What Did You Do with All Your Baby Stuff When You Were Done Having Kids?

I keep a rubbermaid container full of clothes and baby items of sentimental value (and in good shape) to give to my DD when she has her on baby. I know it sounds silly (who would put 25 year old clothes on their baby, right?!) but one of my friend's mom did this for her and it was so awesome when her first came along and she could pass on some of the blankies and layette that she had as a baby herself.

Everything else I either pass on to other moms with smaller kids, high end stuff in great condition I usually consign, cheap stuff in wearable condition I donate and if it has stains that don't come out... chuck it.
I have bought and sold big ticket items on craigslist (crib, stroller etc.) and had good experiences with it, you just have to be smart about it (meet in public place, cash only, be honest about what condition things are in (include pics) so buyer know what to expect).
Good luck!

I put most of it in a local consignment sale and used the money to buy clothes for my kids at the same sale. Worked out great!
The stuff that didn't sell was donated to a charity.

Some I sold to Once Upon A Child, but they don't pay enough and why should they. So I would always bring anything I had to the homeless shelter. I always clean out my daughters clothes and toys right before Christmas and bring everything to the shelter.

I sold some stuff on ebay and craigslist. I donated stuff. I handed stuff down to others...

It all depended upon what it was - exer-saucers, swings, etc. sold best n Craigslist. However, there were a few of the bigger toys I donated. it depended upon my mood and what I had.

Clothes did best as a "LOT" on ebay and craigslist...others did not. It all depends upon the "mood" of the buyer and their needs. Sometimes, if the items are NOT Carter's, Baby Gap or other "name" brands, they might not sell and you are best donating them or handing them over to someone else in your circle who needs 'em.

If you have several girlfriends with kids of similar age - do what we did - have a mom toss and swap play date...set up a play date over at a friend's house, bring the items you don't want anymore and toss the stuff in the middle of the room and swap!! EVERYONE has to contribute. It's not one-sided...it can be fun!!!

No one has mentioned Freecycle as another option to give away your stuff. I like doing that verses giving it to Goodwill because the people taking the items are willing to pick them up on my doorstep. I also donate to those companys that pick it up on your curb. I think Easter Seals is one of them. Every few weeks I get a call saying they are going to be in my town and if I have anything to donate just bag it and put it on the curb. Works for me.
If you want to sell your stuff rather than donate it, then Craigslist is a good option and it's free.

I sorted out the "special" items (favorite dresses or first shoes or whatever that had sentimental value, or items I thought would last the years to give to my grand babies one day?) and put them in rubbermaid. The rest were passed along to other who I thought could use them (either younger moms from church, or friends) or given to CareNet (a local non-profit for needy expectant moms- particularly teens). Some of the larger items (non-clothing) were donated to the church nursery (the crib and changing table both--and the changing table was a beauty! the dresser drawers and cabinet style--heavy wood furniture). Eventually, when our daughter got 'real' furniture and the toddler bed was gone, there was no room for the rocker anymore either. We gave that to our friends' son, who'd just come back from Iraq and his wife had their baby the day after he got home.
I don't even remember what we did with the pack n play. Maybe Once Upon a Child? Or maybe Salvation Army. Can't remember. Umbrella strollers were donated, I know.

@ Ina: I have a photo of my daughter wearing a little pink cotton dress with tiny buttons up the front that was MY dress when I was a baby. She only wore it for the picture, but it is packed up with all her baby stuff and she will get it when she has her first baby---if it's a girl. It was still very cute on her. And it made my mother REALLY happy!

I donated them to many different people that I know needed it. Family, friends as well as acquaintances. My husband had surgery recently and we had a nurse take care of him for a few days. As we got to know her we found out that her daughter was about to have a baby and didn't have much money etc. So I took that as an opportunity to dig up my stored baby stuff and give it to her. I was thrilled to help out and she was thrilled to receive. My cousin sells her baby/toddler stuff to a resale shop to make extra money. In these hard economic times either way makes sense. Good luck!

Gave most of mine away to friends or friends of friends, the rest went to Goodwill.

Keep a couple of special things, maybe two or three.

I am lucky to be a part of a wonderful group of friends, who just so happen to have kids at the same time or just before, or just after mine. So they handed me theirs, and I handed mine over again to the next mommy to be. It has been a blessing to be able to give, and receive...

Ebay is a good way to sell if you need money but it is hard work.

Garage Sales/Craigslist

Orchid Kids or a Consignment store in your area who buys kids clothes, or donate to the Red Cross.

Donate to churches. They often help families in need.

