc. Does your church nursery need one?
I think Crystal did well in showing essentials vs. wants/needs. I would only add that here, Bumbo’s are hard to find second hand and replace and it was something I really really liked.
Ebay is a big hit for cloth diapers! You can sell them there!
Oh, I just sold some two weeks ago – people are always bidding on used cloth diapers on Ebay or sell them on Craigslist. As for the bigger stuff – swings, jumperoos, etc., I sold them on Craigslist and made quite a bit of money to be used on other NECESSITIES for the baby. I still have most of her clothes and other stuff.
you might want to check regulations cloth diapers arent allowed used on ebay or they reserve the right to remove the listing (I found this out when my listing was removed 🙂
Really, I did not know that. There seems to be so much up for bids on Ebay that I had no idea that was against the regulations. I will look into that because I was already planning on selling another stash. Thanks for letting me know.
I have to say, for me the Ergo was absolutely a NEED. My baby would have nothing to do with the stroller until he was well past a year old. I used that thing every day, multiple times a day, until I was sick and tired of looking at it. I sold it when he turned 2 1/2 years, which I regret because I found out there are cases I could still use it.
Great post! I agree, most of the stuff I bought for baby for so unneccessary, but I was convinced I needed it to be a “good” parent to my baby.
Oh I absolutely recommend trying to lend the stuff out! We have a two year old and aren’t sure if we’re going to have more. I’ve lent out just about everything, including the majority of his clothes. I’ve only kept 2 small bags of the nicest/my favorites. I tell people when lending that I’d like to get things back if possible, but I also know I might not. Things break, get lost, etc. and I’m ok with that. I should get the majority of stuff back, and anything I don’t I’ll either do without, rebuy, or borrow from someone else.
I do the same thing. It helps save on space, people you know and love are using the items/clothing, and you probably will get the stuff back. Currently, my sister has all of my maternity clothing and will soon have our baby gear and one gender’s worth of clothing. My best friend has all of our 2t girl stuff. So nice to be able to bless others and free up a little space at the same time!
My sisters and sisters in law and I are all having kids at the same time…we have a revolving door of boxes of baby clothes organized according to size that get passed between the houses, maternity clothes too, of course. We’ve only run into a small hiccup recently when we all had girls in a row and the almost-2, 1 1/2, and 9 month old girls are starting to catch up to each other in clothing sizes! 🙂 Totally recommend sharing the love!
We held on to everything after baby #2, and then we decided not to keep the items. I had a yard sale and sold some of it. I put what I didn’t sell back in storage. Good thing I did too, because less than a year later we decided to have another one! We knew it would be our last baby so the things I didn’t have I really weighed the decision on whether to buy again or not. I did buy a few things (like a brand new infant car seat for $32, that I then sold to a freind for $20 because she wanted the base!), but mostly we went without. Now that we know we are done we are planning a big yard sale againt his summer and what doesn’t go will be donated. After 3 boys however a good bit of stuff just got tossed because it wasn’t reusable. However I sold my bumbo on craigslist for $40, I paid $45 brand new and it went through 2 kids. Also I found that while one son loved the swing the other 2 hated it, one loved a bouncy seat, and one loved his jumper.
Two cents from a Mom of 5 (youngest is 20) and now Nana of 3 with a fourth due in August: we saved our crib and bassinet and I have loved having the grandchildren sleep in the same beds that their parents did as babies. The rest of the stuff like highchairs, etc., I have not missed. I did not save the crib mattress.
My parents saved the (hand-me-down) bassinet that we all slept in, and now all grandchildren & great-grandchildren (so far) have slept in it also. We have even shipped it cross-country to continue this wonderful tradition. Choose to keep the things that you think will have meaning.
I have acquired much of my baby items through thrift stores, consignment stores, and from friends who didn’t need them anymore. When I was finished with that baby, I passed them on to others who could use the item. There will always be hand me downs, bargains, and Craigslist, so we have opted not to save very much baby equipment. We kept our bumbo, potty chair, and play gym. I saved only my most favorite outfits (whether most loved/used, or from a very special person). The next baby may be a different gender or season, so it’s not likely that all of the clothes will get used again. I sold them at consignment, and a garage sale.
I am struggling with the same thing. I have a five year old boy and three year old boy/girl twins and I am soooo not sure if we are done having children. I had to get rid of a lot of the bigger items. There was just no room to store things from the twins (two swings, two bath seats, two exersaucers-which to me were all necessities, they kept me a little more sane during the crazy stage of infant twins) I have an attic full of boy and girl clothes of all sizes, toys, blankets, etc. Somedays I think I am being wasteful just hoarding all of that stuff when people are in need and other days I realize that we have all that we need to take in foster kids of any stage (under 3) whether boy or girl during a time in their life that they may need temporary placement. I don’t know what to do with the stuff. The bigger question for me is how do you know when you should stop having babies?
From someone who has been there—don’t do anything permanent!!! We stopped after 2 and then after surgery had 3 more and I cannot imagine what our lives would have been with out the last three. Prayer should definately be part of that decision!
I’m the Jessica who sent in the question, and Kristi you are hilarious! “how do you know when you should stop having babies”! 🙂
I am conflicted about having more children. Of course there are the considerations as a woman ages. I’m almost 33 so not yet high risk for complications. However, I experienced PPD after my son was born, which means I have a 50% chance of going through it again. I would not wish that upon anyone. I was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for four days because my condition was so severe. I now know that thyroid disease likely caused my PPD. I had undiagnosed Hashimoto’s disease. I’m now healthy- mentally and physically, praise God.
