In an effort to continue purging the things we no longer want or need, last week The Girl and I went through an old box of baby clothing.
The last time I opened the box was about 10 years ago.
The kids have grown a little since then. 😉
Seriously. Can someone please tell me why I hung on to this worn and nubby blanket sleeper for the past 20 years? Did I think clothing was going to become scarce?
Monkey Boy’s first Christmas outfit.
And it’s totally stained. Now I’m sure there is some special formula out there to get 20 year old spit up out of a cotton shirt…. But really. Is there a need to keep it? I have photos I can look at instead of hanging on to a piece of clothing that will never get worn again.
The piece of clothing I will hang onto forever though is his little size 3 Thomas the Tank Engine t-shirt. Monkey Boy wore it practically everyday until it wouldn’t fit anymore. And his wooden train and Lego collection, those are keepers as well.
But old baby clothes? I’m ready to let someone else enjoy them.
Things I kept that were in the box:
My grandfather’s sailor suit, my mother’s baby dress, 2 denim Gap dresses {because they might actually get worn again someday} and the kids little Gap shoes that they wore for their first professional photos {that I have in frames, on display in the house}.
Everything else though…. it can go.
How about YOU?
Did you give your kids clothing away, or are you still hanging on it to?
~Mavis
Anna G says
Mavis, I am 56 years old and my Mother still has one of my baby dresses. It’s a Mom thing. Anna
Heather says
The struggle is real on this one. We are getting ready to move and my oldest is 6. So, I pulled out 15 tupperware bins from the basement with just clothes. I’m also keeping just a couple things and then passing the rest on. Tear!
Jennifer says
I am the mom who could wait to get rid of the baby stuff. I remember I gave a friend bins full of infant clothes from newborn to 2T and everything else…oh you are having a girl…here you go. Please take it all.
But then again I am the woman who has one kid and I have no desire for another.
Lilypad says
I’m the same way, “one and done” and I got rid of his clothes as soon as he outgrew them. I did keep a few outfits/sweaters, probably five things maximum, for sentimental reasons but everything else is long gone! Living in relatively small spaces and moving a lot trained me to be ruthless in what I keep.
lori says
Make them into a quilt to preserve the memories of your kids wearing them. Lots of ideas on pinterest. Have a friend doing that right now and the little dresses are so adorable! Make them into a third type quilt or a quilt with a clothesline, with the kids clothes hanging onnthem. I’ve even seen the clothes strung across a curtain rod to make a valance for the laundry room also. Have fun!!
Cheri says
I have a bin full of special baby clothes that I loved on my kids. My mother did the same for me, and it was fun 30 years+ later to have my kids wear some of the clothes I wore as a child. I think my kids will enjoy doing the same, so I’ll keep them as long as I have room for the bin. But anything else I let go. Thrift stores offer plenty of cheap children’s clothing if I should have another baby.
Henrietta says
You could save baby clothes for your grandkids! My neighbors son is now wearing the same clothes he did 40 years ago, and I think it is so cool that his mother kept the clothes to pass on to the grandson.
Emily E. says
Hi Mavis!
I hung onto my son’s baby clothes till he was about 8 or 9 and then just decided that there was no reason to hold onto all of them. So I did a major purge and donated and sold some outfits in yard sales. I decided to save only a few specific outfits that were sentimental to me. I had to do the same for his baby blankets. I got a ton of those and resolved just to keep a few with special meaning to pass on to any grandchildren I may have. I think I have his stuff down to two rubbermaid bins now. It’s pointless to hold on to everything if someone else is able to use them.
Allison R says
It was very special to dress my daughter in both my and my husbands outfits (and even one from when my mom was a baby!) But, just one or two is probably enough!
Chris says
Hi Mavis: My daughter is 16 & my son is 18. I kept their baptism outfits. Otherwise, I gave away everything else. We just don’t have the storage for a bunch of stuff. I took lots of photos of my kids – so a lot of their baby/kid clothes are captured that way. Oh, and I still have the adorable pink bow the hospital stuck on my daughter’s head after she was born.
