Thursday, 21 August 2008

  • Used Children's Clothing: Store, Give, Lend, or Sell?

    by Mama Koala

    Babies grow out of clothing pretty quickly the first 6 months.  After that, it kind of depends on your child.  If your baby's like mine, you might be able to use clothing long enough to actually see a good amount of wear and tear.  When Baby Koala was almost 1, I noticed that her corduroy pants were pretty worn around the knees from crawling.  Also, the seams on a couple of her shirts were coming loose.  I was actually excited that she had worn those clothes out, since months before I had put away clothes that looked barely worn but had become too tight! 

    Now that she's in her second year of life, her clothes vary in size, from 6-12 months to 2T.  It's a big range, but it's incredible how much of a difference there is between one maker and another.  It also seems to depend on the fabric and how stretchy it is...and how much it shrinks in the wash.  I usually wash her clothes in warm water, and then I put them through a full cycle in the dryer on the permanent press setting.  They do sometimes shrink a little, but I haven't had any real problems with shrinkage yet (except with her sheets, which shrank about an inch in both width and length!).

    Anyway, going back to my point... I know that there are moms who sell gently used clothing on Ebay, and then use that money to buy new clothes for their growing kids.  For me it usually comes down to two other options.  I either store the clothes (should come in handy if we have another girl, right?) or give it away to family members who have younger babies.  I'd love to hear from other moms on this topic.

    What do you do with clothing your children grow out of?  What have you found to be the most helpful, or practical, solution?

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Comments (25)

  • iddybiddy@xanga

    I either store it or donate it.  It can accumulate pretty fast, and we don't have the space!

    My daughter was the same, she wore 9-12 month clothes until she was 2 and her 18-24 month clothes until she was 3. 

    My son on the other hand is 6 months old and already wearing clothes my daughter wore when she was walking.    Good thing I kept my favorites! (most of which are gender neutral)
  • der_lila_Stern@xanga

    Both of my sisters are older than me.  They are both currently pregnant and have given birth before.  One of them has 2 sister-in-laws. 1 is pregnant (already has 2 kids), the other has 3 kids.  Baby clothes get traded around among them like crazy.  They only buy a few select clothes for special occasions when the babies are little because there are already so many clothes.  We even recieved clothes (and toys and a crib...) from a friend who wasnt having any more children.  It is nice to have a wide variety - for boys and girls.  By the time I have children, they will probably all be finished - so I wont have to buy anything!!  It will be fantastic!


    I really think passing clothing onto friends when you wont use it again is a good idea.  Having family/friends who are close that you can share clothes with is also amazing.  Who wants to spend tons of money on clothes they will only wear for about 3 months or less?!!?
  • Kristenmomof3@xanga

    yard sales
  • jemaigrirai@xanga

    We had Rubbermaid containers full of hand-me-downs.  Every few months or so we'd go through them and take out whatever fit then, or whatever we wanted, and add in the clothes we'd grown out of.  It was kind of fun- look at all these "new" clothes!
  • princess_riceball@xanga

    When my daughter was younger I stored a lot of her clothes, and gave a good bit away to friends and family that needed it.  Now mostly when she grows out of something it's also covered in stains, so I just throw it out.  The last dress she grew out of I let her wear when she got a chocolate ice cream cone, and I just let her go nuts.  When she was done she had a pile of chocolate ice cream on her chest.  I like using her clothes that she's wearing for the last time for fun things like that, usually I would worry about her ruining something nice.  Also I tend to buy all her clothes big when I get them so they get a good bit of wear before they're too small.
  • mamamonkey

    We store the majority of them...at least until we are done having kids. I have 3 boys and my SIL has 2 girls so as long as we don't have the same sex at the same time, we are pretty good. After my third one here though, I am noticing that clothes are a bit more worn out. Go figure, huh? So, I have a basement full of totes...and when I know that we are done having kids, I will either give them to someone I know, rummage sale them and - if I have stuff left after that - take them to Goodwill or something. 
  • zx6karen@xanga

    I have yearly yard sales.  Whatever clothing i dont sell, i donate.
  • Kates533@xanga

    Well, I was keeping it all, but after looking at how many rubbermaid containers I was collecting,, I've started to give it away to others who can use it. I also sell some of it to consigment stores or on ebay.

  • mamaturtle

    I've eBay'ed clothing in the past, as well as other online websites. I have also been given hand me downs, and in turn clear out my kids' closets by passing things on.

    In a nut shell, to keep the amount we spend on the kids clothes to a dull roar, I shop thrift and consignments stores (IME consignments tend to be pricey), clearance racks, "shop off season" and look for deals on "lots" of clothing on eBay (which more economical than getting one item at a time). I tend to stick to classic and not trendy styles as that way I can hand clothing in  good shape down to the next child and not worry about it being way outdated.
  • HisLadyofVirtue@xanga

    Any clothes that my daughter wore but didn't wear out, I have kept for my soon to be daughter, and anything my first daughter never wore, I am getting ready to send to a dear friend, as she is about to have a girl also.
  • filtered_sunlight@xanga

    I want to check out a new consignment shop a sister of one of the girls at work just opened. Since we only plan on having the one child, we shouldn't need them again so there's not much point in us storing them. With our books that we've already read and don't plan on re-reading we trade them in at a used book store to get new and different books. I think it would be great to be able to do the same thing with clothes.
  • MITZIJAYNJUS@xanga

