Baby's things
I spent a good part of the day sorting baby clothes. I've just been tossing the kids' things in tubs as they outgrow them which means we have a lot different clothes all jumbled together. Plus I would sometimes loan things out to friends and then get them back at a random time, or I would do something like actually open the drawers to the changing table, and realize I never cleared out the baby blankets, and in then into the tub they would go, along with 3t dresses and 12mo rompers.
So now I'm sorting by size and by gender* and coming to realize just how many "baby" clothes accumulate in nearly five years. I haven't worried about sorting anything over 18mo size except by gender, since I figure I can sort that stuff later and might be able to give large swathes of it away** without needing to sort it. Of the four tubs I've gone through, one of them has been refilled with girl's clothes 18mo and up. My daughter has outgrown a lot of clothes in the past three years. The boy's pile of 18 mo and up is much smaller, though of course the up end is also much lower (2t vs 4t) Their clothing also tends to be less gender neutral as they get older because they start showing preferences, and have picked some cultural norms. At this point Raine rarely goes a day without wearing a dress, while Mica has a love of cargo pants (he recently discovered pockets) and likes pictures of trucks and trains on his shirts.
We also must have another tub (or two?) hiding somewhere, because while I have nearly a tub worth of infant things (blankets, and slings, and toys, and towels) I have very few clothes for a newborn. All I've got are a few hats and more socks than I'll probably ever use (this next one's a summer baby and baby socks are a pain so if I can do without I probably will) plus a couple odds and ends. There must be tiny onesies and all-in-ones somewhere, which means that we have at least five tubs worth of out-grown clothes in our house. It will be remarkable, I think, the sheer volume of stuff we'll be able to get out of the house in just a couple short years, as the new baby outgrows things and we can get rid of them instead of storing them.
I'm really looking forward to being a regular donor at Vini Moses--a place that gives clothes and toys to needy families in the area.
* the categories are girl/boy/either--because I might consider myself liberated but I'm not putting a flowery dress on my son, and if I have an excuse to avoid putting ugly dark clothes on my daughter I'll take that too, but green looks good on everyone.
** Why yes, we are planning on having the next child be our last.
So now I'm sorting by size and by gender* and coming to realize just how many "baby" clothes accumulate in nearly five years. I haven't worried about sorting anything over 18mo size except by gender, since I figure I can sort that stuff later and might be able to give large swathes of it away** without needing to sort it. Of the four tubs I've gone through, one of them has been refilled with girl's clothes 18mo and up. My daughter has outgrown a lot of clothes in the past three years. The boy's pile of 18 mo and up is much smaller, though of course the up end is also much lower (2t vs 4t) Their clothing also tends to be less gender neutral as they get older because they start showing preferences, and have picked some cultural norms. At this point Raine rarely goes a day without wearing a dress, while Mica has a love of cargo pants (he recently discovered pockets) and likes pictures of trucks and trains on his shirts.
We also must have another tub (or two?) hiding somewhere, because while I have nearly a tub worth of infant things (blankets, and slings, and toys, and towels) I have very few clothes for a newborn. All I've got are a few hats and more socks than I'll probably ever use (this next one's a summer baby and baby socks are a pain so if I can do without I probably will) plus a couple odds and ends. There must be tiny onesies and all-in-ones somewhere, which means that we have at least five tubs worth of out-grown clothes in our house. It will be remarkable, I think, the sheer volume of stuff we'll be able to get out of the house in just a couple short years, as the new baby outgrows things and we can get rid of them instead of storing them.
I'm really looking forward to being a regular donor at Vini Moses--a place that gives clothes and toys to needy families in the area.
* the categories are girl/boy/either--because I might consider myself liberated but I'm not putting a flowery dress on my son, and if I have an excuse to avoid putting ugly dark clothes on my daughter I'll take that too, but green looks good on everyone.
** Why yes, we are planning on having the next child be our last.