When do you give away baby clothes?
My daughter is 4 months old, but she is already in 6-9 month clothes. I have boxes and boxes of newborn-6 month clothes. Now, we plan to have more children in a few years… but I am so torn on this issue. The are women in our family who are pregnant. Would you just give away most of the clothes to them, or would you hold on to them? We don’t plan to start trying for another 2 years, so that would be 3 years in storage… seems crazy to keep them, but at the same time, we did just spend all that money on them.
Thoughts? Should we just keep a few favorite outfits and pass the rest on? Is it really worth keeping them?
What about baby gear like her bouncey chair? She is so long she barely fits in it. 2 more inches and she won’t be able to fit in it. It takes up a ton of room. Is that something to pass on as well?
Thanks for all your opinions. I will show this question to my husband in hopes of convincing him it would be okay to give the clothes away. He wants a boy next anyway, but he is really against giving it all away.
I’m opening a Daycare and need clothes and toys. Drop me a line and I’ll buy them from you! (Seriously!)
Is there a way you can keep the “swapping” going with your other family members? Maybe they take the stuff that they need now and swap back with you when you want another baby.
Talk to them about it. It saves money, so I’m sure they’d be up to it.
i have about a dozen outfits that i have seen on nieces, nephews, cousins, best friend baby, and now mine. it is a great thing to pass on what your child wore to someone you love and their baby wears them. it can create a tradition, memory, and hours of conversation with loved ones.
as for equipment, swing, bouncer, same idea. you pay alot, and use it for only a few months. share your things, and ask your family and friends to do the same. it makes alot of sense to get the most out of your money, even if its not always your baby in them
You give away baby clothes when you’re sure you’re not having any more babies.
yeah thats what my mom does she usually keeps the ones she LOVES but gives most of them away and gives some to charity
wait a while and just give away some of the clothes but hang on to most of it forlater.
keep the ones you really like and give some others away to your family. they may do the same when you have your next.
I have a 2 1/2 year old girl and plan on one day having another baby. Until then, I am going to hold on to what I have. I really don’t want to have to buy a new swing, baby car seat, high chair, etc.. As for the clothes, I have given a few outfits away to friends but I am keeping most of them until I have another.
I would keep most of the things you really love and give the rest away. After all who knows…you might have a boy or have the baby at the wrong time of year for them to be season appropriate.
Basically, if you think your going to be using those items again then keep them, if you box them up well they should keep for a good long time. If you don’t think you will be using them give them away. Clothing can keep well in storage if you keep them in plastic storage bins.
i kept most of my baby things y not pass a few things on as 4 baby chairs etc id keep it it save you cash in the long run i still have my cot from my 13 year old all 4 off mine slept in it, just hat get a new mattress,,
In the same situation.
Our kid is turning 6 months old this week but my brother had one about a month ago. We gave them all the stuff that was too small on ours but we made sure to tell them to box it back up once they’re done and give it back to us since we want another on in a year and a half to two years.
It’s that simple and it works for the gear too. We borrowed a lot of stuff from my sister-in-law like bouncy chairs and so on and we’ll keep them until ours outgrows them and then return for them to use with their next one.
Just make sure you’re clear when you give people any stuff that you want it back and keep inventory of who has what as best you can. Chances are some stuff will never come back but most of it will.
Congrats on your daughter!
once they outgrow them and wont be in them again is the best time to give them away as long as someone can really use them or they sometimes get thrown away. whoever gets them can pass them to others as well.
I always get rid of things we don’t need when we don’t need them…even if you have more kids in a few years..all the colors, styles and the way things work will be better and safer later than now. Might as well give them to someone who can really use them NOW than Later!
Give away some of the clothes but things that are in good condition, look sweet and are the most expensive keep. The bouncy chair sounds like one that you should give away. Keep other things that she and your next child can and will use. Such as a high chair or a play mat.
well what i am doin, my son is 8 months old and my sister just told me that she is pregnant agian today. i am goin through all my clothes and keepin some of the things that i really liked and giving her the rest. and i will let her use the baby gear but i want it back when shes done with it because i plan on trying agian in a year or so. as far as storing stuff for 3 years, it is crazy. also there will be new things by then and your gonna want that stuff…lol.
This is what I did with both of my kids clothes when they grew out of them.
I kept the outfits that meant something to me and my husband and gave away the rest. I didn’t plan a second baby and although I am not at this moment planning a third it could happen. I would rather someone who really needed the clothes use them than have them sit in my basement not being worn. I also limited myself (with the second) to 10 outfits per size because there were things my first never even wore and that was such a huge waste.
I gave all my baby gear away except the cradle, pac n play and carriage. Those I will use again and if not I will have them for whoever shows up with a visiting baby. Well the cradle is to pass on to my kids.
keep the clothes
kids are expensive if your planning to have another child you can save money on keeping the clothes by the time you will be dealing with the terrible 2, and you need all the money you can get
my baby is also 4 months, and i intend on keeping all of her clothes. not only for future children, but because i want her to be able to have her baby clothes when she’s older. i really wished my mother kept mine. it just seems so special. i have a sister in law due next month with a baby girl also. i dont feel bad at all about not passing them down. she shouldnt expect my baby’s stuff just because she is also having a girl. and besides we bought her a whole bunch of stuff for her baby shower.
i am still debating the baby gear, like the crib, bassinet, stroller, carseat, bouncer, swing etc. i might sell them. they will be outdated by the time i have my next baby. and the clothes are the sentimental items anyways.
