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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
veggie0420
member
what do you do with all the stuff?!
veggie0420
member
where is everyone putting all their baby stuff that LO isn't using anymore? bedding,bumpers,bottles,toys ,swings etc! the bumper alone took up a whole plastic storage bin by itself! we are having more kids, so im not going to sell it, but what do you do about pacifiers and bottles...the things that might not be totally hygenic sitting around for a couple years? throw them away?! thanks!
TTC since 9-5-09 BFP #1 7-19-10 missed m/c 9-3-10
BFP #2 1-12-11 stick baby! BFP #3 9-13-14. First u/s 10-10-14 TWINS!!
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Re: what do you do with all the stuff?!
I don't know about the other stuff--but we roll the bumper up and keep it under her crib.
Honestly it is my daughter's favorite thing to play with. She loves pillows, and we take the bumper out and she climbs in it--rolls around with it. It seriously keeps her busy for at least 30 minutes. Now she tries to crawl under the crib to pull it out.
I never would think she would enjoy it--we never used it in her crib, it came with the set and a few months ago I was just ready to pack it up-and she discovered it and hasn't let it out of her sight.
Thus began the 'baby stuff' wars.
Seriously, it's crazy how much crap a baby needs. We have lots of stuff in lots of random places. Some things like the stroller frame, infant seat bases, jumperoo and walker are wrapped in huge garbage bags in our basement. Clothes and anything that we don't want to get musty is being stored in my parents' attic, since we don't have one. They have at least six huge plastic bins of clothes and infant junk like sheets for the co-sleeper, burp cloths, receiving blankets, etc. Plus the co-sleeper and car seat.
Pacifiers and bottle nipples should be thrown out. The nipples deteriorate over time. The actual plastic bottles are all in a cabinet in my kitchen and will be reused.
The toys are just....everywhere. Oy.
We kept a lot of boxes that things came in. Her carseat is in a bag and back inside it's original box, this way it doesn't look so cluttered having things just laying around in bags. We also got washing machine boxes from best buy to put some of the other big things in that we didn't feel like taking apart to put back in the boxes they came in (again to make it appear neater in the basement).
Clothes all get tossed in a giant tote and every 6 months or so I go thru it and organize into sizes, put into those storage bags that take the air out, labeled, and put into a large box. Same with blankets and stuff.
We have outgrown toys in boxes organized by approximate age of use. Bottles are all in a plastic tote, all nipples have been thrown away (same with paci's).
It currently takes up a small section of our basement, but it doesn't look bad since it's all in nice labeled boxes.
Good luck!
I threw away all the pacifiers and nipples. I washed everything else (bottles, breastpump parts, etc.) and put them in plastic bins. No different than a plastic cup in your cabinet for a few years. The random baby stuff, we had in a big pile in our spare room!! This week my DH took it all to a storage facility because we are going to try to sell our house and needed it to not look like hoarders (of baby gear!) live here. I assume many people would utilize an attic, garage, or basement for some of these things, but we don't have any of those!
Edit: Clothes I put in those space saver vacuum bags!!! Those things are fabulous!
I am lucky I have a big enough closet I can store most of it.
There are some things I'd like back to use again but if I don't I won't be heartbroken. I passed that sort of thing on to a friend.
I chucked pacis, bottle nipples, sippy cup lids she used most often etc. I'm all about resuing but that's gross to me. No sense in saving it. And that's one area different babies like different things so I have no problem buying different bottles.
If I didn't use it or kinda hated an item, I just donated it. I feel like if I didn't use it on Kid 1 I probably won't think about it for kid 2. You can't miss what you don't have either.
As for clothes, I have a one tote per size rule. I donated anything ugly, passed the cute but not for me stuff onto friends and tossed anything stained or wrecked.
Strollers, wagons etc. are stored in the garage, but we're still using a lot of that anyways.
Toys, I'm pretty ruthless. I kept a few faves and some I thought the next kid might enjoy and that's all. It's not like there's ever a toy shortage..lol.
Swings, jumpers, bouncers, and other gear and toys they grew out of, I took to Once Upon a Child and got cash. Our house is way too small to store that stuff.
Clothes are in storage bags (the kind you suck the air out of) and in totes. You should try that for your bedding.
Bottles and other infant feeding supplies are in a tote. All paci's got pitched.
I buy used and sell it all back for pretty much the same price I paid for it on Craigslist or consignment stores; also, check your local area for mom/baby swap events -- these are AWESOME and you can just bring a bag of stuff to donate, people set it all up while you browse vendors etc, and then you get to fill that bag with age-appropriate stuff for your child. Granted, that requires letting go of stuff, which from what you've mentioned might be more challenging for you.
I've kept a few favorite outfits as keepsakes but ultimately I get rid of everything if it's just sitting around. The less attachments I have to items, the better. Plus, things can always be replaced.
DS didn't use a pacifier or bottle. I still have bottles and nipples in the packages! But I sterilized my pump.
Some friends are borrowing our swing, bouncer, etc. The rest is in plastic bins in various locations. We are running out of room. But I don't want to get rid of it because we want another. I'm hoping at least one of my pregnant friends have a boy so they can borrow some clothes!
Toys - some I have sold on Craigslist. Some items I'm keeping in case we decide to have another or my brother is able to have a LO. In another year if neither is true than I will sell/donate.
Clothes - some donated to Goodwill and some saved. Plan to donate/sell in another year if no one in family can use.
Bottles - I just started cutting down nursings (and bottles) so I put the ones I don't need in recycle (I'd honestly buy new if we need again). Will save pump of course.
Pacifiers and other one time use items - trash.
We put most of the clothes, crib bedding, etc. in garbage bags b/c we ran out of plastic totes. We have an unfinished basement, so we piled everything up down there. As for bottles, paci's, nipples, etc. We boiled/sanitized everything we could and put them in foodsaver bags to seal out the air once everything was completely dry. We figured that would protect everything as best as possible, and we'd assess everything when we have baby # 2 to see if it's still usable.
Good luck!
I will clarify on the nipples, paci's, etc. We only kept the paci's b/c DD never used them, she sucked her thumb instead. And, we only kept the nipples that were nearly new as well. All of the very used ones got tossed. So, we probably have 7 paci's and 10 nipples (mostly the fast flow ones that she only used for a few weeks before switching to sippy cups).