About Sweetmama Editor
Nadine Silverthorne’s love of journaling began in Grade One with the entry, “I am the greatest dancer!” Two babies (and countless diaper changes) later, she has found her home away from home as editor of SweetMama. Don’t miss her humorous bi-weekly accounts of the joys and pains of working while raising them fabulous.
Do You Hang Onto Your Baby Stuff?
silver spoons: what to do with old baby clothes canada
(Jun.27.11)
Like many of you, I had a bin or two of baby clothes in the basement, waiting for a decision on the Maybe Baby. Now that it's decided (we're stopping at two, thank you very much), I've given away plenty of baby items between my friends and colleagues, and felt good about it. I've kept a select few adorable items in an airtight bag, but what good is that doing them?
I know that organization gurus like Peter Walsh often recommend giving your treasured items a "place of honour" (or else get rid of them). So when I heard about local mom Amanda Shapiro's beautiful ReFormed ArtCubes, I headed down to see what I might encase in plexiglass to hang on our walls.
Of course, being me, I couldn't decide. So I took her everything. She has such a great eye for determining which pieces would work well as a display piece. (And don't worry if you're not in Toronto — she helps many clients across Canada via email and Skype.) In the end we settled on the onesie that I bought for Nate to come home from the hospital in, as well as a pair of fancy shoes that my sister had bought for Lucy, that are just too precious.
Check out the end result: two gorgeous, archival quality pieces, inscribed with their names and birth dates. One for each kid to have when the time comes. But for now, they have a place of honour on my mantle (I can't decide where to hang them yet... notice a theme?).
Other ideas for giving cherished baby items new life:
Turn those onesies, sleepers and blankies into a comforting keepsake. Canada's Mummi Quilts takes your used items and transforms them into quilts and bears to cuddle with.
Give them to a friend or relative with a baby younger than yours. If you want certain items back, set up a return system for when they are outgrown.
Donate gently used goods to Goodwill, Salvation Army or other local charity that accepts clothes. But don't use charities like your trash bin. Donate items that are in good enough condition to be used by someone else with joy. Overly-stained, torn or broken items should go straight to the trash.
Give them away via Freecycle. This Yahoo Group has various local chapters across Canada and the U.S. The idea is that you post your unwanted items and someone in need comes and takes them off your hands. The best part? It works both ways. I got a very handy filing cabinet for free and my husband even got a guitar! In return (it's not a barter, but a pay-it-forward type system) we helped many young families and smaller charities with their baby gear needs.
Take them to a consignment shop. Many now offer cash on the spot (no waiting around for what sells and what doesn't) and with great collections, you can reinvest right into Baby's new wardrobe. (We've listed some kid-consignments spots in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.)
What do you do with your baby clothes? Have you found any creative solutions for displaying them?
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