Trying to get organized for 2010, be a little more green and save money? Get in line and get online. While some mamas have family and friends to hand down used baby items, excess toys or kid gear, others can unload their goods and possibly pick up a few bucks while they are at it. Here is a handy guide to using some of our fave websites and services for testing, selling and sharing your old and new items.
It's so hard to part with your baby's first socks, the onesie they wore home from the hospital or their first pair of shoes, but it's even tougher to live with bags of their keepsakes stored in every nook and cranny of your place. As you embrace 2010 and start making New Year's resolutions for yourself and your family take some time to organize your children's old clothes, toys and books. You may have the urge to keep every washcloth, burper and pair of ballet slippers, but you have to let go of some things or risk running out of space to let your children run.
Here are a few purging tips that I use to help me choose what to lose.
To see what else to stow and what to throw, read more
Call it cash for baby clunkers. Like the federal government's program designed to remove gas guzzlers from the road, Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us are launching a program to draw attention to the number of baby products that should not be handed down or resold to a new generation of lil ones.
Beginning Friday, the stores will launch the Great Trade-In, allowing parents to bring in used cribs, car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems, play yards and high chairs in exchange for a 20% savings on the purchase of any new baby item by certain manufacturers – including Britax, Chicco, Evenflo and Graco. The three-week program hopes to target the 70 percent of recalled products that are never returned to stores. Before rifling through your used baby items, be sure to check out our tips regarding hand-me-downs to see if an item can be used again.
A baby changes everything — even your bank balance! While some mamas have family and friends to hand down used baby items, others are looking for a place to unload their goods and possibly pick up a few bucks while they are at it.
Like other online classified sites, Googooswap allows mothers to post ads for the stuff their babes have outgrown or never really took to in the first place. Unlike Craigslist and Freecycle, which also feature ads for used goods, the site only allows baby and maternity products, helping moms reduce the amount of time they spend searching for the products they need. Currently the site is focused on the Southern California region, but it is expanding its reach on a daily basis.
There's no denying that a wee one brings a lot of baggage to a parent's life. And by baggage, I mean boxes of clothes that children outgrow at record pace. Moms hoping for large families usually pack the stuff up and store them for future use. Others wash, fold, and hand them off to other expectant family members or friends to use for their tots. Philanthropic mamas donate the tiny wares to Goodwill or other outlets. Still some make a few bucks back by selling their goods through mother's groups, eBay, or Craigslist. What do you do with your child's wardrobe items when they have outgrown them?
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Children grow quickly and you are inevitably faced with the decision of incorporating hand-me-downs from friends and family (or second hand stores) into their wardrobe, or strictly buying off the rack. In fact, 70 percent of lilsugar readers say they mix new and used duds.
One of my biggest challenges is knowing when to say no (as in, those clothes you are trying to give me are beautiful, but my children have plenty, believe me!), when to let go and what items I want to stow away as keepsakes. I generally hang on to heirloom gifts and handmade items, big ticket item toys, classic outfits, sentimental items and books. What clothes, gifts, toys and items do you plan on holding on to until they fall apart?
I can't wait to tell lilsugar about my latest website find! In a nutshell, Hand-Me-Downs is a Craigslist for moms where you can buy, sell, give away or donate your "gently used" toys, clothes, car seats, etc. It's shopping (and recycling) made easy for busy moms who not only need new items, but would like to donate or sell them.
To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more
A friend of mine graciously offered to give me the crib that she used for all four of her children. Mostly due to safety issues, I declined her generous proposal and bought a new one. Consider these points before you pick up a secondhand crib:
To see the rest of the list, read more
It's so hard to part with your baby's first blanket, the bonnet they wore home from the hospital or their first pair of shoes, but it's even tougher to live with bags of their keepsakes stored in every nook and cranny of your place. As the mother of two, I don't have trouble tossing things into a giveaway bag. It keeps me sane and allows the goods to keep on giving. For those of you who feel the urge to keep every washcloth, burper and pair of ballet slippers, here are a few purging tips that help me choose what to lose.
To see what to throw, read more
Sarah Jessica Parker's son James Wilkie may have a hand-me-down wardrobe, but it didn't seem to bother most lilsugar readers. Seventy-six percent of you said it didn't matter that the cutie pie wears second hand threads while mommy wears designer duds. So that left us wondering, how you outfit your child.
Do your kids get most of their clothes off the rack or out of someone else's closet?