We kept a couple very special otfits, for each kid to pass on to their babies, if they so choose. Did a little bit of hand me downs to my cousins who hd girls a couple years after me.

Other than that I took nearly EVERYTHING to our local ( next town over, a bit bigger town than ours) kids and baby consignment shop. I LOVE IT. She does only take good stuff - no stains, holes, tears, etc. But lets face it how many little baby things get torn and really stained... maybe a few, but most of ours looks like new. Our store does 50/50% consignment fee, and her sales prices are higher than garage sale prices, so in the end I make more money from her store selling my stuff than I would by having a garage sale myself, with a fraction of the prep work and hassle. All she asks is that you give her the stuff clean and neat in boxes or bags marked with your consigner account number. I always wash and fold before getting rid of anything anyway, I just box up the too small stuff in diapers boxes till it is the appropriate season to take it in to the store ( they only take current season stuff - fall/winter in the cold months and spring/summer in warm time) .

THey take toys and "gear" all the time, but you have ot call ahead ot make sur ethey have room for it, Monday I am taking in a Little Tykes Kitchen , and Workbench, a Thomas the Train Toddler bed, and a Jogging stroller. I make about $300 cash, or so, a year from there ( most of it i turn right around and spend right there in the store to buy the next size up for my kids - it is agood deal). It is definitely worth it to do, it is minimal preparation, you get the money, you clear out your storage space in your house, and someone else gets to buy nicer things for a smaller price, rather than having to spend the money on brand new in this economy.

Craigslist I have had good luck buying, but not on selling - buy I live out in the country ( well actually in a tiny town of 1200 people) so I think people don't want to come out here to get stuff, I think I would be more successful if I lived in a bigger city.

My local ECFE program (through the school district - all MN schools have one) has a big garage sale every year. I donate some stuff to them, sometimes I tag my own stuff to sell at their sale (I keep 70% they keep 30%). I donate a ton to our local charities. And, the BEST stuff I try to give to my friends who have babies.

I'd list your best stuff (stuff you bought new and is in good shape) on Craigslist. You'll get your best price there. People know what things are worth and if they want it they'll pay for it.

Try selling things in Lot's. People are more likely to purchase a set of clothing (by size, brand, etc.).

Good luck!

J.

1- friends

2- distant family

3- Goodwill

Easier than a yard sale.

Dawn

I think I have a problem with this. At first, I hung on to his baby clothes thinking "What if?" because I really wasn't sure if we'd have more kids. Then when I moved I decided to size down on the clothes, donating as much as I could to Good Will, Salvation Army, and friends in need, and only keep the really "good stuff." Now almost 3 years later I'm pretty sure I won't have more kids, and that "good stuff" is taking up like 6 boxes and way too much storage. But I can't seem to let it go. I know I need to sort through it again and only keep the really, really good stuff for sentimental sake, but I can't bring myself to. You sound like you are ready to get it out of the way though. Some of my friends have had good experiences with Once Upon a Child but you don't get much. You can get a tax write off if you donate to charity if you bother getting a receipt when you bring it in. Good luck!

I sold some of the bigger stuff on craigslist. I use craigslist quite often and I love it. I gave a few things here and there to friends who could use it. All the miscellaneous and little stuff - the bedding, the random toys, feeding tools, clothes etc. went to a pregnancy center near my home. I cut the straps to my expired car seat and brought it too. A mom could use it at the time to get 20% off a new car seat. We donate to many places, but the pregnancy center seemed to truly appreciate the donation. Not only was I thanked sincerely, later I was sent a hand written thank you note from a volunteer there. When I find something they can use, I pack it up and bring it over.

Now that we are past the baby "stuff" I swap with my neighbor. She gets the stuff my son outgrows for her son and my daughter gets the hand me downs from her older daughters. When our little ones have outgrown things, I send the clothes all back to her. She packs them up and sends them to her family in India. The family passes it on the friends and family who could use it. We put a lot of miles on our clothes, but we all benefit from our system. :)

I would donate them to a crisis pregnancy center. I know of one in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul, but perhaps there is one closer to you in the Minneapolis suburbs.

The one I know is:
Total LifeCare Center
525 Thomas Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55103
###-###-####

Donated some of it, gave some of it to friends, and sold the bigger things on Craigslist.

I gave all my sons baby stuff to a young couple I knew that had just had a baby and not much $$.