Now for my husband, he is a middle child. He is also unsure on whether we should have another!
Jessica-I get very sick while pregnant. I usually end up in the hospital to get iv fluids and end up with kidney stones in the process because my body was so dehydrated during pregnancy. I also have had two c-sections and my doc doesn’t want to try for a v-bac after twins because of the risk. These two issues keep me from trying for another. When I was pregnant with the twins, my mom was able to step in and help out with my then 18 month old. Now that we have three I know it will be a bigger burden on my family if I am pregnant and can’t care for my children well because of my extreme sickness. There are so many questions I have, but for now, my husband and I are content to wait on God’s timing to let us know if we should have another or foster or adopt. I think we will have other children in our home, but I am not sure if it will be through me being pregnant or not. Ok, I am rambling now, hope all of that made sense 🙂
I got so sick both times, too. Ended up in the ER the second time around, yet I’m wondering too! Have I really forgotten what it’s like to be so sick?! But we’re a bit worried we’ll regret not having a third. I’m one of four and my husband is one of five! But I’m not getting any younger either, I’ll turn 37 in June! I envy people who know for sure and are content with their decision.
I just wanted to give you hope. I had three pregnancies where I was violently ill. I had severe morning sickness (the most ridiculous term known to man) with all 3 — was on Zofran the entire time, was in the hospital, etc.. I got pregnant with my fourth by ‘accident’. I cried when I got the positive because I was dreading the sickness so much! Guess what… I was mildly sick with him. As in, just gagged like in the morning and that was it. It was AMAZING! What a beautiful thing it was to enjoy a pregnancy. I cherished it so much I didn’t want it to end! I pray the same experience comes to you if you try again.0
Wow, that is amazing! I am so glad for you that you had a great pregnancy. Sometimes I just wish we would get pregnant by accident so I wouldn’t have to make the decision, lol.
I too wonder how you know when you done having babies. I would like to have one more but am not sure if that is the best decision. I have 3 right now that are 11, 7, & 4. If we have a baby in a year that baby would start kindergarten the year my oldest started her senior year. Seems so crazy. So how do you know you are done?
No one can answer that question for you. We always said we wanted 2 and that’s what works for us. I knew we were done the 2nd time around. It wasn’t really a question. If you’re not sure, don’t do anything permanent. Once you are sure, the permanent fix is nice because you don’t have to worry about birth control anymore!
I knew pretty much immediately after my second was born that I was done, too. For the 2 years between the birth of my second and my husband’s eventual vasectomy, my greatest fear was that I’d get pregnant because I knew I didn’t want any more kids! I agree, the permanent fix is wonderful when you are ready for it!
LOL… i thought I was done with one child…he will be starting highschool in the fall, but my heart needed a second child and now i have a six week old little girl. ( also i will be turning 40 in six days).
So I guess you really never know…i had said for at least 10 years i was fine with just my oldest child.
Perfect answer! I did the same process when my daughter was born (unfortunately she is my old child) … I kept a few special things from when she was born to be used for a grandbaby … which we received 23 years later! … She is also an only child .. We are storing a few items for her to pass down her family some day … We kept the original box that her crib came in so we were able to package it and store it in our garage unharmed. Her cradle and all of her nursery items are stored in a small area of our attic (small space over the garage) as well as some of her favorite toys, a few nice baby clothes, books, etc. … high chair, car seats and high chair were sold … You won’t be able to keep everything … but I can tell you from personal experience it is so nice to pass some items down to our children and then to our children’s children … definitely don’t keep everything … but do keep some of it if you can …
My son is 3 now and we don’t know when we are planning on baby #2 yet. I have started going through his old baby stuff and have been asking myself these same questions. Should I keep everything or not? I’ve decided that the clothes that don’t hold sentimental value or I don’t absolutely LOVE are going. I keep my maternity clothes but loan then to expecting friends and family. The only major things I’m keep are the baby carseat, the stroller, pack n play, crib, bassinet, swing, and bumbo seat. Everything else will either be given to my cousin, who is expecting a boy or sold in a yard sale that I am for sure(!) planning this summer.
I feel like it’s really hard to let go of baby stuff. Esspecially the first born’s.
Thanks for letting me know I’m not the only one decluttering the house of baby items!
-Chelsea
I take mine to work with me- at the daycare!
If you have perfectly nice working kids toys, most daycare’s love to get new things in for the kids to play with! It may be a tax write off, as well (it is at mine). They can use toys, play pens, bouncers, etc etc- pretty much anything in the age range they care for!
Daycare is a GREAT idea. I know that a church nursery/young child classroom/preschool dept are usually looking for toys/gear, etc that are in good shape. 🙂
Yard Sale!
Within my little group of friends this subject has come up a lot! Many of us have what is considered a large family (in fact with my closest friends I have the fewest with 4.)
My thoughts pretty much mirror Crystal’s. I normally look at clothing and think “if I got pregnant once more right now, how long till the child could wear this? Will it be out of “style”? It has helped get rid of a lot.
