Letting go of 3 yo's clothes...

[azzeps]

ok, so I saved all my daughter's clothes in big tubs in our attic for our #2.... and we found out that our baby #2 is a boy!  Which is great, but I was also kinda hoping that we'd have a girl just so I could revisit all my daughter's clothes before we really have to get rid of it.  So since it's a boy, I've been going through all her stuff and picking out the very little that is gender neutral.  But the rest, well, I am really having a hard time parting with.  (We aren't planning on a #3, so there really isn't a reason to keep it).  So I guess I'm just posting for some support and ideas... I have toyed with the idea of making a quilt from some of her baby clothes... but I wonder if that would just keep things hanging around longer.  I also feel like I want to keep a few things, some special dresses, some things people handmade for her, just to keep... But it would probably just sit in the attic.  Maybe it's okay to hang on to some of it for a while, and then get rid of it later when I've convinced myself that I'm really not going to look at it again, and that she really won't want it when she moves out?

I am such a sentimental sop!

[Tjej]

We don't know if we are done or not, but I have still purged a fair bit of my DD's stuff.  If we did have another it'd be at least 6 years between now, so it just gets long...

I found that keeping a few things in each size that I really like feels better for me, and then I can give or pass on the rest to little girls that will wear it.  It's fun to give some to kids we know, then I get to see some of the clothes being used and cute on another little girl.

HTH

Tjej

[clutterwarrior]

Although you said you are not planning on a #3, just in case you change your mind, it may be worth just hanging on to your absolute favourite outfits just in case!

I also thought I wasn't having a #3 and so were some friends of mine, convinced they were going to stop at 2 and ended up with 3,  so one never knows....

[K'sMama]

I had held onto all of DD's old close anticipating another girl.  Then DS was born.  I was so sad to let go of all of her sweet clothes.  It was a long process, but here's what I did.  First I went through everything and got rid of the stuff that I didn't like that much or that wasworn/stained, but held onto the rest for a bit.  Then I went through again and pulled out the stuff I absolutely loved and couldn't get rid of - then passed the rest along to a friend that had a baby girl.  It has actually been so fun to see another little girl wear DD's clothes.  I held on to the rest of the stuff for 2 years.  Then in January when I got serious about decluttering I asked myself if I really cared about those clothes I was hanging onto for sentimental reasons - the answer?  NO!  I would much rather have the space in my house and I feel much free-er after getting rid of it all.  I did hang on to a couple of sweaters and a dress that my Grandma knit for her though, and the sleeper she wore home from the hospital - those mean a lot to me.  I have found it much easier to get rid of DS's stuff - I have only kept a sweater my Grandma knit for him and the longies that I made for him to come home from the hospital in.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

I have a "memory box" - a Rubbermaid container with some of the special clothes - some hand-knits, her first birthday dress, etc. I am limiting myself to that one container. It was terribly hard to let go of some of the clothes - such memories. Others, well, I had forgotten all about! Some went to consignment (but you can feel very insulted if they reject a piece of clothing that you adore!) and others went to a friend who is hoping to be pregnant too.

I did find it hard, but once I started, it was easier.

[SomethingAnonymous]

I'm doing the same as Perdita- I have one organizer for my son and one for my daughter, the idea was to limit the clothes I was keeping to those.  However, my daughter who is 4, her stuff is taking up 1 1/2 tubs and my son's stuff (who is 18 months) is only taking up about 1/2 of one.  Well... at least I haven't gone over the 2 tubs...lol, It is very hard, I sympathize!  The good news is that after several years I went through my daughter's stuff again, and some of her baby stuff I didn't even remember, so that stuff went.  I'm hoping over time it becomes easier to part with their clothes.

[Juvysen]

I took the slow approach like PP.  First ditched all the things I didn't care about - they were sold in a garage sale.  Then my step-cousin was unexpectedly pregnant at a young age and I was asked if I could send anything to her... so I sorted through the things that meant the least to me and sent them on.  Then decided the number of bins of clothes I had was too much and a close friend from college was pregnant with a girl, so I handed off piles of things to her.  I finally went through and decided I could keep a couple things from each size range to keep - my favorites - and the rest just got handed to that same friend.  Her baby will be set until it's 4  

I realized, though, that if we do ever end up having another little girl, it'll be fun to go shopping for her or let my friends reminisce by giving me their hand-me-downs, you know?  Also, putting a new baby in those clothes will not bring back the moments that I loved with my first daughter... which I sort of realized is what I was hoping for... bringing back those precious moments with my first baby.  It's sad to let go, but I still have my memories and many pictures :)

[azzeps]

Thanks for the ideas, mamas.  I think it will be okay to hang on to some of it a little longer, then, and reevaluate when I really need the attic space.  I just don't want to become my mom, who, it seems, saved SO MUCH of my and my brother's clothes and shoes.  She's now passing it on to me, so some of the stuff I'm going to give back to her!!!  I mean, what am I supposed to do with all her stuff and my stuff???? :-)  I'll keep working on it.  I am thinking that lots of the larger sizes she's outgrown are going to get passed along to her little cousin who is almost 18 months, so it makes me feel better that it's not totally gone.  Sigh.  I guess I'm just not as able to be ruthless as I thought.

