What would you do with excess kids clothes?

[Newnews]

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 go through it and if there is stuff you like, keep it for your second child. Stuff that wasn't really worn or you aren't that keen on you could get rid of.

The pricey organic stuff I'm assuming frugi duns etc, will have a resale value. And that will probably not go down as although it might not be "current season", it will be less common so might sell well.

Highstreet stuff I would try and sell in bundles or just give to a baby bank - better than general charity shop IMO.

Frugi won't sell so much at the moment due to Christmas (people have less money) and sales (can buy new sale stuff for cheaper than the second hand stuff).

@AWhistlingWoman thank you for your kind words and I’m so sorry for your loss xx

Donate it and consider it to be a charitable donation.

If you price them realistically they will sell. I’ve bought a lot of Frugi on Facebook. The stuff that doesn’t sell is stuff which is either close to the original price or too expensive for “playwear”.
Other brands that I think sell well are Boden and Jojo. Next, I would think is close to supermarket quality.

@Tibtab the last couple of times I’ve tried to sell Frugi stuff it just hasn’t shifted despite pricing stuff similarly to when I’ve successfully sold before. But I could just cut everything by a few pounds to make sure that it sells I suppose. People will always buy bargains…!

It’s the mental energy required that I’m not sure I can face. The selling threads take up at least one if not two whole evenings, taking pictures, replying to comments, messaging people, keeping track of who has and hasn’t paid. And then you have to parcel it all up and traipse down to the post office and inevitably get glares from everyone behind you in the queue 😂 also I have to do this with a baby in tow so the whole thing is such a hassle. But as I said I feel guilty for spending the money and also I kind of feel like all that hassle is my punishment for going so overboard 🙈 I’m ashamed of how much I must have spent.

I use Hermes for sending stuff these days. There’s a locker walking distance from my house, or I can stop off on the way to work (and park next to it so no need to get DD out of the car). I know not everyone likes Hermes but I’ve found it much easier.

If you sold it all how long would it take and how much would you make?
I value my time at £20 an hours that's roughly my salary, so I have never pissed about selling baby stuff.
Just give it away, move on from the guilt and set yourself free.

Find someone to sell it for you and go halves with you. There’s a SAHP in a parents’ group I’m in who does this.

@Redlorryyellowduck that’s a really good point. I don’t want to go to loads of effort for pennies.

At the moment from the replies on here I’m thinking I should

1. Go through everything and select my favourite stuff to keep for DD2
2. Out of everything else, pick out which bits are likely to sell well and make a decent amount of money. Then try and sell this but setting myself a time limit eg if it hasn’t sold within 2 weeks then stop trying. I might also set myself a target eg of making £300 and once I’ve reached that target just donate the rest
3. Donate anything else

I know what I’m like though, once I’ve started selling I will feel like I should just sell all the spare stuff even if it takes me ages. Or I will struggle to choose what to get rid of because I feel so guilty at the waste. Argh. Perhaps the capsule wardrobe thing would help a bit and just build it around a few colours or styles.

@Newnews
The one I had is 'scandi/scandi-esque kids sales and auctions'.

You may have to wait a couple of months though, I don't think many people buy after Christmas. Also if you just want rid while making a little money I'd suggest pricing lower. It's just silly when you can buy the same ones new in the sales. Or people only knock a couple of pounds off but then expect fees and postage on top which actually makes them work out more expensive.

I think some of the other posters have mentioned that Frugi is sold in a lot more places now so it doesn’t fetch the same prices. What sort of things do you have to sell?

Thanks @edin16

@Tibtab I don’t have the things that always seem to fetch lots of money like skater dresses or really rare prints etc. I think part of my problem as well is that I’m always selling bits and bobs so I don’t have loads in each size which means that people aren’t able to buy big bundles. That’s partly why I wondered about selling everything in one place (regardless of brand) because then there would be more available in each size and people would be able to get bigger bundles and save on postage. I might try the one mentioned above.

I tend to sell a few then take a break before doing some more - otherwise it's too much what with everything else. And I find that after a while, it's a lot easier just to bundle up anything that hasn't sold quickly and donate it! You get a feel after a while for what's in demand and will sell, and what isn't going to go so you might as well not waste any more time on it, but donate or pass it on, or just stick it all on Marketplace as a low-priced bundle for £10.

I still have a few things remaining from my pre-Christmas selling spree, so am trying to work out whether I should put them on again in the new year, or just get rid now. I have another large bunch of stuff to do for the spring/summer - argh!

@Newnews
The bundling thing makes a difference, if I like just one item, I might not buy it because of the postage costs. If I can get 5 for the same postage I probably will. I don’t like it when sellers make the bundle themselves (unless it is very cheap) as there are usually only a few bits I like. If it’s “playwear” quality, I would probably just donate it for textile recycling unless it is a very desirable pattern.

I’ve bought some second hand organic, scandi type clothes from kindclothes.co.uk

They also buy batches of clothes from you - obviously you’d make less than selling them individually yourself but takes away a lot of the faff.

If you want stuff gone ASAP for as little effort as possible, sort it out into size and roughly divide into season, then offer as "40 piece bundle girls age 2-3 autumn/Winter next, gap, frugi, scandi, bright, rainbow" etc for £50 or whatever. Put a photo of piles of clothes rather than detailed shots of every item. If I'm buying a bundle, I tend to look to spend less than £1 per item and just vaguely look at colour overall, but if you've got expensive brands in there then you can go higher, but you will be pricing low with bundles. That's because effectively the buyer is doing more of the work and taking more of a gamble but it saves you doing loads of pictures and making up complicated postage bundles.

Do it for collection only or meeting at X location (eg supermarket cafe) somewhere that you'd go anyway. It means you don't need to worry about postage or waiting in/messaging loads of different people, probably just one or two.

Oh yes or selling to somewhere like that also works :)

Others go for pennies.
I now give to sure start as they have families who have nothing.
I gave 6 x 50l storage boxes of 0 to 12m clothes. I just needed to get rid. We could have done with the money but in my head and I was in a de clutter mood so it had to be an instant thing.

I now just do that.
Some stuff I give to pre school for spares. Especially pants in immaculate condition and leggings.

Just had a thought which probably isn't helpful :o

If your kids are anything like mine keep all the 2-3 and 3-4 in case DD2 develops very strong preferences :o I've bought things for all three of mine that they've never worn because they just have very strong ideas about what clothes they like!

Hi OP, is there a local NCT group near you? If so check out their Facebook and see if they organise nearly new sales. Ours does twice a year or so (South East London). You price up your stuff then they set it out (so all DD clothes 18-24 months together rather than a table just for your stuff), they sell it and you get most of the money minus their cut (which isn't massive). It would be a faff to sort out, but a one time only faff. Might be worth a look?

Yeah I have been to the nearly new sales before that’s a good idea thank you!

@Newnews

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.

Yes it maximises the money but it's way more hassle and I always put a couple of nice bits in a bundle and some mediocre bits and they always sell as postage has gone up so much buyers like a bundle rather than one item

Do you have Little Pickles markets near you? I think the more premium stuff sells well there.