I do have a small stash of things that I just love, including my crib, but for the most part I have learned I really don’t need most of the conveniences that I thought I couldn’t live without. Case in point, with my oldest 3, I had a swing each time (always a gift or hand me down.) With my 4th we just couldn’t afford one, and that’s fine. She was fine without one and although it would have been nice, life still went on. I am still well within my child rearing years and since we see God’s blessing with each child, we may very well have more, but I don’t want to be burdened with stuff cluttering up my home. So unless I love it, I get rid of it. God has always provided and He will continue.
My son just turned 2 and we’re saving/preparing/planning to do IVF again by the end of the year so I look to save money wherever I can. Our plan has been to save the big ticket items that I bought new (stroller, car seat, pump, extra-wide top of stairs baby gate), some clothes, and things we love/received as gifts. I’ve bought most things at garage sales/consignment/Craigslist/on clearance so I’ve resold them for the same or more than I paid and figure I’ll rebuy them again the same way. And there are plenty of things we’ve realized we won’t buy next time around.
Cheri- good luck to you with the IVF route. I’ve been through it. If you have insurance that covers it that’s great. If not there are ways to do it very inexpensively. We went through it 5 times so I know a thing or two. If you’re interested you can email me. We literally saved thousands on meds etc.
I’ve been purging/organizing baby things this week too. Does anyone have any recommendations for how many clothes to save in other kid sizes (like above the baby stage) for future children if you don’t know if you’re done having kids? I have a girl 3 and a boy 2.
I thought we were done…alot more sure than you are if you’re still considering. I donated and gave away to pregnant friends, all my maternity and baby clothes and gear. Now I am wishing I kept it, because we accidentally got pregnant again. Oops! So much for natural family planning. Now I’m wishing I didn’t give anything away – it’s going to be expensive to replace everything, although I would have replaced the car seat anyway, since it was close to being expired.
We have 2 kids too and are done having children. I recently did a major cleanup on all things for my kids (clothes and toys, etc….) and we have a twice/year major sale at our fairgrounds for things like this, and it is a great way to sell items that are still in great condition, you should check if there is something like this around your town. If you want to check ours here is the website: http://www.jbfsale.com
After our first baby, I kept everything and moved it all to our new house. After our second, we decided that we probably wouldn’t have any more children, since pregnancy is pretty dangerous for me. I sold practically everything at our local consignment sale (those twice a year sales) when she was 14 months old. Literally the day the check came in the mail a few weeks later, we found out we were pregnant again. I bought everything I could possibly need at the next consignment sale or else at garage sales and craigslist (minus the car seat, ours was expired so we purchased a new one, for less than what I made selling our old stuff. So I guess my advice is keep what you love, and get rid of the rest. You can find newer/nicer stuff for a fraction of the price if you do end up needing. And now that baby is 20 months old, and yes, all the baby stuff is gone again! I know now that I can always replace it.
Also, keep in mind, anything that expires or may have been recalled.
As I’m sure you know, all of the drop-side cribs have been recalled, so if the crib you are holding onto is a drop-side, either see if you can return it due to recall (we were about to be ready for a crib for our second, and our first had outgrown – actually climbed out of – his crib, and shortly after, it was recalled. We got our money back – we basically used the crib for free for 2 years with our first child!), or get rid of it.
Also, carseats expire, due to deterioration of the plastic. Most of them expire in 5 years, but you can check with the manufacturer. There may be an expiration date on the back of the carseat that says “do not use after. . .” or you will be able to find a date of manufacture, and call the manufacturer, ask them when the seat expires. My convertible seat actually expires later than another seat that is a little bit newer, because it has a longer lifespan. If the carseat is expired, you want to make sure no one picks it up at the dump. Cut the straps to make sure it is unusable.
Happy Decluttering!
After I had my third I was done. I got rid of everything. Even the ex husband. Lol. But 4 years later I found the love of my life and we were expecting. I got some things at a small baby shower but replacing everything was easier than I thought it was gonna be. A friend gave me her car seat and I found everything else on craigslist. People are always getting rid of baby stuff. Don’t stress it. Sell it or give it away. It’s always replaceable.
We’re still undecided about having a third child, too. I’ve gone through a lot of the baby stuff, organized it, and put it in one spot, but should still go through the baby clothes. I wasn’t as much of a clutter phobe when my kids were still babies, so I bet I have a ton of clothes that we either didn’t use or are stained. It would be so much easier if we knew, but I don’t want to get rid of the things we used yet.
We thought we were done after having our three children, but then five years later we decided to have one more. We had gotten rid of all of our baby things. I was somewhat concerned about having nothing for this little baby, but God provided through friends, garage sales, and craigslist. I found with this little baby we didn’t need all of the things we thought we needed with the older ones. I found a beautiful little cradle on craigslist for $20. Another friend gave their old crib to us. Again, friends were so generous with clothing that I have only had to fill in the cracks on occasion. When we found that the baby was very fond of the swing, I sent a shout out to all of my friends via email to see if I could borrow one for the short duration. Again, they came through.
What is my point? If storage space is at a true premium, I wouldn’t be afraid get rid of as much as you can and give it away or loan it out with the exception of very expensive or sentimental pieces. You will be able to bless the lives of so many people and then they will be able to bless yours if and when the time comes again. Good luck!
I’ve had 5 boys in the span of 10 years. I am so fortunate to have the hand-me-downs because it saved me so much money. I would definitely keep the baby sling, bouncy chair, and breast pump if you are limited in space. As far as clothes go, you really don’t need a lot. A couple of cute outfits for going out, but the rest of the time, you can make do with sleepers.
