Today I dropped off close to 200 items (toys, books and kids' clothes) to sell at a local ginormous consignment sale. It makes me a little sick to my stomach because that is a lot of sh*t. And my stack was nuthin' compared to a lot of the other moms who were dropping off all their stuff.
I like to play a game as I'm considering what to purge at these consignment sales. It's called, "I Didn't Spend Money on That."
Most of the stuff I sell I didn't actually buy. This doesn't mean I only sell stuff that other people give the kids. It means that even though we have oodles of kid stuff, a sizable chunk of it comes from other people at Christmas and birthdays. From where I sit at the kitchen table, I can see 5 toys: Lincoln Logs, a Thomas the Train ride-on toy, a Fisher Price Little People tall ramp, a Fisher Price Little People small ramp, and a Fisher Price Little People Batman ramp. D and I purchased one---the tall Fisher Price ramp. Everything else was from an aunt/uncle/grandparent.
I tell myself that aunts/uncles/grandparents would prefer that I sell gently used items so that I can purchase the clothes/shoes that I put on the kids' backs during the next season (which will then be sold down the line).
I buy a lot of G's stuff at consignment because as a boy, he generally doesn't care what he wears, whether it matches, or whether it has "bling" on it. And boys are hard on clothes....all that wrestling in Target and all tends to take its toll on fabric. Since I know M will one day wear whatever I purchase for G, buying gently used is especially thrilling. If I can get some pants for $3, I've only spent a dollar and half per boy. Huzzah!!!
I've gotten to the point with N that I don't want to shop with her (because that is just annoying), but I don't want to shop without her (because she is so darn picky, and I don't want to spend money on something she won't wear).
Hey, I made a reference to another U2 song without ever actually intending to. Cool.
As I'm going through kid stuff prior to consignment, I sometimes wonder if I am a complete miser. I have friends who just donate their stuff to like....anyone. I am not so giving. I have certain giving requirements, which is that the recipient is either family OR needy (as in 18, unmarried or unplanned pregnancy or all of these). I don't just give stuff to my stay-at-home mom friends, most of whom are like me, upper-middle-class suburban moms whose husbands make decent (if not really great) money.
I've had friends just give me stuff, but I always, always offer to pay them. I wish they would let me....mostly to lessen my feelings of miserliness when I don't give them stuff.
I like to play a game as I'm considering what to purge at these consignment sales. It's called, "I Didn't Spend Money on That."
Most of the stuff I sell I didn't actually buy. This doesn't mean I only sell stuff that other people give the kids. It means that even though we have oodles of kid stuff, a sizable chunk of it comes from other people at Christmas and birthdays. From where I sit at the kitchen table, I can see 5 toys: Lincoln Logs, a Thomas the Train ride-on toy, a Fisher Price Little People tall ramp, a Fisher Price Little People small ramp, and a Fisher Price Little People Batman ramp. D and I purchased one---the tall Fisher Price ramp. Everything else was from an aunt/uncle/grandparent.
I tell myself that aunts/uncles/grandparents would prefer that I sell gently used items so that I can purchase the clothes/shoes that I put on the kids' backs during the next season (which will then be sold down the line).
I buy a lot of G's stuff at consignment because as a boy, he generally doesn't care what he wears, whether it matches, or whether it has "bling" on it. And boys are hard on clothes....all that wrestling in Target and all tends to take its toll on fabric. Since I know M will one day wear whatever I purchase for G, buying gently used is especially thrilling. If I can get some pants for $3, I've only spent a dollar and half per boy. Huzzah!!!
I've gotten to the point with N that I don't want to shop with her (because that is just annoying), but I don't want to shop without her (because she is so darn picky, and I don't want to spend money on something she won't wear).
Hey, I made a reference to another U2 song without ever actually intending to. Cool.
As I'm going through kid stuff prior to consignment, I sometimes wonder if I am a complete miser. I have friends who just donate their stuff to like....anyone. I am not so giving. I have certain giving requirements, which is that the recipient is either family OR needy (as in 18, unmarried or unplanned pregnancy or all of these). I don't just give stuff to my stay-at-home mom friends, most of whom are like me, upper-middle-class suburban moms whose husbands make decent (if not really great) money.
I've had friends just give me stuff, but I always, always offer to pay them. I wish they would let me....mostly to lessen my feelings of miserliness when I don't give them stuff.
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