I say keep the ones you want for memories, and donate the others.
I let my sister and her sister in law (my brother in laws sister) use them but asked that they give them back. At that time I even wasn’t going to have anymore children. I’m also planning on letting a neighbor use my baby girl clothes since she is very poor and can not afford to buy them.
Keep the ones that are really cute or any really pretty dresses. You’ll get a bunch back with stains but most should come back in ok condition. Or just keep them in storage and use them in 3 years. They are your clothes after all.
Advertise the baby gear on craigslist or someplace like that. You could really help a family in need if they can’t afford one.
I have a 3 year old girl, a 16 month old boy and in june will have another girl.
In between my oldest and my youngest are a flurry or cousins and friends babies… Luckily, We have been able to pass things between households.
To me, keeping baby clothes, all of them, for years is hard, they end up getting that musty smell, and even if you store them in tubs… well, you have to have room.
To me, pick the things that you love… From my daughter I have her hospital outfit (2 of them) in her keepsake box, I have a few bonnets in there as well and I kept backa dress or 2 that I loved. My mother in law sews so I kept the handmade outfits. It all fit in less than 1 tub. The rest I passed on. I figured, hand me downs were a blessing to us, and wanted to bless someone else.
I also waited till we knew if we were having a boy or girl and then sent my son’s clothes to a local church charity and kept a few things like with my daugher as keepsakes.
If something like a bouncey seat or whatever is taking up too much room and you aren’t using it, give it to someone who can. If you plan on having more kids and it was expensive, I’d break it down and store it somewhere so you don’t have to buy another.
Well I would keep the important ones to u, give the others to family-friends. For the baby gear you could sell them and get your money back or let your family use them.
I think keeping a cycle going is the funnest way to go about it. You got clothes from people who have had babies too didn’t you? I think you should keep what you really want and give the rest away. When you decide to have a baby again, you will always have someone who can donate you more clothes, plus you know your gonna wanna buy a few more, and get more at the baby shower, so I think you will have plenty. Besides, what if you have a boy next? No reason to hold onto the old ones when you know you’ll have plenty new ones.
I thing the baby gear is more of a this or that choice. In my opinion, it is good to have it around in case younger kids come and need something to use/play in (bouncy chairs, highchairs, carseats…) but if you have no room, and don’t mind having to buy again in the future just in case you don’t get that stuff at a future baby shower, than give it away.
You know, if you donate this stuff to places like The Goodwill, you can claim it on your taxes.
omg…..
I know is hard let them go and I´m gonna share my experience….
I don´t have to buy anything at all, everithing was given to me for friends,,,,, was so cooll………. I was very in need for clothes for myy baby and was a lot of people who just give me their bab´s clothes……
You can make a yard sale…….. And keep your favorites like the first gown…..
If you choose help someone else congrats that´s such a very good idea….. Not everibody is full of money to buy a ot of clothes for new babys………
Is you choice….
a Yard sale sounds good……
KEEP IT ALL!! You’ll be glad you did. Hang on to the ones that are sentimental to you. Including the blankets. You’ll always need those. THe onesies, t-shirts. burp cloths. Keep your crib, high chair, things that you’ll always need. I’m so bad, I kept everything. and so did my mom. I have a Disneyland T-shirt that i got when I was 3 (I’m 42) That shirt is still hanging in there (l0l) every single one of my kids used that shirt. from my oldest Boy who is 17, and now my 3 year old boy is wearing it. My 3 year old wears his older brothers clothes now. Just around the house, “knock arounds” my mom used to call hand me down clothes. after my 10 year old was born and she grew up I gave everything away. Never thinking I’d have another child. 7 years later, i had to start from SCRATCH. it sucked. Babies are so expensive. sorry so long. just my opinion. =0)
The gear is much more expensive than the clothing, so if you have space to store it then it makes sense to do so. If you don’t have space but know that your pregnant family members will take good care of it, you may want to loan it (just make sure they understand you want it back and in decent condition).
I would suggest keeping your favorite outfits and giving the others to family members (or donating to needy organizations or shelters, etc). Unfortunately, if you are like me, you probably have a lot of “favorite” baby clothes. I plan to keep all my son’s one-piece outfits/footies and sleepers, but give away the undershirts, t-shirts, and onesies.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
I have a 16 month old son and plan on storing all of his outfits until baby number 2 gets here. Of course, if it’s a girl, I’ll just sell everything in a garage sale or ebay. His hand me downs are in such great shape. I’ve shoved them all in baskets and put them in the top of the closet.
As far as my family and friends go..
We keep the clothes we want and loan out the rest. Look at the outfit and if you would be crushed if it wasn’t returned, don’t loan it out. As far as the baby gear, I have pass some on with the expressed intent of it being returned after it has been grown out of. I almost got burned so be wary and make sure that whomever you loan it to takes care of their own stuff. Otherwise you might get a bunch of stained worthless broken crap back.
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