Kids clothing.....what to keep?

[jillyofthevalley]

I'm sorting through my many bins of outgrown clothing and not sure what to keep.  There's 6 years between my last two girls and while I want to pass some clothing down I know a lot of it needs to go.  Things like tights and other stuff with elastic in the waist, will the elastic be okay in 6 years time?  Should I just donate it and let someone else get some use out of it?  What kind of stuff would you keep and what would you get rid of?  I'm a little overwhelmed here sorting through sizes 5-9.

[Justmee]

My youngest dd is now 6, and I'm just pregnant (don't know if it's a girl or boy).

About 3 years ago, I started getting rid of almost everything. The main exceptions were things that were expensive and not very worn (winter coats), or a few dresses I really loved. Most of the playclothes, pajamas, tights, ect. I passed on to someone who can use them now, not maybe use them in 6+ years.

I find it helps if you have someone you can pass things to. My friend has a dd age 4 after 2 boys, so she gets my girl stuff and I see them using it and they are so grateful. When / if we are blessed with another girl, I have faith we will have what we need.

[zebra15]

Well... to be honest, 6 yrs is a very long time to hold on to something, find storage for it plus 5 yrs worth of 'other' clothes.  Styles change, kids tastes change and after 4-6 yrs of storage things just don't 'look' as good IMO.

Sizes 5-9 so you are taking school age kids... I would probably donate all but a couple 'good' outfits then truly be prepared for the kid not to want to wear them.  Think back 5 years to what was in style, would kids wear those dresses and t-shirts today?  Most kids wouldn't, given a choice.

Also be prepared for kid A to have one body style and kid B to have a totally different body style and things just not to fit right.

[jillyofthevalley]

Originally Posted by zebra15 

Well... to be honest, 6 yrs is a very long time to hold on to something, find storage for it plus 5 yrs worth of 'other' clothes.  Styles change, kids tastes change and after 4-6 yrs of storage things just don't 'look' as good IMO.

Sizes 5-9 so you are taking school age kids... I would probably donate all but a couple 'good' outfits then truly be prepared for the kid not to want to wear them.  Think back 5 years to what was in style, would kids wear those dresses and t-shirts today?  Most kids wouldn't, given a choice.

Also be prepared for kid A to have one body style and kid B to have a totally different body style and things just not to fit right.

Very good points.  I think deep down I know this but the thrifty side of me screams to save it.  Hearing it from someone elses kind of gives me permission to get rid of it! LOL

[Polliwog]

I sell almost everything from the previous season and use that money to fund new clothing purchases. I'd never keep anything that long. Except MAYBE winter coats but probably not. It's too easy to get them cheap.

[jillyofthevalley]

Well, I got it all down to 2 bins.  I kept most of the size 5 stuff since that's not too far off but got rid of a lot of the bigger stuff.  I only kept things like hand knit sweaters from grandma, basic solid long sleeve tees, some dresses and the nicest of the coats (wool winter coat, etc.).  I have 4 garbage bags by the front door waiting to get dropped off at the Good Will tomorrow.

[chel]

Not to derail you, but I have over 9yrs between my kids.  Most things have lasted.  On top of that most things were hand me down when my oldest first wore them.  Biggest issue has been our move to a place with colder winters.

Infants change sizes a lot.  Once they enter school there might only bae a size or two away from each other.

[jillyofthevalley]

My oldest daughter is so picky, she'll only wear skinny jeans and one brand of t-shirt and hoodie.  That's it.  My second daughter isn't a fan of jeans and prefers yoga/sweat pants or leggings.  Who knows what my 3rd dd will be like.  Girls clothes are a dime a dozen in the thrift stores here as well.  Most of the stuff that was put away in the bins was second hand to begin with.  I just kept telling myself these things as I cleared out.  It may last 5-6 years in storage and she MIGHT wear it.  I'd hate to open that bin up in 5 years and have her refuse to wear any of it because it's not her style or whatever.  I feel much better not having all these bins clogging up my storage area.

Now, someone please tell me it's okay to get rid of the newborn diapers.  We don't plan on having more babies.  Why is this so hard?

