I have been going thru the attic and have found several lg tubs of baby clothes. There is one tub that is full of cute clothes and I cant make myself sell any of it... So many memories of Blake looking so cute. First Christmas outfit, First bday party outfit, etc...

I was talking to my sister and she said to save a few blankets and only a couple of outfits and let go of the rest.

I am usually pretty good about getting rid of things. I am having a hard time with this for some reason. Do you suppose its because this is my last baby?

How much are you saving?

I also found large tubs in the attic full of the kids school papers and art projects! LOL What am I doing with this stuff?

By Heaventree on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 01:54 pm:

Just a suggestion, but rather than sell it, why don't you donate to a shelter and another little baby can enjoy or the hospital, there are always lots of needy babies out there. Might make it a little easier to let go of.

Once I'm sure we are done, I'm going to donate everyting, clothing, furniture, bouncy seats, strollers, saucers etc. to a local women's shelter in hopes that a mom with little ones can use the stuff for a fresh start. I will keep a few special outfits and blankets but that's it.

By Vicki on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 01:54 pm:

When I went through everything, I limited myself to one rubbermaid container. I could keep as much as I could stuff in there. LOL It really made me think about how much something meant to me. I do have it packed full, but at least it is only one container!!

By Truestori on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 02:04 pm:

Oh Conni,
I too know that feeling. I just went through tons of memorable clothing, toys etc. myself. I say keep a few items and maybe take a picture of a few you are having a hard time parting with. I have finally realized that my children may never even want to know what they wore, or what toy they had when they were samll..LOL

By Pamt on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 02:33 pm:

Just their coming home from the hospital outfits (so tiny!) and a few of THEIR favorites from the toddler/preschool years.

By Bellajoe on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 02:53 pm:

I have the outfit that i brought my dd home in. And i don't know why, but i have no idea what we brought my ds home in! I'm such a bad mommy! In my defense, we had just moved into our new house one week before he was born and i had a 18 month old at the time. I was a bit frazzled.

I kept my ds's blankie that he loved and some rattles that they loved when they were babies. I donated the rest of the stuff. I still have some baby toys for when friends come over with their kids.
I am keeping the Fisher Price little People house and farm and people. I want to save those for grandchildren. My mom still has the fisher price toys i played with, and now my kids and nieces and nephews play with them. It's neat to see them enjoying the toys that i loved so much.

If you are not ready to get rid of some of the clothes, then hold on to them for a while. Eventually you will go back to them and think "what was i saving these for?" Then you will know you are ready to get rid of them!
It was hard for me to get rid of my kids' cutest clothes, but i did it. So far i do not regret it.

By Colette on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 03:16 pm:

I know what you are going through. I had every intention of cleaning out a large walk-in closet but ended up sitting on the floor, surrounded by memories and feeling sad that the days of preschoolers and sesame street are gone now.

I repacked everything and left it in the closet. I am not ready to do anything else with it.

By Amecmom on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 03:53 pm:

I am saving only a few very special ourfits. I have donated all my son's ourgrown clothing and already some of Helen's to a very worthwhile charity in Richmond, VA which will see that the clothing is used by children who are in need. I received a lovely phone call and letter of thanks for the items. The Sister was so amazed at how new most of the items were. My son grew sop fast, he wore most o them a time or two. I wouldn't sell them, because so many of them were gifts - so now they are gifts again - to people who really need them.

I'm getting a secomd batch ready now.

I hope you find a comfortable choice.
Ame

By Debbie on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 05:05 pm:

I didn't keep much, just the outfit we brought them home in, their first pair of shoes, their favorite blankets(they were special ones that a friend had made that had their name and birthdate). I also kept a few special toys, along with their Christianing gown, that has been passed down in my family. I think that is it. I just have one small tupperware container with both my ds's stuff.

By Debbie on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 05:06 pm:

Oh...and at the end of every year, I go through all their school paper/projects and just keep some of the special stuff. I put that into one small container.

By Boxzgrl on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 05:18 pm:

I still have pretty much all of Kaitlyn's stuff. I just can't let go. I'm not sure if I ever will. I've tried going through it to de-clutter but I can't seem to do it.

By Kiki on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 06:57 pm:

I saved each outfit my girls wore home for the hospital. I plan on displaying them separately in a shadow box along with hospital id's and such. I have saved (except for the little one- still shopping) their christening gowns so they may give it to their children one day. I have also saved favorite outfits of theirs that I will make into a quilt for me and for them, an idea my best friend's mom gave me. Hope this helps!

By Marcia on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 07:11 pm:

I have a large garbage can filled with special clothes and the sweaters I knit for them. I also kept all of the clothes they had when they joined the family, so that they could have a piece of their life with their birth/foster families.
I give away or freecycle what I don't want to keep. People were very generous with us, either through baby showers or handing stuff down. I want to pay that forward.

By Yjja123 on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 09:19 pm:

For Jessica, I had several outfits made into a baby quilt. It allowed me to preserve the memory and my daughter's children can use the baby quilt.
If you want to see it go to this link:
http://www.handmadebykristen.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=77

Addison already has a gorgeous quilt my best friend made him. I only have a few outfits of his saved.
Both kids have a small bin with saved baby stuff.
On a side note, we came across my hubby's baby stuff and there was an engraved sterling silver ID bracelet. My son has been wearing it for days. He thinks it is so cool to wear his dads baby bracelet.

By Bea on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 10:01 pm:

I kept the hand made things that relatives made for my boys. Mostly crocheted blankets. When they moved out, they took their stuff with them. They could then decide to keep or toss it.

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 08:32 am:

Conni, I used to be like you, I saved EVERYthing. Several years ago, I totally went through it, saved only the MOST precious of outfits, the best school artwork/papers, all report cards, certain baby blankets and toys. Everything else was tossed or donated. I mean, realistically, you can't keep ALL their stuff forever, right?

By Tink on Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 01:35 pm:

I have a file folder for each child with certificates and awards they've won, special artwork or projects they've made and most of their "first" outfits, like the coming-home outfit, first Christmas, first birthday, first Easter outfits or dresses. They each got so many handmade blankets that I put the most special or delicate ones away but they use the others. I'm not all that sentimental so it wasn't hard for me to choose what would and wouldn't be saved.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 03:51 pm:

I haven't had to deal with this yet, but I think it's good advice to get rid of it when you're "ready". If you can't bear it yet, don't do it yet.

By Cocoabutter on Sunday, January 15, 2006 - 05:39 pm:

I used to watch Jane Pauley's talk show, and she had on a woman who made pillows out of cherished clothing, like baby's christening gowns, wedding gowns, etc. She also made a shadow box containing baby shoes and a gown with a picture.

You can come up with many creative ways to put your cherished items on display to see everyday rather than keeping them packed away. I wish Jane Pauley's show was still on.