    Since my boys are only 2 years apart I always save from my oldest to pass to my youngest.  I always way over buy and the clothes are very seldom worn out.  I always buy my youngest just a few new pieces so he doesn't feel as if all he has are hand-me-downs.  When my youngest out-grows the clothes I give them away if there is someone I know that needs them if not I usually yard sale them.  This year though I think I am going to try to put them in the Duck Duck Goose sale that they have in Little Rock twice a year.
  • Zvanoizu@xanga

    I have two daughters so I got lucky in being able to pass along Emily's clothes to Sophie. Sophie is a lot harder on clothes so many things were simply given away in my local Freecycle group as playclothes. There are younger children in my family, but they're all boys. LOL. These days I can't pass clothes between daughters because Sophie has gotten bigger than Em. I still use a local version of Freecycle, plus a woman I know who works for a local agency that gives clothes to the homeless. It's nice to know the clothes are still being used and are finding a second and third life.
  • framaz@xanga

    I agree there is a big difference in store bought clothes. Those that keep well often do end up hardly worn before they have been grown out of especially with little ones. When mine were little I did a lot of sewing, and these clothes stood the test of time and wear. I also had a good circle of friends and my sister that had younger children that I could pass them on to. I do not believe in storing them just in case I had another child of the same sex.
    I also sewed a huge amount of clothes for all my Grandkids when they were little, and these I know have been passed around to family and friends, and many of them are probably still going strong even though they are in their teens and early 20's
    Any not able to be passed on have always been donated to Goodwill type places if they are still in good condition.
  • jaz1yn@xanga

    My one and only son is currently 8 months old and I've been storing all of his clothes (just in case the second one is a boy!).  Luckily, I was given a ton of clothes at my baby shower and also periodically even now from my parents, extended family members, and in-laws so I've rarely had to buy him new stuff.  I love going to yard/garage/moving sales and make a point to go to ones that specifically advertise baby/kids' items.  Moving sales are my favorites because people really want to get rid of their things... or even give them away!  (The best deals can be had towards the end of the sale in the afternoon... but the best selection is in the morning.)  Once I'm done having kids, I'll probably give away the clothes to family or friends first; if no one can use them, I'll probably hold a yard sale.
  • me_zephyrs

    I only kept the ones that were memorable, usually given by friends or relatives and have special sentiment related to the clothes.  Otherwise I either compiled them and sold them as a lot on ebay or I donated them to Goodwill or Salvation Army.  A few times when those clothes are too worn out to give or sell away, I recycled them as cleaning cloths to mop the floor or furniture.  Since I don't plan on any more babies, I won't save much of them. 

  • TakingxOverxMe@xanga

    There's a place over here called Once Upon a Child where people can sell their used baby/kid clothes and get a little bit of money for them. 

  • PrincessOfSeptember@xanga

    I've given most of the clothes from my 12 month old to my sister, who has a little boy 6 months younger than my little Micah. The ones I want back I mark with my initials on the tag. He's only my first one so there's potential for another boy in the future.
  • WonderGirlExtraordinaire@xanga

    I buy most of my baby clothes in thrift stores or online thrift stores since like you said, babies grow out of things fast and theres barely any wear on alot of the things. I recently found an awesome site for new and used baby/childrens clothes with very nice things and reasonable prices. Its called www.cheapkidsclothes.com. When the clothes are too small I sell them on Craigslist.com and use the money to buy bigger clothes.
  • A_Local_Nymph@xanga

    I've been saving my son's outfits..at least my favorites or the pieces that aren't stained or worn out, and I plan to continue to do so until he's a year old.  After that point, I'll probably either donate or give the clothes he outgrows to friends who have younger babies.  I'll still probably save a few select favorites though.  I'm stupid sentimental about things like that ><
  • sexxydramachick@xanga

    this may sound new but i donated most of my sons old clothes, not to family or friends, not to goodwill, not to salvation army but to the local domestic violence womans shelter. along with clothes from my son i sent anything i no longer fit into and even my old maternity clothes. i sadly know first hand what it is like to be suddenly in need of a shelter and i was foutunate enough to have clothes and diapers and food for my son going into the shelter. i kept thinking about all the children in there though and wondering about the mothers who bring their kids in and werent able to get extra clothes. my donation will make it possible for one little boy or girl in a bad situation to be able to get something "new" to wear giving them a small light in a black hole of a situation.

    but thats just me. i had gotten clothes from family members extended family members friends buying myself and even my old scout leaders. i always felt like as long as the clothes were going to good use and not just sitting around collecting dust that it was at least making a difference.

    peace and love.
  • miss_spider_heart@xanga

    Ive kept a lot of our clothes for if we have another girl.Ive also got 3 younger sisters so if they have girls are we dont have any more they can have the clothes.Clothes I dont really like Ive given to our local rehab centre.The women there are allowed to take their babies in with them but because theyre not allowed any money (incase they spend it on drugs/alcohol) they cant buy any clothes.So I know all the clothes will be appreciated and used.
  • Rencherry@xanga

    We will probably keep most of the clothes...I'm pregnant with our first and we are planning on having more so I'm sure they will come in handy later. Whatever we don't keep we will probably donate to on of the thrift stores we frequent. Although I really like the idea of donating to a women's shelter!
  • attercop@xanga

    My boyfriend's mom tie-dyes used onesies and sells them.  
  • mamajoyjoy

    waiting to see if #2 is a girl, but any neutral items have gone to my nephew. hubby's cousin lent us some clothes when M was little, but they wanted it back afterwards. i found this strange considering they aren't planning on have anymore kids. the clothes are hand me downs already so they are super worn already. when i'm all done, i would find someone who would need it and give it away. hopefully we'll have enough space to store for now.

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