Outgrown clothes question

[samssugarmomma]

Allright - we need some help. Or advice. Or at least to get ideas about what other people do.

What do you do with your outgrown clothes - specifically if you have a younger child of the same gender? When Natalie was born we'd always intended to have more kids so we saved most - if not all - of her clothes. Also, we knew that we'd be super poor and by saving them we could reduce some of our child rearing costs. We've been lucky enough to have two more girls so our efforts weren't wasted - but we have so many giant tubs full of clothes that we are outgrowing our tiny house! Elena is growing disproportionally - one size on top and a different size on the bottom, and she's a different season - so she hasn't been able to take full advantage of the clothes but Sarah has been following the same curve that Natalie did.

But now that we are outgrowing our house I'm wondering if we should come up with a new strategy. We'll be done with training next year and while we won't be bathing in money, our budget won't be as tight as it is now.

I still have everything from preemie to what the girls are in now - winter coats, clothes, boots, shoes that are still good. I'm considering selling the clothes that our youngest has outgrown to a consignment shop with the thinking that if we have another baby (God willing!) we'll be in a better place financially. Plus we could use any cash that we get AND it will be less items for us to move next summer.

I'm just curious what everyone else does? Do you keep everything? Just your favorite outfits? Or Toss/sell everything and start fresh for each kid?


Thanks!

[ides]

Well, I think its insane to start new with each kid. I can only see it if you have different genders or aren't planning on more kids but it happens.

If I were you I would pare your stuff down & sell the non essentials or give them to someone who needs them.

[diggitydot]

I kept some stuff for DD2, but with them being almost 5 years apart and #2 being so tiny, it takes FOREVER for her to grow into them. Now, I just let her pick which items she likes from the pile of crap her older sister is giving away and then I usually Freecycle the rest that neither of them want.

[MrsK]

I have 2 boys 18 months apart - different seasons. So far, K2 is much bigger than K1. He's 2 months old and wearing clothes that K1 wore when he was 4 or 5 months old so my seasons gap may close.

I bought most of K1's clothes second hand and the rest were gifts. I kept my favorites, tossed what was stained or ruined, and consigned the rest. At the end of the day, I had one 20 gallon container of clothes aged preemie to 1 year. It doesn't sound like a lot but so far I have more than enough hand-me-down clothes for K2. Just for fun, I have bought a couple "new" things for K2 second hand. I'll also have to buy K2 new shoes when he starts walking but boys get by with 1 or 2 pair. I'm using the same sorting strategy for K2's outgrown clothes.

Now the problem is keeping K1 dressed. As boys get older, the consignment selections thin out.

[MrsK]

BTW, I use the same criteria for maternity clothes. I saved only my favorites that were in good condition. You'd be surprised at how little you really need.

[Chrisada]

I save mine in tubs in the garage according to size. Since I have no intention of having any more until we are out of training I have given away the youngest's clothing to shelters with the exception of the really nice stuff. This is my way of being able to give to charitable causes while in residency without writing a check.

[TigerLily]

I kept all of my very favorite of A's outfits. The rest of the stuff, I either sold to a consignment store, or gave to friends who were having babies. I didn't anticipate getting pregnant again so soon, so I probably got rid of more than I should have. The stuff that we did keep I have in plastic tubs according to size as well.

[moonlight]

I just wanted to throw out there a random tip, some of you may do this. Save dresses that can pass off as a cute top in a few months. I have a couple sleeveless Carter's dresses size 18 months. Now that DD is in the 2T-3T range I sometimes put her in those dresses and pair them with matching cotton pants. I'll have to take a picture but the dresses we have are the same cut as this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carters-Navy...ht_1979wt_1270


with some black slim fitting pants/tights and the dress is good to go for another couple months!

[DCJenn]

I've passed along stuff to friends and neighbors when possible but other than dressy stuff that he only wore a few times most stuff just barely makes it through just him. Maybe it's the boy thing. Recently, I've been able to salvage a few uniform shirts and shorts at the end of each school year but that's about it. If there was another one I'd be buying all new anyway. (But thankfully there won't be.)

J.