OK, I need some ideas for what to do with a massive amount of children's clothing. While it's true that I am a big fan of decluttering, purging, simplifying, etc. it's also true that none of those principles seem to apply when it comes to clothing. Both of my children always manage to have an excess every season, and their closets are filled wall to wall, usually with more in boxes on the top and bottom.
Please don't judge - we all have our weaknesses, right? The thing is, I'm 99.9% sure we're not having anymore, and even in the off chance that we do, who am I kidding? I will be buying more clothes. What I need to do is get rid of the ones I have. They are over-running the house.
Now the obvious answer might be a garage sale, or donations. And believe me, I am ALL for donating, but these clothes cost a lot of money! And - particularly with K2 - some have hardly even been worn. And the typical garage sale crowd is going to expect $.50 and $1 prices and I'm not sure I'm willing to part with some of these things for such low prices.
There's ebay of course, and while there can be good money there it is SO much work. Plus I can't sell all my clothes at once there because it really is seasonal. I'd much prefer to get this all done at one time. There's consignment, but that's such a nightmare and who knows when you'll even see a return.
So where does that leave me? I could have an open house where I invite people word of mouth and have them invite their friends and so on and so forth, then price clothes at what I'm willing to sell them for and hope for the best. I have boy clothes up to size 4T and girl clothes up to size 3T. Every season. Halloween costumes, coats, ski wear, bathing suits (maybe that's creepy - but I have baby ones and that's not so creepy). Would I have a good turnout? Would people be willing to pay a "reasonable" amount? (And by reasonable I DO understand these clothes are used, but I also understand that they've been worn only a very small amount and were quite costly to begin with).
Does anybody out there have a genius solution? Does anyone think its ridiculous that I'm even considering this? I need some input. All feedback welcome ;).
7 comments:
you could definitely try an open house party and see how it goes---what do you have to lose? i don't know if you have an informal ward or relief society email list but you could send word out on that. you could maybe even see if any of your friends want to join in and sell some of their stuff, too although that might take away from your own sales. there is always craigs list, too which is less work than ebay----you could just take a picture of the whole lot of clothes . i don't know...
A friend of mine did a "Baby Sale" here last fall and she had a TON of clothes and many in like-new condition. A lot of them were boutique or high-end stuff and she was selling most stuff for $5-7/piece. Some were $10 and I think I saw a few coats for $20-30. Anyway, she got rid of a bunch of baby gear that way too. And she advertised by sending an email out through our stake email list (it's a yahoo group where loads of women have subscribed). By the end of the day, she had made over $2000. And she still had a ton of clothes left. THAT'S how many clothes she had. You could try it. Maybe I'll come and clean you out.
I think that is a great idea Natalee, I would for sure come. Let me know and I can help you get the word around.
Lisa Morris
I am so with you on this problem. (Although, the Busch kids are not half as stylin' as yours!) I gave up all hope and just started giving things away, but I think the baby sale is a great idea. It will still be a lot of work, but better than a garage sale. Good luck with this one!
I found another great idea, and a lot less work. I am not sure exactly how it works, I think they take a commission of some kind, but they do all the work. And they have a store here in Denver.
http://www.i-soldit.com/how_works.asp
I don't know why we haven't explored the idea of making K2 stay 5 and almost 4 years old. Our little munchkins are getting much too big!!
If you can't come up with any great ideas, we have a house full of girls who go through clothes like nobody's business! your kids are absolutely adorable and can I hire you to do one of my kids' birthday parties? The red carpet theme is killing me! Actually, forget the kids, my bday is coming up...:) Heather
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