Sell, donate, pack…this is the tape played in my head like my own personal mantra. Every item my daughter picks up, every toy I place my son on or in, every piece of clothing I wear this chorus sings. I made my husband get our storage a month earlier and take 2 loads just so I could have some space to organize my categories.
I’m planning for a 2 year hiatus, so anything that my son at 2 1/2 and my daughter at 5 wouldn’t play with or use needs to either be packed or gotten rid of.
Sell – containing several subcategories; sell on eBay, sell on Craigslist, sell at garage sale.
Some of the things I need to sell are worth more than what I think I can get at the planned garage sale. For instance I partially use cloth diapers and believe it or not, there is a market for these designer diapers on eBay. Cute knitted kid beanies, cell phones can also be sold on eBay.
On Craigslist I post larger items that might be out of a garage sale connoisseur’s price bracket – my baby food making system, our front porch furniture, office TV, computer. This category will soon include my husband’s truck.
Garage sale – I loath having garage sales.
Donations also gets separated into many subcategories; Goodwill, non-profit, brother who is soon-to-be father. Since I despise people bargaining over my junk, I frequently do Goodwill drop offs containing my unwanted clothes, old sheets and other items I want to save the embarrassment of people hassling over.
I am part of a non-profit women’s organization called Contemporary Women of North County, we fundraise as well as donate necessities to a variety of non profits. I have been separately things like books, material, and new baby items to donate to this group for the various projects.
My brother recently announced that he and his fiance have conceived, so they will be the beneficiaries of a HUGE pile of baby stuff – baby bath, bassinet, blankets, toys, high chair, activity mat, baby swing… My poor parents will be lugging a Prius full back up to Santa Cruz after our daughter’s birthday party this weekend…and I can’t wait for it to be gone!
Then there’ pack… 6 suitcases slowly filling as I make trips out to the garage to shove items into the small unzipped hole at the top of each one. I duct taped our names to the corresponding suitcase so I know when each person has met their max and will need to reassess the contents. Clothes & toys for the kids. Do I need baby Tylenol? Aquafor? No Tears bath? Shoes, clothes, rainboots, summer PJs for me. A monitor, webcam, and shorts for Kharron.