There is an article in the Tightwad Gazette book which was called Bringing up Baby Cheap (or something similar). It may give you ideas.
I have this problem also! I saved everything (EVERYTHING) from my first girl, and loaned lots of it out, got it back, etc. Then I had another girl who had a baby shower of her own, I needed a different size of maternity clothes, and we had to get a new car seat anyway! I was saving all of these things also, but I’ve begun to weed things out. Mostly because I’ve had three miscarriages in a row and it’s just too hard to open the closet and see all those baby clothes staring me in the face. But, my sister-in-law had a baby recently, so she got lots of our gender-neutral things, and our local Pregnancy Support Center has received almost everything else. I’m just down to one paper-box now, with my very very VERY favorite baby clothes (dresses that were homemade, Easter outfits, Christmas dresses, etc) and a very awesome (and compact) swing that I just can’t give up (it was such a steal and so perfect, I can’t let it go, I can’t!).
But, I can’t help but worry about it every time I donate/lend/give away my baby things. “What happens if I get pregnant, with a girl, and I can’t get this back/find a replacement/afford a replacement?!?” I have cried several times while packing away clothes!
As to car seats: In between girl #1 and girl #2, our car seat (Given to us FROM the hospital) wasn’t in the system anymore (even though it was only 4 years old) and we had to send my mom to buy a new one while we were at the (different) hospital with new baby. After girl #2 (who was/still is a car-sickness-prone-girl), the car seat just wasn’t in good enough shape to send on to anyone. But, what do you DO with a “bad” car seat? I feel like sticking it in the dumpster isn’t really a good idea, but where do you take it?!? Any suggestions???
Friends of mine buy cheap car seats on Craigslist to use for newborns to nap in. Their babies had reflux and they cut out the straps, laid down blankets and then had a place for baby to nap (just in the tiny newborn stage). You might try selling it like that for $10? If you do throw it away I know you have to cut the straps so no one else can try to use it for a car seat.
Great ideas here! I consign a lot of my kids clothes at consignment sales. My favorite sale is Boutique for a Week in Central Florida. If you live in the area, it’s a great way to earn some money and clear out clutter. I blogged my personal review of the sale here: http://gabrielsgoodtidings.blogspot.com/2011/09/boutique-for-week-now-with-betsy-shoppe.html
I compleley understand the dilemma! I used to hang on to everything…and had way TOO much! Finally, shortly after our third arrived, I started getting rid of things. We needed space, and I thought we may be done! THEN we found out recently we are expecting baby #4…and you know what? I am STILL HAPPY I got rid of almost everything. There will be 6 of us in a modestly sized home, and space is more valuable than things! Plus, it is so much less to keep track of in my head and in my garage:)
http://www.alighterjourney.com/2012/01/18/making-money-by-living-lighter/
I donated almost everything in between children (and I have 5). I didn’t feel right hanging onto things “just in case” when so many folks are in need. I knew God would provide when more kids came along, and He did. And even if you have another, they may be the opposite sex, or be born at a time of year when seasonal items won’t fit. I kept the crib because it was a nice one and I want to have it for future grandchildren. Also a few items of clothing like jeans and jackets.
Our church has a pretty neat network of young moms–we are on a yahoo group email loop, as well as a weekly park date. There is a lot of passing along stuff within the church. Sometimes, people will just bring it to the nursing mother’s room with a note of “take me home.” It’s a great way to support each other in this season of early parenting.
I have 3 children. My b/g twins will be 5 next month and my baby girl is one. When we had our twins I had gotten bouncy seats and swings used. I knew if I wanted to get any money out of them I would need to sell them before we were ready to have another child. So I would say if you have older items it might be better to sell them now rather then old onto them. When we were pregnant with our 3rd I was able to borrow the items I had sold or gotten rid of. You can find items through friends, craigslist, and yard sales.
One thing about clothing is if you are able to organize it and store it by size it takes up less space and makes it much easier to know what you have on hand. Since it took us awhile to get pregnant again I did go through the bins and anything I didn’t love went in the yard sale pile. I also was mindful of what season it would be when we were trying to get pregnant. If you want to be able to use the clothes you have this is helpful.
I needed a stroller since all my strollers were double strollers. I looked at Craigslist and consignment stores but they were still more then I wanted to pay. Then at a yard sale I found one nearly new for $10.
I would evaluate what you have and see if it’s worth selling now or holding onto. Maybe even decide on a timeframe for holding onto things if you’re unsure of getting pregnant again.
Think of the things that you want to keep to pass on to your children when they have kids. I know that is a long way off. But I know that for my kids, each will have their going home outfit, and a quilt and maybe some favorite toys. That’s it. With this perspective, I can de-clutter their baby things easily and with less emotional attachment. Plus, I was thrilled when I had my first child when my mom gave me some of the things she had kept for me from my childhood.
I have 2 brothers and between all of us, there are 8 cousins with #9 on the way. And the oldest is only 7! We have stored a lot of stuff over the years! But we do pass it around among each other and let friends borrow when needed. One of my brothers has the space to store everything, so that works well and I like sharing it all. These are all great suggestions though. There is definitely room to pare down!
I limit the amount of kids’ clothes I save to one large Rubbermaid per year of clothing. In other words, everything a baby needs for the first year goes in one container (size NB through 12 months); everything for the second year goes in another container (18 months-2T), etc…. This keeps everything organized and helps me keep just what we love and need; the excess goes to the thrift without a second thought!
