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Today at Corporette we’re talking about the post-pandemic closet purge — and obviously a huge piece of the pie when we talk about clothing donations is all of the stuff your kids outgrow. It’s been a while since we’ve talked about this, so let’s discuss — how do you handle clothes your kids have outgrown? Are you holding them for a younger sibling? Do you try to resell any of the clothes? Or do you just get ’em out the door as soon as possible?
(Speaking of closet purges, some great questions for moms might be: how/did you purge your closet after having your baby? Which changed more, your body or your lifestyle? If you’ve done multiple separate closet purges over the years, how have they differed (e.g., postpartum 1, postpartum 2, pandemic)?
For my $.02 – my kids primarily wear affordable clothes like Carter’s and Old Navy, so I’ve honestly felt kind of lucky when the clothes survived long enough to even pass on from my eldest to my youngest! When they were younger I had an elaborate computer system of keeping track of what I bought for the kids — and I still use it, particularly when I’m trying to figure out what I have and need in the next size up for my youngest, and when I’m trying to remember which patterns I should be looking for in the huge piles of clothes we’re holding for hand-me-downs for my youngest.
I have resold a few things — nice winter boots that weren’t too worn, nice winter coats, etc — but I tend not to do the huge Facebook marketplace-type sales.
In terms of donations – when I’m switching the seasonal clothes for my youngest, I make a huge pile of clothes that go in our donation pile almost immediately. Some of the items go in my “clothing purgatory,” where clothes get a second look (particularly if I suspect my husband might have sentimental feelings towards something), but most just get bagged up immediately. It takes us several months to get them actually out the door, of course, but it’s nice to just get things out of the closets.
Readers, how about you — how do you handle clothes your kids have outgrown? (And, lol, now that I’ve picked an image for the post — am I the only one who has to beg and wheedle for my kids to try on any clothes, whether new or old?)
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / FamVeldman.
Anon says
One and done so not saving for a younger sibling. We donate almost everything. I save a very tiny number of sentimental items, and I pass along more expensive items that are not stained or torn to friends with same age (but smaller) kids. I’ve never had luck selling things. You make pennies on the dollar and I would rather just donate and know it’s going to someone in need.
AIMS says
I have a girl and a boy so there isn’t too much they share and they are now at an age where they don’t really want to (my younger boy will soon be bigger than his older sister and she has no interest in his hand me downs because he’s both “younger” and a boy).
What I have done to this point is I have 2 friends with younger kids that I give everything that is still wearable to, which really works out well. I save only a few really sentimental things but honestly my organizational skills aren’t the best and space is at a premium, so I don’t know if I will keep doing that for too much longer.
AIMS says
Oh and I should add – for anything beyond wear, you can bring it to H&M or Nordstrom for textile recycling. For those in NYC, you can also see if your building will install a textile recycling bin (awe are in the process of that now).
Janey says
Two girls so yes if something isn’t too worn or stained, I keep it for the next kiddo. But now that they’re elementary aged, they’re pretty hard on clothes so most things end up destroyed before they can get passed on.
Once my younger has outgrown something, I put it in the Goodwill donation bag. I’ve read that even stained/ripped textiles should be donated because they can sell them, but it’s so satisfying to throw a gross shirt into the garbage that I tend to just do that.
Anon says
I love this topic. Baby/kid clothes are so overwhelming to me. They need a good quantity of clothing because they are constantly getting dirty, but they grow so fast. When it’s time to size up, I feel like I’m drowning in a pile of clothes that I don’t know what to do with. I keep the sentimental ones in a big plastic bin. As she’s outgrowing individual outfits, I create a leaning tower of clothes piled in the closet until the pile reaches a critical mass and I have to deal with it. The nice stuff I try to pass on to a friend. The rest of clothes are currently bagged up in the garage to be donated. We’re basically operating with an extended version of the purgatory system described above. The goal is to eventually get the garage clothes to a donation center…
BT says
We have a great consignment store about 10 mins from my house. Twice a year – when seasons change – I go through the drawers and anything in good shape I bring there to be sold. Anything they don’t take that is wearable I give to a friend for my daughter. For my son any anything else from my daughter is donated. I find its worth the minimal effort to consign I stop in once a month or so to collect anything earned or use the money to get something for my kids from consignment. I have consigned many items I have bought at consignment so nice to see things have multiple lives of reuse.
Itlady says
I’m pretty ruthless with my consigning of everything I can. This was the agreement I made with my husband early on with our kids because I’ve got fairly expensive taste yet we hate spending a ton on stuff. I consign almost exclusively at rhea Lana and I also buy almost everything there. My kids are getting harder on their clothes so I’ve been able to consign less, but it’s been working well so far. Only downside is it’s a pretty big time sink…but I also get a weird thrill out of doing it. Especially when I am able to resell something for what I paid for it. (like I did with our Snoo, though that was Facebook marketplace) My past couple sales Im averaging getting back about 50% of what I paid for it based on very rough math.
Anon says
Goodwill all the way. My oldest now knows that when she is done with clothes and toys, we “give it to another girl.” And she will now announce when I buy clothes she doesn’t like, “I will NOT wear that, so we need to give it to another girl.” We drop off at least once a month whatever has accumulated. It’s SO satisfying to give things a new home.
P says
We keep my daughter’s clothes for my son, if they are not too girly. The girl stuff that is too small is either lent or gifted to friends, family and acquaintances. Anything left over I try to sell. The larger sizes sell better than the baby clothes. Brand names sell well, too, if they are only 50% of the original price. Both my children mostly wear hand-me downs, but we buy second hand or new for clothes that are missing, such as hats, shoes, socks, underwear etcetera. I try to be ecologically conscious regarding glothes!