Spring Cleaning Time
Before the invention of the Roomba cleaner, households all across the US would bring in the Spring time months by cleaning their homes from top to bottom- taking advantage of the warmer weather and the changing winds as the perfect time to shake the dust from their rugs and drapes. Fast forward 100 years or so, and spring cleaning is a much more loosely defined practice. For some it means doing those horrific chores like yard work and cleaning exterior windows. For others it means organizing the garage and renting a carpet cleaner. For me, it means cleaning out the junk drawers, purging all the messy kids closets and getting rid of excess clutter throughout the house.
Ridding the home of all the things we don’t use anymore can be very rewarding. It seems like as a family grows your house feels smaller and smaller every day, so clearing up space little by little really does make a huge difference. What if your spouse on the other hand is a total packrat, hoarding everything out of sight in the attic “just in case”. So how do I get them to agree that it’s time to get rid of certain things? Cold, hard cash.
Maybe you’ve been selling old junk for a few bucks here and there on Craigslist for years. But kid stuff is a whole new ballgame. Because so much of your baby gear barely even gets used before the kids either outgrow it or stopped caring about it, you can pull in some great money by selling it to a kids resale store.
Below I’ve listed out some tips to help you get some spring cleaning done have your pockets lined with a little extra green. Let’s try to free up some space in your home, and make a few extra bucks you can put into savings, blow on more kids gear, family vacay or even mommy happy hour!
1) Consolidate your efforts
If you’re like a lot of other families, you’ve probably got boxes, bins and bags of kid items in every closet of the house. Plus random collections of unused kid stuff in a drawer in your bedroom, in a corner of the office, and in totally weird places like under the bathroom sink. Instead of randomly stumbling across something and taking the time to sell it one-by-one, I suggest spending a few hours with the sole purpose of hunting down stuff you no longer need. Designate a single area or box to collect all the things you want to get rid of, then room by room set your sights on clothing that hasn’t been worn or doesn’t fit, toys that the kids don’t even notice anymore, and gear/supplies your kiddos have outgrown. Once you’ve got everything all collected up, it will make the process of cleaning it and prepping it for selling that much easier/faster.
2) Take the time to give your items a fair shot
No one wants to buy the exersaucer that is covered in a weird sticky substance, or the bumblebee costume that is missing both the wings and antennas. Increase your odds of getting your items purchased by doing a few easy things: make sure all your items are freshly washed/cleaned, iron any clothes that are super wrinkly, pair matching clothing items together, remove anything that is broken/stained/holey, and include batteries or instructions for baby gear if you’ve got them.
3) For quick cash, try local resale shops
Local retail shops that buy used baby gear can be a great option if you need some quick cash in your pocket. Me ‘n Mommy To Be (an award winning kids & maternity resale store) is a perfect place! You round up your items, take them to the store, and (hopefully) walk out a short time later with money in your pocket. Some stores offer you the option to either take cash for your items, or take store credit for a higher amount (a great option for shopaholic moms!).
4) Know when to just let it go
You may think that little onesie is still adorable despite the weird stain left by that banana your kiddo smashed into the crotch of it (what the heck is in bananas that makes them stain clothes so badly, BTW?!), and you might think that miniature piano could still be fun for a toddler even if half the keys don’t work and one of the legs is being held on with duct tape and Elmer’s glue… but chances are, other people won’t agree with you. Before you waste your time, ask yourself “Would I buy that? Would I really, really buy that?.” These types of things sometimes are simply more desirable to go into the trash then there are trying to be resold.
5) By selling to a resale store you get super parent cred
Did you know that because of kid’s resale store literally thousands and thousands of pounds of kids products are kept out of landfills each year. Many items that are in great condition can be sold to a resale store therefore recycling it to another family and keeping it out of the landfill. You can do your part by getting paid extra cash for the things you don’t need anyway and sleep easier at night knowing that you helped do a small part to save the planet.