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by chel 

Not to derail you, but I have over 9yrs between my kids.  Most things have lasted.  On top of that most things were hand me down when my oldest first wore them.  Biggest issue has been our move to a place with colder winters.

Infants change sizes a lot.  Once they enter school there might only bae a size or two away from each other.

Don't you find that the styles change so much though? 9 years, that is nearly a decade, the fashions change so much in that time, even with kids clothes.

[philomom]

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior 



Don't you find that the styles change so much though? 9 years, that is nearly a decade, the fashions change so much in that time, even with kids clothes.

I find that basic jeans and t-shirts don't change that much. My kids mostly wear thrift store stuff with a handful of new, trendy items thrown in just to round things out.

[elsie]

My girls are now the same size, though 2 years apart in age. There are very items they would ever want to wear of the others, just different tastes and styles at this point.

[mkksmom]

My girls are 5 years apart, and I kept a lot. Honestly, it was up in the attic, and we really don't use that space for anything else. The elastic was fine, and the styles really haven't changed. It's mostly stuff from The Children's Place b/c I liked how nicely their stuff washes up. Their things are just a new version of the comfy knits, different pattern on the fleece or sweaters. The velour 2 piece sets, etc. This si for the first few years anyhow. I have to say that I could have gotten away with only saving 5 every day outfits, a few dresses and a week worth of pajamas. But at the time, we were struggling to get pregnant again, having miscarriages, and getting rid of stuff felt like giving up. Now, I am more careful, but my older dd uses and abuses her clothing much more. Maybe the styles are more likely to change as they get older too. So, I am just saving basics and a few faves that are in good shape. Winter coats and boots as well.

I did get rid of my diapers. What mad e it easier was knowing that they were going to a particular mom who needed them. That was how I parted with them. I now only have a few as back-ups. But we are in the diapers for sleeping only phase, and I prefer disposables for that.

[Imakcerka]

My girls are two years apart and heck yes they have different styles.  The little one is skirts and legging while the oldest is jeans and sweat pants.  They wear each others shirts all the time and half the time I don't think they know what belongs to who.  I give them their baskets to put away and they sit their in front of their dressers trying to decide if something is theirs.

I never had luck with handing clothes down though.  DD2 had a bigger waist than DD1.  And DD1's legs are super long while DD2's legs are squat little things.  So even when she should have been able to fit into her sisters stuff she couldn't or she could and I'd have to roll the legs up three or four times.  I wish it worked for me though.  Would have been cheaper!

[Comtessa]

Originally Posted by jillyofthevalley 

Now, someone please tell me it's okay to get rid of the newborn diapers.  We don't plan on having more babies.  Why is this so hard?

Sell those diapers!!!  I found that I could sell used diapers for nearly as much as bought them new.  If you ever decide to have another baby, go ahead and pick up some used ones for the same price you sold the last bunch.  Maybe someone will come up with some fabulous new kind of diaper between now and then!  And in the meantime, somebody else gets to use that stuff that would otherwise be clogging up your storage space and not being used.  You hereby have permission to get on to Ebay this minute and post those diapers.  

[chel]

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior 

Don't you find that the styles change so much though? 9 years, that is nearly a decade, the fashions change so much in that time, even with kids clothes.

You would be surprised how much of the stuff looks just fine.  Mind you my youngest is almost two so stuff like overalls, sweatpants, jeans, t shirts, sundress, fleece coats,, etc. are fairly timeless.

Just at Christmas  my 3yr old niece was wearing the pj's of her 30yr old mom.

i think teens stuff is more trendy, but luckily they don't change sizes as much.  My 11yr dd is about the size I was until after college and about the same size as my 19yr old niece.  We can now easily share gloves, socks, shoes, and coats.  So when my youngest is 10 she will probably be wearing the same stuff my oldest does

[AZgirl2207]

Not sure what your climate is but elastic doesn't last for me.   Even stored inside (AC set at 85 degrees), elastic is shot after 2 yrs in storage. 

My three kids are all 2 1/2 years apart.  I only keep stuff that I think will be more expensive to replace--overalls, coats, holiday dresses.  Onesies, PJs, and t shirts got passed on.  HTH