What should I do with outgrown clothes?

[Rhianna813]

Hi All,

DH and I have decided to have a garage sale in a few months. This will involve spending some time each weekend going room to room and weeding out all that can be sold. (pray for me now hehe)

We have bags and bins of Brendan's outgrown clothes, much of which was given to us for free as hand me downs or bought at garage sales. Some stuff was new and some of the hand me downs were never used because they were "off season". I want to keep a couple of newborn pieces for sentimental reasons. I also want to take anything *really * nice and do a trade at the resale place. But for everything else I am torn......

Do I just donate it to our local "relief nursery" for a family in need or sell it at our garage sale for cheap. Baby clothes tend to sell for 50 cents a piece so it's not like I am going to get rich on it. I also realize that many low income parents are happy to buy these clothes cheaper than even a resale store would sell them. I was/am one of these parents. I would just pass the clothes along to a relative or friend but I do not know anyone who is having a baby right now.

Maybe the best option is to just include them in the sale and donate whatever does not sell? Any opinions on this?

Rhianna
ps: am I just dorking for overthinking this? :goodgrief

[Goddess Rhiannon]

join your local yahoo group known as
freecycle.org
people are always looking for stuff like that
everything that people give away is always free

[Tzhebee]

We're going through the same thing. I think I'm going to include them in the sale (may as well make an extra couple bucks, right?). The nicer items that don't sell, I'll probably take to a consignment shop and trade them for something Tyke's size; then I'm going to donate everything else to the local foster parent organization. We have so many kids who go to a foster home with literally only the clothes on thier backs. So, I figure they can really use them.

[MoonDragn]

More fertilizer, a little water, maybe they will start growing again?

[IvyWitch]

I don't have children, but my mother would always donate it to the church, or the SA. *shrug*

[vulfsung]

If you have a local women's shelter, you can donate clothes there. It's what we do with all our out-grown or gently worn clothes we don't wear anymore. I also donate shampoos and soaps that we can't use-my daughter has extremely sensitive skin, so often there is only one wash used out of a bottle, or one bar from a 3 bar package, so I pass it on.

Most of the women and children who come into these shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs, so anything that is still usable is very welcome.

You can always do the sale, and donate what doesn't sell. You could contact them and see if they need or want it, and they may have ideas who else may need, if you want to donate it.

[skyy_blue8278]

I think freecycle or a garage sale would be a great idea.

[Ceres]

I used to save stuff for garage sales and such until I realized how much work I was going to for so little reward. I think what you do comes back around to you, so I have started just donating things to the Goodwill or other charities. I will give the best pieces to people I know if I can, but if not, off they go. I have become quite ruthless with my "flinging" VIA Flylady.

www.flylady.net

[Rhianna813]

Oh but I have such secret motives for this sale muuuuuuuhahahaha..... I love going through my stuff and giving it away. I am not a pack rat but my DH is big time. We have been co habiting for 3 years and our decent sized house and double car garage is full of stuff, mostly his but also baby gear, toys, and clothes from Brendan.

Attempting to get DH to get rid of anything is difficult. The fact that we need money and the garage is now a place DH avoids has prompted him to suggest the garage sale. Plus he loves oragnizing things like that. So I am going with whatever it takes to get the stuff OUT! We have a couple of big ticket itmes too that I would rather advertise and make some money on. My only concern was the baby stuff really. This I would rather see go to someone who needs it!

Thanks for all suggestions, I appreciate them!!

Rhianna

[Kimberlily]

A friend of mine runs www.kidswaps.com - you pay a small listing fee (similar to ebay) but no commission when you sell. I believe that there's a reduced rate for listing multiple items.

[Valkie]

I give most of it to the VA. There are a couple of boxes of the nice things that I'm saving for when JackieDanielz ever decides to have kids :D

[~~Cypher~~]

I Donate All My Clothes That I Can No Longer Fit (including the kids) To Charity and Churchs... I Also Donate Books That I No Longer Read, Movies, Blankets, School Supplies, and occasionally I will go out and donate money as well.

[wakywitch]

When ever my son out grows his clothes, I either freecycle or donate them to a local shelter.

[Yvonne Belisle]

We use freecycle to both pass on what the kids have outgrown and to gain clothes when they grow. My older boys are going through a growth spurt now. My middle son changes sizes almost monthly so freecycle has been a saving device for us.

[Lunacie]

Fair warning, at least half the time when people give away or sell their baby stuff they get pregnant. :lol:

[soilsigh aingeal]

I Ebay some and donate some.

[Lunacie]

Friday my granddaughter got sick at school. When I went to pick her up she was wearing strange jeans and t-shirt. Her icky dress was in a bag. I remember another time she spilled her soup on herself at lunch and came home wearing different clothes. I'm thinking maybe it would be a good idea to check with the school and donate her outgrown clothes to the nurse's office for the next child who needs clean clothes during the school day.