Oh, and I have separate Rubbermaid containers for boys and girls, so I guess we have 2 bins for each year of life! Clear as mud?!
I was in this exact situation, and point #4 is the one I really focused on, and as a result didn’t really hold on to very much. There are so many places you can get baby gear, like strollers, inexpensively. Also, chances are, family and friends will send stuff your way, too, if you have another. I had sent all of my baby girl clothes to my sister-in-law. When I did get pregnant again, she was all too happy to send them back, since her little girl was finished with them. You also need to keep in mind that things like Car Seats have a shelf-life, so to speak. The manufacturers recommend they are replaced after 5 years. So I passed our rear-facing infant car seat on as soon as my daughter outgrew it because I knew I would have to buy a new one anyways. We did hold onto our crib, but we discovered when we got it out that the plastic pieces had become brittle, and they snapped when we were trying to attach the side rail. Also, the company had gone out of business, so we couldn’t get a “fix kit” for the drop side that had been recalled. We ended up buying a new one, anyway… Sometimes, things like that happen! At least you will have 9 months to find some good deals if you do need them. 🙂
Here in Springfield Missouri we have a store called “Other Mothers” I took in a bunch of baby girl items that were never worn and got store credit for about $70. Their store credit NEVER expires so that way if I popped another one out I know I have that store to go to if we didn’t have a baby shower or were short on funds =) I also have a small pink bucket labeled “too small” because I had some just way too cute dresses that I am not willing to part with until I am out of the child bearing stage =)
I have two families the grown children the ones that have finished college, then I have the middle child almost high school aged , and then the preschool and baby.
My advice from a Mom of many who is 60 plus .
#1. Keep it for awhile
#2. Sell it and put the money in a “future child account”
All other routes have not worked for me.
Wow and i thought I was busy with a highschooler and a 6 week old 🙂
Sarah and Diane–it’s nice to see your posts. We have two children in their 20s, plus a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 🙂
LOL…plus I will be 40 in 6 days 🙂 But i do have to tell you having the baby later on in life makes me love every second of being a mom again. With my son i was always rushing him to grow up…with this one i am savoring every moment even the crying moments. I now realize how fast they do grow up!!!!
What a great idea to sell things and SAVE the money for future child expenses! If you never had other children you could then use the money toward college expenses or other kid-related items. That seems like such a obvious thing to do…why haven’t I thought of it?
I think another thing to consider is, will it be outdated or expired when you next child comes along? If you are planning on waiting 3 or more years between children, the carseat may be expired by the time you wish to use it.
You are right on. I have 4 kids, so saving clothes is a good idea if the clothes are good enough. But here is the rub, sometimes you store clothes that appear to be clean and then they have these strange yellow stains after you remove them from storage. This is especially bad for baby/breastmilk stains. I learned my lesson and decided to dryclean the truly fancy Easter dress Grandma bought us before putting it away, I wasn’t going to ruin it to some random stain.
If you are active at your church you may just get lucky like I have and be given clothes all the time. This has allowed me to get a little more picky about what I will keep. But also I pass along what I can’t use.
Note: you can go overboard, i.e. 12 pairs of pants is just a motivation to keep me from doing laundry. I have learned to scale down to keep my laundry lion tamed.
Finally Consignment sales are the way to go if you have some time on your hands. Here in John’s Creek outside of Atlanta we are holding one in September, part of the proceeds go to charity. So this sort of combination might really work for you, a little $ for you, a little money for charity. http://kidsconsignment.org/ There are some great sites out there for finding local consignment sales, bargainwatcher and myconsignmentmommies are the top 2 in my opinion.
Good luck!
When I pulled out the baby clothes for my now 3 month old baby they had those yellow stains all over them. I soaked them in Oxi Clean and the stains came right out- it was like magic!
That is great. I don’t always have such luck.
We’ve given some of our large items, including the highchair and exersaucer, to our church. The items get a lot of use, and it’s good for our kids to see “their” things being used and enjoyed by others.
One thing I know for sure – getting rid of baby gear causes pregnancy. HA!! My only saving grace was being too lazy to price my maternity clothes for our last garage sale.
Something else to consider is your capacity to borrow from friends or relatives should you need to after purging all the baby gear.
Caution about loaning to friends. If you will be upset if it gets broken or damaged, do not loan it out. It will cause problems. When we loan something we consider it gone, that way if we never get it back or it becomes damaged, a friendship is not ruined over “things”.
well we had just decided that we were going to wait a few years before we had another baby so I sold all my stuff in a garage sale. Well I jinxed myself and got pregnant a few months later and had nothing. If I were you I would keep all the big items like the stroller and stuff but get rid of the smaller stuff. Good Luck!
I did the same thing. We weren’t going to have another baby for a few years, so I gave away the crib, carseat, saucer, tub, and high chair. Then our plans changed and we had a baby. Hello new carseat, crib, tub, saucer, etc. I’ll be holding onto these for a long time, now!
Be wary – most charities will not accept used car seats. And I would never buy a used car seat from a stranger, so you might even have a tough time selling them. Call your town hall/similar – they should have recommendations for disposing of older car seats.