[Shannie77]

I feel fortunate because my sister is having a girl who is due the same time as my two girls.  I am just passing on everything to her, except 2 baby outfits for each of them to put in their keepsake boxes.  I think if I were in your situation it would be harder... it is also harder when you go through everything and the memories come back.  I like the idea of keeping a small bag of the outfits that are really nice and in good condition.  Then if you have a friend or family member have a girl you have a few special things to pass on.

My mom who gets rid of everything, held on to a couple of baby outfits that were mine... and my girls both wore them a few times. :P  I have put those aside, in the hopes I might have a granddaughter who will at least put them on for a picture. :)

[lactatinggirl]

I recently went through DD's clothes and kept just the ones that are my favorites and in really good shape. If you think about it, what's the likeliness that you'll have another baby of the same sex in the same time of year? I mean, even if I do have another girl, if she's born in the fall, all the 6 month stuff that was great for DD in the middle of September won't work so well in May. As for keeping clothes, I would really limit myself. I have a cedar chest that I keep the sentimental things I want to have in (which for me, in this case, just amounts to DD's first outfit). 

[azzeps]

Well, hopefully this weekend I can get to sorting a few more things.  it is hard to look at the stuff and the memories just come rushing back.  I can remember who sent us each piece of clothing or who gave it, when we received it, all of it!!!  I think some of the bigger sizes I'm going to pass on a few things to my niece and the rest I'm going to try to take to a consignment store.  I think if I can see that I can get something for it rather than it just sitting in my attic, I will be more motivated to let it go.  lactatinggirl, you are right about even if I had another girl, she might be born in the opposite season anyhow so it's really a crapshoot as to if it would be useful.  Besides, I think once we have two, we are going to be done!!!

Wish me luck in choosing just the right things to save and letting go of the rest!

[GearGirl]

Originally Posted by azzeps 

Thanks for the ideas, mamas.  I think it will be okay to hang on to some of it a little longer, then, and reevaluate when I really need the attic space.  I just don't want to become my mom, who, it seems, saved SO MUCH of my and my brother's clothes and shoes.  She's now passing it on to me, so some of the stuff I'm going to give back to her!!!  I mean, what am I supposed to do with all her stuff and my stuff???? :-)  I'll keep working on it.  I am thinking that lots of the larger sizes she's outgrown are going to get passed along to her little cousin who is almost 18 months, so it makes me feel better that it's not totally gone.  Sigh.  I guess I'm just not as able to be ruthless as I thought.

So for me this is the key.  Are you glad to have all of your baby clothes from your mom?  Would you have been happier with a few special outfits?  If you don't want it all, do you still want to hang on to all of your dd's until she has a baby?  If you aren't saving it for her, who are you saving it for?  Do you think she will want it all if you don't?  Even if she does, do you want it for 30 years in your attic?  It would be great to save a few very special outfits, maybe a home made Halloween costume (I just saw a 2 year old wear her mom's costume last year and it was so cute!), a few heirloom items like a very fancy dress, or blanket.  

[azzeps]

I'm making progress!  I sent a big box of clothes to my 18 month old niece.  It was $20 to send it so I hope she will like it and use it.  I told her it was hers to keep, donate, pass on, sell, whatever, if she didn't like it, or after she was done with it.  I set aside one tub full of baby stuff that is for my baby's baby girl someday.  I may end up whittling it down some more, to fit in some bigger sizes later on if I can't part with them.  I think the bigger stuff is easier to part with, for some reason.  It's all that teeny tiny baby stuff that holds all the memories that's hardest.  But I think it might be a good goal for me to set the limit to one tub of stuff.  My Mom definitely went overboard.  I guess she had the space to save it all and didn't bother getting rid of it.  I don't know.  I took two tubs of stuff to a resale shop and sold about 1/3 of it ($200 worth, for which I was paid $60, which isn't too bad).  The rest, I think I will try in one of those big consignment sales coming up, and if it doesn't sell, then I can let it go.  It would be so cool to get a few bucks for some of it!!!  I'm going to price it to sell so that hopefully I will get something for it!  I still have 2 tubs set aside for baby boy, and one tub of Fall/winter stuff to take to the resale shop, since they won't take that stuff until August or Sept.  So I'm making headway!  Thanks for all the help!

[RollerCoasterMama]

I don't know how I managed to escape it, but somehow I've avoided attachment to DS's baby clothes!  Probably part of it is that we had so many hand-me-downs the first few years.  Things I wasn't super in love with to begin with.  And those hand-me-downs had a next in line friend I forwarded them to.

My one weakness...his little lo-tops.  SO CUTE!  I have a small bin of various colors of lo-tops in every size since he was 12 months old.  Those aren't going anywhere!  And I saved some of the football team related stuff for XH.

I've been culling the outgrown clothes gradually.  I pulled out the hand-me-downs to pass them to the next in line.  Anything stained got put in goodwill (around here, if it's not sell-able, they process the clothes into something else, so stained is still ok).  I consigned some.  But the best have gone on to cousins.  When my cousin adopted a toddler boy from China, they had little notice and no boy clothes!  So I sent a big box of 18 month basics which they loved!  And my ex-SIL has a boy three years younger than DS.  Last time I visited, it seemed like his wardrobe is almost exclusively DS's hand-me-downs.  I know they appreciate it.  I've made it very clear that she can use, donate, pass along, whatever with the clothes.  I don't want them back!!  I remember what a blessing it was for me to have some basics when DS was going through a new size every few months and we were perpetually broke...so I'm happy to pay it forward. 

But I'm still keeping the little Chucks!  :-D