I have two girls. We are on the fence about a third. I have a friend who is having her third (a girl) after two boys. As well, my sisters and I pool together clothes to share amongst our kids, but think we may all be done having kids. my plan was to donate to my local crisis pregnancy center when i got rid of baby stuff. If by chance i get rid of it all and have another girl, we are not supper strapped financially. We do okay. Really can't decide if I should keep 'em, give them to a dear friend (who is also does okay financially), save them if by some chance me or my sister have another girl, or give to charity. What would you do if you were me? (can you tell its closet cleaning day?)
I'd pick out a few special things to pass along to my friend.
I'd donate the rest to someone who would really be blessed by them.
I would not save them.
I donate a lot to the women's shelter. They show up with the clothes on their backs and their children.
I know that the clothes are put to good use and appreciated. The added benefit, is I get a tax deduction!
What I do... clothes that I liked ok but not absolutely loved, regular brands that you and your friends can easily get and afford, they go immediately to goodwill, purple heart or donation boxes that I have close to home.
Clothes that I really love, special brands, clothes from Europe that are not easy or that common to get by me and my friends, go to my closest friends... clothes from nice brands like Janie and Jack and even in like new condition clothes from gap... they go also to my closest friends.
Couple of things that I think are really special, that I totally love I keep, I will not have more kids but I keep them around and may keep them for my kids to see when the grow older... but they are only a couple of very special items.
I do have saved very special dresses and things for when a friend that I love dearly gets pregnant.
offer them to a friend with a time limit. if she doesnt show interest or pick them up within 1 week or whatever, give to crisis pregnancy center. Check with sisters 1st of course!
Give them to your friend and ask her to return them. I loaned out tons of clothes since i was on the fence. It freed up space, but I got those expensive winter coats back!
I'd ask my pregnant friend if she could use all or some of them. I'd donate what she doesn't want and ask her to donate them when she's done with them. You can always save one box of favorite outfits for yourself, just in case.
donate! There are so many people out there who could use the clothes. I'm like you, I have 2 girls, on the fence about a third. So I donated all of ours because I knew it wouldn't be a struggle to purchase more if I had a third child. I can't imagine what a blessing all those donated clothes will be to families in need. It's a good thing. :) And you are awesome for thinking of others that way!!
I would do some of all the above. Donate the ones that weren't your favorites, keep some in case...(those could be given away later) and share some with a less fortunate family, perhaps from your church?? We all have so much gear/clothing that there is more than enough to go around.
I kept a few of my favorite pieces, and gave the rest away to about 3 other women I know who just had (or are having) baby boys. The ones I shared with my sis, I gave those back a long time ago. So, I have a little stash if I ever need them, and I helped out some other people too. The ones I wasn't attached to, or didn't fit the right weather/timeline/cuteness factor for the ladies I gave them to, I donated those to charity.
If it was me deciding I would give them to someone who was in need of them. If they could afford to buy then I would not give them to them probably. There are so many who can't afford things and really appreciate them.
Here is what I would do:
Take a few favorite outfits that you love and keep them.
Take half of the clothes and give to pregnancy crisis center.
Take other half and offer it to the mom and give her a set amount of time to get back to you. If she doesn't want them or doesn't respond--give that half to pregnancy center as well.
Keep a couple as keepsakes, your most favorite.
Pick out a couple of your favorite, like new, cute outfits for your friends
Donate the rest!
we are not strapped, but certainly appreciated hand me downs, and have passed on all of DS clothes save for 4 or five special outfits. What we are though is strapped for space. I give first pick to an aunt, then my girlfriends get the rest. Its great to have a closet full of handmedowns which I didn't have to go shopping for.