Be prepared for them to not know what to do with the car seats. I called my local police station and they told me to just put it out for the garbage man. They had no idea what to do with them. My car seats were expired so I destroyed/disassembled them and then put them out for the garbage man. I put some out each week until all of the parts were gone. That way no one could “put them back together”.
Babies R Us has an awesome (seemingly twice a year) trade in event. If you aren’t sure how to get rid of your car seat, take it to them. They get rid of everything they get.
That sounds like an excellent balanced approach. I have two young children, a boy and a girl. I THINK we are probably done having kids, I’m not 100% sure… so I am keeping the baby clothes I absolutely love (boy or girl) and trying to get rid of everything else (clothing, furniture, toys) as it is outgrown. I figure I bought or was given this stuff before, I can do it again if the need arises.
I have hung on to all our baby stuff and now have 5 years of little girls clothes (I do have a younger daughter who wears the older daughter clothes). This is great advice- I will look through our things to see what can be sold/given away and what I want to hang on to a bit longer. Thanks!
This is a great post since I’m pregnant with my 3rd and my other two are almost 6 and 4 so it’s been a while since I had a baby. We always talking about the possibility of having another baby so I hung on to most of my stuff. My maternity clothes were lent to a few people and I was able to get most of them back, plus some extras that other people accumulated for me to wear now. My two boys were born in May and July so they were able to wear pretty much the same clothes each season. We didn’t know we were having a boy the first time around so I have a lot of neutral clothes that the next baby will be able to wear even if it’s a girl. My husband is already talking about early fall, after the baby comes, if it’s a girl, we’re going to have a yard sale with tables full of boys clothes sizes newborn-3T. My sister had a baby last year and she is currently using our crib, car seat, stroller and swing. By letting her borrow that stuff, we were able to clear up some storage space but we’ll be able to get it back and reuse it. I have a hard time letting go of things so even though I know this is my last one, I’m really going to have to work hard to make myself sell or give away my stuff. I’m the oldest of 6 so I always think one of my siblings might want my stuff, but really, in 5 years or so, are they really going to want a used swing/crib/stroller, etc?
You know your siblings best, Caroline, but I’d say yes! And if they don’t want used stuff, maybe a church friend or neighbor will. Plenty of us don’t have the budget for all new things for every baby, and most of us don’t want to teach our older kids, even by accident, that happiness = new stuff.
I know a lot of moms have said, “Just save a few things,” but for us it felt terribly wasteful to throw things out, or even donate them, and then buy the exact same things later. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to trade baby and maternity clothes with friends and neighbors, and my kids have grown up seeing hand-me-downs as a bonus, not a drag. In fact, the teenagers “shop” in each other’s closets! We have plenty of closet space so this isn’t a space challenge, and I can understand the difficulty for families in cramped quarters.
One more thing: a dear friend boxed up her baby things for a neighbor after 5 years of hoping for another child. She called at the end of the day: “I can’t believe how emotional this made me! I knew I was sad to give up on the idea of another baby, but I’ve been weeping uncontrollably all day.” You can guess the rest, of course – within a week she realized it wasn’t the teensy clothes but the pregnancy hormones that were making her weep. (Just like posters below – seems to be some causality in this . . .) 🙂
Consignment sales are great! I buy and sell 98% of my kids’ clothes, books, gear, toys at our city’s semi-annual consignment sale.
Personally, I found the sling or baby carrier a much bigger necessity over a stroller. And it takes up less room to store.
Lending to friends who can use it now and give it back if you want it later is always a good option.
This is a bit of a problem for me. I had saved for the next child, who never came along. Now, I am trying to figure out the “best” way to get rid of baby/kid stuff. Donate and take the charitable deduction? Consign at church thrift store? Garage sale? Mom to Mom sale? I have given some nicer things away, and donated some things, but I have much, much more to go. I also have one bin of special items that were handmade gifts that I intend to save, and I will keep my gate for now, to block basement stairs when I have visiting toddlers.
I donated a lot of stuff to a local charity that provides baby items to low-income moms (usually those who were victims of domestic violence and such). I figure they need the stuff more than I need the money, and it’s way easier to just drop stuff off rather than sell it.
I donated my big baby gear to the high school’s Teen Parenting program. They gave some items to teens whose parents were not planning on being involved with the baby, and others they put in their “store” where girls could shop with points earned for straight A’s, etc.
I know most high schools probably don’t have this program available, though.
I sold most of my sons big items in a rummage, and the clothes I have been giving to friends as they have children. Its a nice gift for a baby shower especially if you are low on cash and they are having the same sex baby that you had. I kept the clothes that I loved and used a lot, but all of the big stuff went because I don’t know how long it will be before I have more children and someone else needs it more than me.
I hung on to all my baby’s clothes that were in good shape still. Two years later we had another girl so, it worked out well for us. Even though they were born in different seasons (winter and then summer), it still worked out well for us. I still save the older ones clothes for the younger one they are now 7 and almost 5. Once the younger one outgrows her clothes I give the worn out ones away on freecycle and the nice ones I will sell. I will either sell them to Once Upon a Child, in our next yard sale or I will get a lot together and sell them on craigslist.
Since, we decided to have two kids we sold all of our outgrown baby furniture on craigslist. My maternity clothes I also sold or gave away depending on there condition.
Baby really don’t need a lot of stuff. I made my own baby food by mashing the food with a fork. I never once even used the blender. I always laugh when I see the ad for the baby magic bullet thing.
