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Community Corner

Hey Moms, Is Accumulated Kid Clutter Starting to Cramp Your Style?

Here's how to eliminate some of the stuff spilling out of the toy box and plastic bins and into every corner.

Kids come with a lot of stuff.

Really, they come with nothing at all, of course. But between baby showers, gifts, day-to-day needs and the mad gathering instinct of the nesting mom-to-be, kids add a lot more than simple joy to a household.

There are the feeding supplies, the carting supplies, the diapering/toileting/training supplies, the bedding, the clothing, the outerwear, the indoor toys, the outdoor toys, the bath toys, the medicines, the toiletries … the list goes on. But the sneaky part–which I didn’t appreciate until at least a year into mommyhood–is that you end up with this entire collection of stuff for every single age and stage. And if you have more than one kid, you’ve got to have multiple collections going at once, while you store the in-between stuff until the younger ones are ready for it.

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Then if you have kids of different genders, it’s enough to bury any family.

What do you do with the stuff?

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We went the plastic tub route. I hit a huge sale and came home with seemingly dozens of bins. I filled most of them with clothes, organized by size. There were also bins for baby toys and baby gear, toddler toys and gear, etc. (There were also bins of other things, but that’s a different story). We also bought sturdy metal shelves and lined our garage with plastic bins.

Now, a year later, our youngest has grown out of her first year of clothes and we are retiring much of the baby gear. As sad as it is to pack away the tiny clothes both of our precious girls wore, it is liberating to say goodbye to some of the stuff. I have leapt with both feet into full purge mode.

But how do you get rid of the stuff?

Let’s face it. Between all of the clothes and the toys and the gear and whatnot, we’ve got a good deal of moolah tied up in this stuff. And sadly, just because we’re leaving the baby stage behind, it doesn’t mean we’re done with the stuff. We may not need to buy a new wardrobe for our kids every three months, but there will be plenty more toys, plenty more clothes, and plenty more (probably much more expensive) gear. It sure would be nice to get something back for these bins of baby things.

So, I’ve been trying to sell it--easier said than done. I suppose with so many people with so much stuff, the market is flooded with second-hand kiddo doo-dads.

Here’s what I’ve tried:

  • Craigslist – I decided to try to sell the larger items (a couple of the strollers–how did we end up with four???, swings, jumpers, etc.) on Craigslist. A couple of pieces sold just fine, but I’ve been stood up by no-show buyers a few times, too. I’ve taken to leaving things on the front porch when I know someone will be coming over. They can take the goods and leave the money. The honor system works great and allows me to carry on with our daily routine rather than waiting all day for someone who may or may not actually show.
  • Jack and Jill Consignment Sale – I tried consigning nearly 100 items at the Jack and Jill consignment sale this weekend up in Lynnwood. It was a great sale. Literally, a convention hall filled with lightly used kids’ things for a fraction of what you’d pay at retail. The problem is that in spite of the large crowds, the supply still outweighed the demand. Great for the buyers, not so great for the sellers. I spent about eight hours prepping my sale items using their online inventory/tagging system, then driving to Lynnwood and back twice this weekend (drop-off on Friday, followed by pick-up of the unsold items on Sunday)–all to sell 15 items. And what’s left is good stuff! I will continue to shop this sale, but this wasn’t the purging experience I had expected.

What’s next?

I may investigate consigning with a regular, local consignment shop. Each shop sets its own guildelines, but in general, when you consign, you bring your items in and they select what they will accept and try to sell. The shop sets the starting price, then drops the price on a pre-set schedule (i.e. once a month). You receive a percentage of the final sale price. In my experience, that percentage ranges from 40 percent to 60 percent. Some local consignment shops include:

I may try to do a bit more Craigslist or dabble with eBay. However, I don’t have the patience to post individual items. If time is money, then I will have to sell in bulk to make these worth my while.

What about a garage sale or a kids’  clothes sale? We’ll see. I find garage sales incredibly satisfying. I love seeing firsthand that what has weighed me down will bring value and pleasure to someone else. It’s the ultimate act of recycling. However, with two kids in tow, I’m not sure the time is right for this route.

Most likely, I’ll end up passing on clothes to other new moms or donating a good part of it to charity. I’ve always been an avid Goodwill donor. There are also a number of excellent charities serving children in our area. And with the tax writeoff for donated goods and the tremendous amount of time I can save simply dropping it off, it may just be the best return on my investment.

What about you? What have you done and what do you recommend? I’d love to hear your tips and experiences and I’m sure other readers would, too.

Whether you’re spring cleaning or satisfying your urge to eliminate, good luck lightening your load!

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