Laura says
We kept one outfit for each of our children, ones that had special memories attached like the little Winnie the Pooh jacket I bought the day I found out I was pregnant (I didn’t buy anything else until I was into my 8th month). Three of our children were adopted in China, and we kept the clothes they were wearing the day we met them, but made sure to take over plenty of other new outfits to donate in their place. We also kept a couple of pairs of shoes. But that’s all – otherwise we have plenty of pictures to remember their outfits.
Tammy says
Funny thing, we just moved and I’m in the process of going through things and trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. I had two bins of “keepsake” clothes and I ended up getting it down to one bin. Most of the things I kept were things I sewed.
I have a dress my mom made me for my 2nd Christmas, and my daughter wore that. However, if I had everything my mom and grandmas made for me I am sure I would not have put my daughter in it all! So…I think eventually I will end up getting rid of more but for now I’m keeping my one bin. My daughter is just seven years old.
RebekahU says
Oh my goodness. I’ve been really struggling with letting the baby clothing go. I have started letting a few odds and ends go, but I have BINS of kids clothing. I do not know why I am so sentimental about it. I have a real issue. My goal is to let most of it go by Thanksgiving. Your post could not have been more timely.
Carla Edwards says
Hi Rebekah,
Your children must still be young. I saved so very much of my children’s clothing but over the years, as they grew older, I let most of it go, except for a few special items, my baby dress i wore, some clothes and blankets I made, etc. I saved my boys’ size 2 jackets for years as one of them hated to get rid of any of his clothes. When I finally showed it to him he was in high school and gave me a very weird look when I asked if I could finally get rid of it. If you have room to store their clothes, do so and over the coming years it will be easier to discard their old clothes and blankets and stuffed animals and….
Heather says
My aunt made a quilt for my son’s 1st birthday from all of his baby clothes. It now hangs on the end of his bed. So special and way better than a box of clothes!
Diana says
I donated all of my kids clothes to a local church that gave them to families in need. I even got rid of handmade items my mom and mother-in-law made for them. Those were the hardest as they are no longer with us, but I thought to myself would they want the things they made sitting in a box for years, or being used on a daily basis. Easy decision, no regrets. We don’t need tangible objects to keep memories, they are in our hearts.
Cheryl says
I second the quilt. My grandma sewed and with the first grandchild, I made an 8 point star with 5 generations of clothing: shorts from the 1940’s, house dress my mother wore, clothing my grandma made us kids as well as the Barney sheets and the dress my niece took her first steps in…she is now27. And now that I am a grand aunt, may do the same thing with the new child! It is a quilt of memories, which is why many of your guys saved the clothing
Brianna says
I kept all of the clothes and baby items from my first 2 babies, because they are boy and girl and we wanted a 3rd baby. It was a larger than expected gap and we ended up with a boy. I sold and donated all of the girl clothing, except 1 outfit and great-grandma knit blanket. I gave her some of her old baby clothes for her dolls too. I dress my 3rd child in the clothes that once belonged to his brother, but I have found after sitting for 6 years in totes that some of the elastic has lost its stretchiness, the stains have become more pronounced, and the glue on the shoe soles has dried and separated. There are still more than enough good items left that are wearable. When he has outgrown them, he is 2 now, I quickly donate them. I could wait to get rid of all of the baby gear and toys either and am antsy to get rid of toddler toys now. We just has our neighbors 15-year old son have a boy and his girlfriend is 14 and they are beyond thrilled to get the stuff, even if it has been used by 2 kids and is 8 years old. I have a set of jeans my 3 kids all wore I have hung onto also.
Chris says
My sister started early on accident (16). She kept all of her baby stuff and passed it between herself and my other two sisters. We have the youngest so we’ve inherited gobs of baby stuff – some of it has never been used. I won’t hang onto stuff for nostalgia, but, for as long as we have the storage space, I might keep stuff because you never know when the next baby might come along. Could be a kid, niece, nephew, grandkid, etc.
Wynne says
I’m keeping just a few things, too. When my son was four, I weeded through his toys, clothes, and books, and ended up with two bins’ full of sentimental or reusable things. But time and distance help–I just carted half that stuff to the Goodwill this morning. For many things I couldn’t remember why I thought them so important. The rest will stay with us!