I’m pregnant with #5, and we’re open to as many children God will bless us with. I store a lot of stuff, but there are still a few things that I don’t keep except for when the gap between babies is extra short. I like to have two bouncy chairs (one on each floor) when the baby is tiny, and I also like to have an exersaucer/stationary walker when they’re a bit older. All of those things are huge, and you can get them cheaply at consignment sales. So I buy them used when I need them, and then I sell them again once the baby outgrows them.
The clothes shouldn’t take up too much room unless you simply have way too many. Pare down to the best pieces, and then store them in a few big boxes. If you use Rubbermaid Totes, you should be able to get 2-3 sizes/box until you get to where the clothes get much bigger.
I am in a similar dilemma, but we are moving to NYC this summer and trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible. Even still I hate to sell stuff I’ll need to buy again later. Most of our stuff was hand-me-downs or purchased at garage sales. I’m finding I’m able to sell at lot for about what I paid for them. I just sold a bunch of infant cloth diapers today for a few dollars more than I paid for them, and used them for 2 kids. I’ll just buy used again if I do need this stuff down the road.
Most of my stuff was hand me downs or bought at rummages too that’s why it was easier for me to sell as my son outgrew as opposed to storing for however many years:)
Lived in NYC and you do need a stroller if you’re planning on using the public transportation, which quite frankly is better than to search for a parking space everytime.
I bought a double maclaren stroller as soon as I found out we were moving there. I’m just getting rid of stuff my youngest outgrows (toys, clothes, bouncer seat, etc) instead of storing it just in case we have another down the road.
I agreed with your advice, Crystal. I gave away or loaned lots of things – but nothing that I loved because you never know if you’ll get it back. Some things didn’t come back. Other things actually came back with additions (like our baby car seat which came back with an extra base and a stroller thingy).
I think that paying it forward, especially with friends and family, has worked wonders… Now that we’re finally having our last, things that we need have all presented themselves from the people we’ve helped. My neighbor – the recipient of a lot of our little girl clothes – offered us her crib and changing table… the last of the truly big things we needed. She’d passed on the clothes to someone else because she’d though we were done, but I’d kept enough clothes to nicely outfit a baby, regardless.
What makes it easier for me to let go of things is knowing that they are going to a good home. I have a hard time consigning things or selling them and a harder time donating to Goodwill, etc. I don’t know why, but I like to give things directly.
I decided in 2012 to give instead of consign. I used to consign all of my daughter’s clothes. My girls are 3 and 2 months and the only things I kept from my first daughter were the big items–mainly furniture. With baby #2, I actually found all of her clothes cheap (they were in a different season than my first daughter anyway). We still had the crib, bassinet, changing table.
For peace of mind, I donate now. It piles up too easily. I am currently giving all of my new baby girls clothes to a lady–she’s expecting in 20 days, so it’s nice to pass it on to someone that will use it. My attic is our only place for storage right now. It gets way too hot and cold in between seasons and I don’t want to take any chances of it growing mold/mildew. I can’t stand clutter so I am ok with this. I am borrowing a baby swing, baby chair, etc. from a friend so everything has worked out without breaking the bank again!
The neat thing is, is that every time I have given clothes away, someone sends me hand me downs and they arrive shortly after, without me expecting it. The power of giving is amazing!
A stroller isn’t a necessity. They are nice to have, but a sling or other carrier can be more affordable.
I swapped maternity clothes with several friends.
I agree that a stroller isn’t a necessity. Where we live, we only use our stroller MAYBE two times a year for sure (for our community’s annual parades and “Days”), and other than that we might pull it out for a few yard sale days, but I used my sling more than my stroller. I LOVE my stroller, don’t get me wrong, but I could’ve lived without it, definitely!
No way. My kid was big and my back was/is bad. I used the sling a few times and the stroller always. Did find out later that I didn’t have a great sling.
You can always just do an umbrella stroller for $15 too if you decide you need one once they are big enough.
Whether a stroller is or isn’t a necessity depends on your living situation. We live down the road from the church/school where my husband and I teach, which also has a playground that we can let our son play. I’m a small person and my son is 2 years old, but is almost the size of a 3-year-old. We use our stroller all the time to get him back and forth to various services and events. It’s much more economical than wasting the gas to drive back and forth that short distance, and keeps him contained and not running into the street when he’s in one of those 2-year-old moods and wants to run off. We also take walks with the stroller almost every night when the weather is nice.
When your babies reach 20 lbs by 6 months (we are a tall family) a stroller becomes a necessity. Back started hurting! Also the only way for mom to get some much needed exercise sometimes!
Strollers are nice to have in some situations, but many families can live without them. I regularly hiked with a 25-pound toddler on my back until I was six months pregnant and preferred carrying her in a sling or backpack to using a stroller.
If our budget was really tight, it would be at the bottom of my priority list (and I’d probably opt for a $15 umbrella stroller if I felt I really needed one).
Agree that a stroller depends on living situation. We are in the city and walk every day. DD2 is 5 now and I still pull it out for our longer walks. It was a real splurge but I have absolutely gotten my money’s worth!
I would keep the car seat, and possibly the crib but definitely pare down the clothes. We all know that kids wear the same couple of outfits over and over again (like us, I suppose). As far as toys, when my 2nd was born, I probably brought out 20% of the baby/toddler toys from my first child. I was appalled, actually, with the amount of STUFF we had accumulated and did not need. When you have older kids, the little ones want to play with the older one’s toys, anyway, so purge guilt-free! Also, as one who has been there, I recommend that you set a date to discuss the possibility of a 3rd (for us it was when DD2 was a year). Knowing you’ll have a resolution one way or another to the baby gear will keep it off your mind…until that date!
