Who else is itching for a good, early spring cleaning?
I can’t wait for life to settle down a little next week so I can go through both the kids’ closets and just get. rid. of. stuff.
I’m not one to hang on to all their clothes, not even for the next baby. Sure, I’ve saved a few things- the special things, the really expensive/totally have to get another kid to wear that to justify it things, the things like pajamas that have no real season. But all of that fits in one plastic tub. Everything else has left our house as a donation or I’ve sold it via one of these avenues.
Here are 4 ways to get rid of (kid) stuff:
(Scroll to the bottom to check out my clip on Texas Living, discussing these options in detail.)
Locally
The Divine Consign Spring Sale Dates for 2013
Consignment Sales–
In the North Texas area, we have a few fantastic, twice yearly consignment sales. My favorite is the Divine Consign sale in Plano. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As a consignor, you can really make a a great profit off of your kids’ clothes IF you price it right (i.e. NOT TOO MUCH!). And if you’re expecting and need to stock up for the baby, do not touch a baby store door until you see what you can scoop up here.
There is also a sale in Grapevine, but I’ve had less than stellar results there as a consignor, and the selection is much smaller for buyers than the Plano sale. You can find out more about it on the Divine Consign website.
If you don’t live ’round these parts, ask around and find out what consignment sales happen in your part of the country. The pro to these is you can make good money, the con is it’s a lot more work than just dropping your stuff off at the consignment store.
That leads me to…
Consignment Stores-
While you might not make as much money selling your kids’ clothes to a brick and mortar store, it couldn’t be a simpler option. Just find out what your local store’s buying hours and/or days are, and head up there with all the gently used, in season clothes your kids have outgrown. Two popular chains in the North Texas area are Kid To Kid and Once Upon A Child.
With these stores, you will be paid up front for what the store chooses to buy from you. (They’ll turn away anything that’s out of date, too worn, stained or ripped, or anything they have too much of already.) Many times, you can get even more cash value if you choose to take a store credit from them to buy up new (to you) clothes.
Please note, there are also other consignment stores that don’t pay you until your clothes sell, so be sure to find out what their policy is before taking your clothes in.
Online Options
This is a company that has evolved over the last couple of years into what works a bit like an online consignment store. Simply order a clean out bag from them, stuff it full of your gently used kids’ clothes, send it back (they pay the shipping!), and either choose to take a cash payment via PayPal for what they buy from you, or use your credit toward more clothes.
I just learned about Listia, and haven’t used it personally, but the concept seems cool. I think I’ll give it a try next month after I get around to our big purge. You can list nearly any item (not just your kids’ clothes) for free, but there is no exchange of money. Other Listia members can purchase your items with credits, and you can purchase other items with the credits you earn from your sales. Now, this is not just for other used items listed by other members. You can also use your credits in the Listia Rewards store to purchase new items, like cameras, gift cards, and video games.
I had the chance to discuss all these options with Kimberly Whitman on Texas Living this morning. You can watch the full clip below.
- 8Shares
13 comments
I always enjoy your Texas Living segments. You’re such a rockstar! 🙂 Oh, if only I had the time & energy to do consignment. I have SO many clothes to get rid of, but I’m saving them just in case we end up having ANOTHER girl, lol. Or we usually give some to family or friends who want them.
You are so sweet! And you make adorable girls, so I could totally get behind that.
I am going to try Thred Up! I want to keep S’s tiny baby stuff if we ever are able to have another, but I can’t fathom keeping all of the crap we’ve accumulated, save for a few special pieces. I’m super pumped to try this!
I guess I’m a hanger-on-er. At least until we’re done with kids. We don’t have anything expensive or anything, though. Just stuff to puke on, basically. Lol. Almost all of our baby stuff is gender neutral. A lot of the ‘on up’ stuff is at least mixed (because finding girls clothes in orange or yellow at a discount store is HARD) so we won’t be completely out of luck if we have another baby, no matter the gender. At least until about age 2, that’s when everything starts to run pink. Here we have a yearly ‘giveaway’ through our church. I got a giant bag full of mostly clothes completely for free. There were not a lot of kids clothes, so I picked a jacket for the little one and an assortment of clothes in the next sizes up for the older one. I’m typically a discount shopper, so I’ll be excited to find out what I grabbed in November (I can’t even remember) from the freebie when she outgrows what she’s wearing now. A lot of our stuff will probably go THERE unless we know someone in need before then, since we’ve gotten some freebies, we’ll let someone else take some of ours.
I have my first ThredUp bag mostly filled and I need to activate it. We’ve been on a business trip for 4 months and I’m sending ThredUp most of the clothes the kids have grown out of and the ones that weren’t favorites (obviously, only those in good shape). It should cut our clothes volume by a good bit for our return trip next week.
i stand by what i said before, you have a totally adorable voice! i wish we had that kind of deal over here. i wish i could get rid of my adult things to a consignment store or whatever. but i end up just taking it to the charity shop and getting nothing back for it.
I just made a huge donation to Safe Haven. They were so thankful for the 4 trashbags full of clothes and toys. I also included some random maternity clothes I stll had in my closet and they were just as excited about those!
I loved your segment on Texas Living! (It was cool to put a voice with your blog/writing “voice” 🙂 ) In my area (South-East Texas) we have several big “garage sales” that are community wide and held at places like our local fair grounds. We have them twice a year (Spring and Fall). The best part is, they pay for all the advertising, and give you such an awesome location, and a booth space is only like 10 bucks. Once the day is over, whatever you didn’t sell, you can just leave it there at your booth and our local Goodwill comes and collects the items to use as donated items for their store. I usually almost sell out of stuff! Kids clothes do the best, and (like you said- if priced right) they sell out in minutes! I love it, no clean up, or figuring out what to do with the random stuff that didn’t sell. Plus, the turn out is fantastic since it is usually such a big venue and well advertised! Maybe something folks could check out and look out for in their areas as well!
Thanks for the online suggestions! I’m usually really good about keeping up with the kids growing out of stuff, BUT have a hard time getting rid of it! We only have one local kids consignment shop and while their buying prices are fair, they are rarely looking for boys clothes (which is all I have at this point in the game). I’ve decided to go through the last ones clothes and try to ‘girl’ them up a bit to use for the one in the oven. Ie: adding ruffles to the butts of onesies and the edges of sleeves.
I find the whole consignment thing too much hassle for the money you get. Plus, it would be soooo easy to rationalize expensive clothes.
We have a great Interfaith Clothting Center that has a “shop” for low-income and homeless families. It feels so good to donate there and it’s easy. I get a small tax deduction which seems comparable to what I could make selling it, but without the hassle.
I just tried Swap.com and love it so far. Got rid of a bow of things and traded for clothes we need
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