Some clothes and toys I gave away to relatives. I took a HUGE box of clothes and several toys/child safety items to Once Upon a Child and only made around $50. They don't accept a LOT, LOT, LOT of stuff. I was kind of annoyed when they turned down an absolutely beautiful, mint-condition Jeep jogger-stroller, just because it was right on their "expiration" mark. I still wound up giving it to them anyway to donate away, since I had no room for it, but I was a little suspicious that they might turn around and sell it anyway. Who knows? I know they have to be kind of picky, otherwise they would be swamped with stuff, but they are VERY picky.

Nowadays I've been donating most clothes in the donation bins lined up in our town dump. They benefit good causes. I also have a new round of stuff - toys mostly - that I think I'll take over to that Savers store. I believe it benefits Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I just HATE throwing out perfectly usable stuff.

I do save a few things here and there too - special outfits, some toys I feel sentimental about. It's hard because we don't have too much storage space, but I have always appreciated the things my mother saved from our childhood.

If I were you I'd hold on to your stuff until it's warmer and have a garage sale. We just did a garage sale last summer with all the stuff we didn't need anymore and made about $400. And it was only baby stuff. What we didn't sell we took it to a half price baby store in our neighborhood, what they didn't take we donated to a local church that provides items to families in the neighborhood who aren't able to buy them themselves. There were a few things we held onto (travel system, backpack carrier) that we sold on craigslist because we knew we could get more for them there than at our garage sale or at the half price baby place. There's certainly some things that I would post on craigslist over doing anything else with them. The worst that can happen is no one is interested!

I gave it all away except for a few blankets and very few outfits. The blankets were handmade from family. Everything else and I mean everything was donated. Most items had been gifted to us so I passed that on to someone else. Sure we could have definetly used the money, but for me it was important for someone else to have the same comforts we were afforded. We did get a tax reciept which was great.

I gave some things away to family and friends.
I did take the time to get gently used clothes together for a consignment sale. I made probably the same amount, maybe a smidge more, as I would have made at a garage sale. Still took some time getting it all together per the sale requirements.
I donate most things to a local mission or Goodwill now. Usually I will get a wild hair to declutter one day and I just want to get things out of my house quickly, so off to the Goodwill it goes!
HTH,
A.

I strongly recommend the Just Between Friends Maple Grove sale. They have 2 sales a year, one in the fall and one in the spring and the sale where I got rid of my baby stuff, I made over $700. It takes a bit of time to tag everything, but you get way more money for it than Once Upon A Child. Take a look at jbfsale.com and if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message. I've shopped, volunteered and consigned at the sale.

I gave away the clothes to other moms. Well the clothes that were in good condition, if they had a lot of stains I threw them out. Most of the toys were passed to my daughter’s cousins. The crib & mattress I gave to a young single mother that really needed it. I kept some things as keep sakes. The only things I have sold were some of her toys that she had out grown and that was only if no one in the family wanted them. But they were in really good shape and were not missing any parts.
If you use craigslist please meet people in a public place and always let someone know where you are going and who you are meeting. But I am sure you already knew that.

My husband and I have two sons who are 13 months apart in age. Once our youngest outgrows the hand-me-downs we donate the clothes and baby stuff to charity. We've feel like its a good way to give to people who may be less fortunate than us.

I gave things away to family and friends - and whatever wasn't needed I donated to a local thrift store. I think there are too many people out there who NEED things to sell everything we have on Craigslist. I'd give what you have to anyone you know who wants it and then donate the rest.

Toys and baby equipment sell well on Craig's list. Clothes, not so much. I was able to quickly and easily sell things like bouncy seat, exersaucer, playmats, etc - and I made back about half of what I paid for each (much more than what you'd get at a garage sale anyway.)

If you have some things that are in really good shape, it might be worth taking them to OUAC, but anything worn or stained in any way will be rejected by them. The bulk of clothes I either passed on to friends/family or donate: goodwill, churches, crisis nurseries, shelters . . . there are lots of options for donations.

I passed a lot on to others having kids and donated the rest. I sold a few big items like a single jog stroller. You can get a sheet for tax write off purposes at Goodwill, Salvation Army and numerous other charities.

If you are looking to make some money (and lets face it who isn't) I would really recommend doing a consignment sale. You price your stuff yourself and you generally get 65%-70% of your asking price depending on if you volunteer. If you don't want the stuff to come back the consignment sales are able to donate your items that were not purchased and it they generally always find a local charity to donate to. That way you get the benefit of getting some $ and also donating to a local organization. The one I have used and really like is called Just Between Friends. They actually have a consignment sale going on this weekend in Eden Prairie. So far I have made almost $150 and today starts the half price sale when alot of items really start selling.