What would you do with excess kids clothes?

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Last couple of years I have gone a bit overboard with buying clothes for DDs. In hindsight it was my way of dealing with the death of a close family member, I got a bit obsessed with bargain hunting as a distraction. I now recognise that I have far too many clothes for both of them (3 and nearly 1). In particular I have too much in 18-24, 2-3 and 3-4. So DD2 has way more than she could ever wear. Some stuff has not been worn at all before my older DD has outgrown it.

The majority are high street brands but there is also some stuff from a couple of fairly pricey organic brands. I dread to think how much I’ve spent over the last couple of years 🙄

So my question is what the hell do I do with it all? I am trying to simplify my life in general and declutter etc so the thought of having so many clothes stored away for DD2 makes me quite anxious. But I suppose option 1 is I could just keep it all and see what I end up needing for DD2 and then get rid of it all once outgrown. My concern is that the stuff I don’t end up using might not be worth much by then as the fashions might have changed etc (ridiculous for kids clothes I know).

Option 2 is I could go through it all and give a load to charity and just keep what I think I will use. However I could really do with recouping some of the money I’ve spent. We could manage without it (it’s not like I’m struggling to pay bills) but it would alleviate some of my guilt I suppose. So option 3 is to sell a load. But if I embark upon the task of selling it then I have all the endless faff of eBay/Facebook/Vinted and all the posting etc which doesn’t seem to sit with the idea of simplifying. I’m about to return to work from mat leave and I could really do without the hassle of selling it all. But then I just can’t quite bring myself to just donate such a huge ££ worth of unused or barely worn clothes.

So which would you do, option 1, 2 or 3? As you can tell I have quite a bit of guilt over my excess spending so I’m perhaps overthinking it. But also it is a really vast quantity of clothes… I would estimate there’s about 3 x more than needed in each size. Thanks for any advice.

I would charity or sell (in batches) the majority, keeping only the bits you really really love.

I would sell the excess and recoup some of the money. It may be a faff but it will be worth it.

Keep what you really love for DD2 and stick the rest on olio/freecycle.

Sell them
Give them to charity
Donate to a women's refuge / shelter

Sell in bundles. They go crazy for high street brands on EBay especially if they’re new/like new. Although, I have a load to sell and I checked activity on eBay and there doesn’t seem to be much buying activity at the moment, probably due to the sales.

Batch it up,
things you definitely want pack that away (check age range and season for example don't keep an age 2 Christmas outfit if she will be 3 at Christmas)

things you want to sell take pictures put on loads of places give it a time limit (I have two weeks before I give to charity or freegle)

Things you don't want and won't sell just give away or maybe Facebook bundle it I bought two HUGE bags of clothes from Facebook for nursery clothes cost less than a tenner if they got trashed then I had wasted pennies not pounds

It can depend on what the 'market' is like in your area. Our local Facebook is absolutely saturated with kids clothing and none of it sells.

I’ve worked out that for most stuff I would get a lot more by selling items individually (eg a next coat, a John Lewis jumper) than in bundles, but that maximises the faff involved as it’s so many more parcels etc and things to keep track of.

And ebay or specific Facebook groups seem to be better than marketplace but again it’s more faff with posting. Although marketplace could be a hassle too.

Given that the money isn’t really a massive issue - I’m annoyed I’ve wasted it but we aren’t on the breadline - I’m wondering if donating all the excess stuff would make me feel less guilty (going to a good cause) AND be almost zero effort. Put it all in a bag and job done. But then I know that the local charity shop will just sell everything for £1 each and not realise that some stuff is worth £££

Do you have local Facebook/ Nextdoor type groups where you can sell things “collection only”? Things may take longer to sell but at least you avoid the postage hassle and expense.

There’s also various services which will ebay your stuff for you- you send them the lot and they do the selling, you will get the money minus their (large) cut. Never used one myself but seems worth a look.

I’ve been exactly the same. It’s made worse now that DD has uniform for pre-school as hardly anything gets worn. I sell some stuff on Facebook through specific brand groups. Some stuff that still has tags on has been kept and given away as presents (my closest friends have daughters but younger than mine). I’ve done a couple of the second hand baby sales and got rid of a lot - sold everything at 50p per piece. Some has gone to charity too.

