Having two little girls, I do my fair share of shopping. Actually, probably more than my fair share, but I try to perform some self control while surrounded by adorable kids clothes. I did not realize until preparing for our garage sale last weekend just how many clothes we had actually accumulated in the past four years.
When I was pregnant with my oldest, everyone thought I was having a boy (much to the delight of my husband). I was carrying like the baby was a boy, the Chinese calendar said boy and the heart rate matched what is typically thought for boys. Although I didn’t really care either way, if I had to pick, I would have picked girl. In the weeks leading up to my due date I went shopping so we would have a some wardrobe ready when the baby arrived. Since we didn’t find out before hand, I picked out both girl and boy clothes, keeping the receipt to return what wasn’t used. My girl side of the closet was almost double the boy side as I had a hard time choosing among the teeny tiny dresses and frills that come with baby girls clothing.
When the time came and our oldest appeared, we were in for a surprise when our doctor said ‘girl.’ I think it took me a moment to process that I got my little girl after all. From that point on, it has been a steady collection of all things pink, purple, twirly and full of lace. The collection only doubled after my second daughter was born since I didn’t want her to wear all hand me downs.
Knowing that we were done having kids, I started getting rid of some of the clothes once the girls grew out of them. I gave some away to friends with little girls and brought some to the secondhand store. It always surprised me what they selected out of my offerings, leaving behind some of the more expensive items and taking the well worn pieces.
I didn’t think it would be too bad when I started laying out the clothes beginning with newborn sizes up to 2T. After getting through 3-6 months ,I was overwhelmed by the amount of clothes we had after getting rid of some and still having two sizes at home. I am admittedly terrible at saying no to clothes for my girls and the problem is all my own, but when it was laid out in front of me, the dollars that I spent and will never get back really start to add up in my head.
I sold everything for a quarter each just to get rid of it and I put a pretty good dent in what I had. The rest will get packed up to go to charity and hopefully help out another family.
I have no plans on slowing down when it comes to shopping for my girls. It is a vice that I fully accept and will probably only get worse as they get older. I may have to start saving a little more for their teenage years, though.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534
or jpierson@newtondailynews.com