BTW that car seat? if your 5 year old used it, it is probably expired now. Get rid of it! Unless you want to hang onto it for Babies R Us’s next trade-in and get rid of it then. But its been well used by now if used for both of your kids. Get rid of it and get a new one when the next kid is born.
I do hang on to almost everything baby/maternity related. We currently have 4 and I am not sure if we’ll have more (hope we do!).
I thought of a great way to store children’s clothes for future use that has helped our family tremendously. Because of how it’s stored, we can also easily give it away when the time comes. We’ve been so blessed with clothes from friends, so we’ll surely pass our things along when needed.
We are very fortunate to have a walk-up attic, which makes it ultra-easy to store all things baby related. I’m not sure I’d hang on to so much if it weren’t so easy for me to access. 😉
Also, remember that car seats expire. Most expire around 6 years after the date of manufacture (which will be on the seat somewhere. Information about expiration will be in the manual or there may possibly be a “do not use after” date on the seat). If the seat is close to expiring and you will not be having another baby before then, I’d sell it or donate it as long as it has been properly taken care of (not been in a wreck or dropped or been checked on an airplane, the harness has not been washed, etc).
Wait-are you not supposed to wash the harnesses of carseats?!?!
I was thinking the same thing! Cuz seriously, a two-year-old can get a harness unbelievably dirty in 10 seconds flat!! 🙂
I think that as long as they are designed to be removed, you can hand wash them. However, there are a lot of harnesses that are bolted to the car seat or stroller and shouldn’t be removed. I wash those with Clorox wipes and a wet rag.
Ahh… I see! That would have to be a requirement for my “buying car seat checklist!” Must have removable/washable straps!!!
No kidding. One of mine had a blow out on one . . . . No way that wasn’t going in the washing machine.
And if they can’t take a washing machine, how are they going to take an accident. I’d like to know the science behind this.
The heat/detergent from the washer/dryer can damage the fibers on the harness. No car seat manufacturer allows you to wash the harness in a washing machine so even just based on that I wouldn’t chance my child’s life in the small chance that I get into a car accident.
I have taken my twins rear facing infant carrier car seats, removed the hood and put them face down in the dishwasher (one at a time). It was a cinch after removing the top rack and I left in the seat belts and padding. Not sure if doing this is really a problem but they were gross. I set them out in the sun to dry afterward. It was awesome. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Um, I wash mine…. My daughter puked all over it….
no, you’re not. just spot clean with a damp towel.
You can surface wash only. If they have been put in the washing machine, dishwasher, etc they need to be replaced. Cleaning instructions will be in the car seat manual. Water and mild soap can be used to surface wash them, but they are not to be submerged in water or put in the washing machine or anything like that.
I have never heard of that! *gasp!* I have washed my kids’ car seat straps soooo many times! Anytime I take the cover off to wash (at least once every other month) I throw the straps in too! They get sooo nasty! That stinks!
I wouldn’t sweat it. A lot of recommendations are over kill where the manufactuer is just trying to protect themselves from law suits. You can not follow every recommended thing and come out just fine.
The heat and/or detergent could damage the fibers. If you washed your harness I would recommend buying a new one from the manufacturer- better to be safe than sorry.
I can see the dryer just possibly being a small risk – but not the washing machine. The few times that I have washed mine I did not put them in the dryer.
But what about the heat from parking your car in the sun on a hot summer day? That’s some serious heat.
I also think that this is more about lawsuit protection.
Seriously, suppose your kid pukes or worse in the car. Is it really realistic to not go anywhere for however long it takes to order and wait for the delivery of new straps?!
I have four kids (and have had many seats) and I read the manuals – I’m surprised this one slipped me by – but I’m glad it did!
I was about to say the same thing! The date is also printed on the carseat.
Checked on an airplane? Are you not supposed to use a car seat after it’s been checked on an airplane? What would be the point of flying with it then?
If you use the seat on the airplane it is fine but if you check it with your bags there is a good possibility that the baggage handlers are going to throw it around like they do with the other luggage. This could cause damage to it. This is one of the many reasons that you should always buy a seat for your child on the plane.
We actually have a location that recycles car seats that we gave our car seats to (I think we had to pay a processing fee). We have 6 1/2-yr-old twins and the car seats were definitely expired! 🙂 Hubby found the date on the tag and said, yep, time for them to go! We had always hoped for more, but car seats aren’t that expensive so we’d rather be safe than sorry.
As for the straps, we never washed our (wiped down many times) because we had to take them off the car seat to do so. Maybe that’s why?
Lea
This is a great question. We are getting ready to have #2, have VERY limited storage space… and what do you do with everything?! If you really don’t want to give it away, donate or sell it, Crystal’s #6 suggestion is my very favorite. I have borrowed a LOT of stuff from other moms, and I have loaned out a LOT of my stuff to people. Quite frankly, we couldn’t afford “everything” and it was nice to be able to borrow things (even clothes and cloth diapers). And it was wonderful to be able to loan our stuff to friends to use when we knew we weren’t going to be needing it during the time they would be using it.
PUT THEM ON THREDUP.COM