Like you, as much as I’d like to recoup the money I’m not desperate. Just want rid of the stuff so I’m going for what we’ve is least hassle.

I would just take it all to the charity shops/women's refuge/food Bank etc.

You are supporting others and 'buying' yourself the space and one less thing to worry about having to sort.

I sold over 60 items of clothes on eBay. Only managed to shift 3 on Vinted.

Assuming the organic expensive stuff is scandi/scandi esque...there's loads of Facebook selling groups. If you price right they will sell.

Clothes go for nothing round here. I buy way too much for my boys & have spent so much money (also feel the guilt) but don’t bother selling now as it’s not worth it. I’m bagging up & giving to family or friends as he outgrows it!

Unfortunately even expensive children's clothes have a low resale value.
Previously I've sold on ebay the more desirable items such as coats, Boden/Gap, frugi etc. Everyday/supermarket brands bundle up by age and sell on Facebook local or donate to a charity shop, clothing project or refuge. Then be more careful in future!

@edin16 yes it’s mainly scandi or scandi-style. Would you mind sharing what groups you have seen please! I’m aware of a couple of Frugi groups and I have tried to sell on there fairly recently and stuff seems not to sell very well at all since they have massively expanded their lines and started selling in Next/Sainsbury’s too. I’m also a member of a maxamorra one but ideally I’d like to just sell all the scandi stuff through one group if I can. Part of my decluttering/simplifying is also deleting social media so I want to be able to get rid of Facebook ASAP!

Vinted is good. No fees. Just print out post label and go go go

@NotMeNoNo I am definitely going to be more careful! I was previously obsessed with bargains and hated the thought of missing out on a bargain. But I’ve realised that a) there will always be bargains, there are sales on every 5 minutes and b) it’s not a bargain if you end up with 4 times as much stuff as you need! My eldest DD currently has about 25 jumpers. That doesn’t even include cardigans or fleeces etc just jumpers. It’s ridiculous!

On Facebook marketplace you set up your advert and tick the boxes of which group you post in upto 11 I believe so its not too much work specify collection only and share and bump at will

It's easy to get carried away when your minds on other things!

For a 2 year gap I'd definitely keep stuff but you don't have to keep all of it. Fashions won't change in 2 years though.

I'd probably go through by size and create a bit of a "capsule" wardrobe for each size and season (bearing in mind past 18 months they tend to wear stuff through a winter and summer). Keep these.

Then sell the rest. Bundles if you want it to go fast or find a brand group on FB and sell items individually if you want to make more money.

I have 3 boys 13, 3 and 4m and I don't keep DS1's stuff but I do keep DS2's stuff for DS3. I ended up with way too many clothes in size 3-4 so I will probably do this.

I had this too - I tend to overbuy for DD and then end up with stuff she doesn't wear that is nevertheless really lovely!

Anything that is specific brands that are in demand, I'd sell on the facebook groups - Boden, JoJo, Frugi, Little Bird etc. sell well on the facebook groups - I find you can stick up a post with multiple items and they can be all gone within a couple of hours! Next, Monsoon, M&S and John Lewis don't seem to sell well on groups, but seem to sell on Marketplace. Polar o Pyret only seems to sell on eBay. Anything that isn't one of those, stick in a bag for a local charity shop or charity hub. There is also a group on fb called "Preloved to reloved for postage" where you can post niche items and someone always wants them and will pay a small postage charge for them.

I think a lot of group moderators are on hiatus at the moment and people aren't buying and selling as much right now during the holiday period, but it should pick up in the new year.

Just beware of buying more stuff for your DD on these groups with the proceeds

Oh OP, my heart breaks for you. My first children were twin DDs, one of whom sadly died as a baby, and I carried on buying as though I had two (if not three!) children to buy for.

I sold the more expensive bits via Ebay and bundled some of the cheaper things. The rest I took to charity shops.

My DH and I fell out over how much I spent (although we could afford it, looking back it was a waste) and I felt guilty and embarrassed about it. Mainly coming on to the thread to say please don't feel bad about all the clothes, grief is a strange thing

Would recommend Octopus Club for selling - it's a parent to parent marketplace, no fees. I've found it better than eBay (and friendlier than FB marketplace...!)

theoctopusclub.com/s