Spring cleaning has brought many emotions that I didn’t think I had. It also made me realise that we have way too many possessions and some of them have ‘power’ in the form of memories. I’ve thrown out and donated so many items over the past few weeks, thus severing those ties.
I haven’t been able to get rid of all the things we don’t or hardly use anymore, particularly the Little One’s things.
The Little One’s third birthday is fast approaching and I have all these feelings now that he is getting older. I’ve donated countless items of baby clothes and paraphernalia over the past two years, there’s been this one lady that badgers me for his clothes since we brought the Little One home from hospital. She’s gained the bulk of the Little One’s clothing over the years to the point where I only have a few well preserved items left.
Sorting through his baby clothes is such an emotional process for me. These little items hold big, powerful memories.
I’m brought to tears as I fold the onesie we brought him home in, his first pair of shoes and those tiny brown mittens. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s grown up so fast and I miss those days when he was little or if I’m pining for the day when I’ll get to hold another baby again.
So you’ll understand why I get upset when someone asks me if I have any baby items to give away. It teats me up inside, because I should have waited until I was ready to give his things away instead of giving in to the pressure of others who want to meet their own ends.
I’m holding on to the few items that I have left.
Yes, he has outgrown them.
Yes, I may not use them with the next child.
Yes, we may not have another child after the Little One.
No, I don’t want to give anymore of his things away.
I know that keeping these things may not be healthy and I’m sure I’ll be able to give more items away one day, but this day is not today.
Did you keep your little one’s baby items? Did you hand your oldest child’s items down to their younger sibling/s? Were you in a similar situation? Let me know by commenting below. I’d love to hear from you!
Love and Blessings,
homehugshuskies.wordpress.com 
I can understand you wanting to hold onto some things Lindsay. They’re precious memories and it’s not silly at all. I kept a lot of my kids stuff, for many years before I started donating and giving away. You do what feels right for you, there’s plenty of time to give things away down the track if that’s what you want to do.
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I saved the handmade blankets and crocheted baby sweaters and hats. Just can’t part with them. I really treasure things my children made in school that have lasted over the years.
Ah yes! Hand–me-downs are a big complaint from the younger siblings. 🙂 ❤
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Ah, Lindsay. Parenting is the most artful of all occupations. What is perfectly fine to one set of parents might be deplorable to the next. There are no parameters or guidelines that will get you through. What it is really is YOUR own learned sense of what is the right way. If you think you should hang on to something, hang on. (Unless of course you can’t turn around in your home! Lol)
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Hi Lindsay, there is nothing unhealthy about keeping memories close to your heart, my eldest son married this year and i still have certain items of both my boys . I could never part with them They are part of my Life that I cherish, so you just do what you feel right for you
Take care
Brooke
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I know just what you mean. There are certain items that were particularly hard for me to part with. My boys’ stroller and I traveled miles together. A pile of toy firetrucks, once my eldest’s prized possession, now gathering dust. A bib with a particularly funny phrase that never ceased making me smile. While these things were all my children’s things, they were mine as well.
But I have to make room for new memories, and so occasionally I have to find loving new homes for these things. I just wish it was a little easier to do.
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Who says it’s not healthy, remembering the cuteness that they were is an amazing thing.
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The older he gets, the more the cuteness is fading and turning into sassiness now that he’s a toddler. 🙂
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Yeah, that doesn’t improve… lol
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In my family, we handed everything down. I come from one of those huge families with a lot of kids, and some of my hand-me-downs were handed down through the family until they were threadbare and unwearable. Likewise, I got hand-me-downs from Mom’s cousin and her stepbrother (what was it about the Fifties and Sixties that boys had a dozen sportcoats? That’s how many we got when we got a delivery…).
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Haha, It sounds like fun. I come from a small family so there wasn’t too much to hand down. I missed the sportcoat phenomenon, but I was caught by the crocheted poncho trend. I had more than my fair share of those in various colours, they were quite awful now that I think of it. 🙂
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I’ve given a lot away but what I have left I AM KEEPING. Either because we *may* have another baby or because I just don’t want too for sentimental reasons.
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You and I are certainly in the same boat with this one. 🙂
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This, like all parenting, is a process. I have 3 bins of kiddo mementos. As soon as all three bins are full I go through them. I ooh and ahh and reminisce. I also go, “why did I keep this?” Things that tore at my heartstrings at 2 did not at 4 and I didn’t remember at 6. Now we have our first baby girl cousin coming and I’m actually excited about giving some of the really precious stuff away. Give yourself time to treasure. You’ll know when or if it’s time to hand things on.
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I love your idea of 3 bins. You’re so generous. Thanks for the support.
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Way to parent! Thanks for sharing your stories. It’s a journey for us all.
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Thanks so much. Sometimes I feel like I’m oversharing. Have a great day ❤
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Some items we cherish, even if it baffles others. Don’t give up your memories stored in your cherished items. And if they badger you again to give up your baby items (or anything else you don’t wish to part with), give them the directions to the local mall 😉
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Haha, good idea! I think she has a hitlist of all women who have children under the age of 5 that she can milk clothes out of for her family members. 🙂
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You can go all Hannibal Lector on her: “Quid pro quo, Clarisse.” Perhaps if she realises that nothing in life is free, she’ll back off. Then again, maybe not.
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Yes, I kept most of my kids things. I wanted them to have it when they become adults. You love your kids, I say keep as many as you like.😊
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Thanks for this comment. I’m so glad that you kept their things. They will definitely appreciate the items and the stories that accompany it. Have a lovely day!
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I don’t have children. I hope to have one. Even though I am not a mother, I am 100 percent behind you on this one. You do what you think is best and what makes you happy. Xxxx
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Thank you for your support. ❤ I'm wishing you all the best.
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I can relate to this! I have a hard time getting rid of some of my daughters things and there are quite a few things I refuse to part with for sentimental reasons. Anything that was special to her, I’ve kept. Barney and Barbies were her prized possessions. Handmade clothes and blankets, the outfit she came home in from the hospital, papers from when she learned to write…things like that I just can’t get rid of. Clothes and old toys I donate to foster families or women and children shelters.
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It’s great to know that you’ve held on to some prized items and I’m not the only one. 🙂
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I can relate. I have no problem decluttering the toys that my 4 year old daughter currently has because I witness that they never get touched but when we brought back a bunch of her baby stuff from NY and I was faced with the question, donate them or keep them I found that I didn’t want to let them go. The tiny little toys that brought her first giggles and smiles and the ones that helped to give her confidence to walk. Man, just the thought of parting with them makes me tear up. It’s amazing the control an object can have over someone when there is a powerful memory attached. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thanks for reading and commenting on this post. No-one told me it would be this difficult to let go of baby items. 🙂 He has a birthday coming up, but I still have most of his baby toys. Hold on to the memories for as long as you like. 🙂
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Reblogged this on .
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Oh my goodness, I can relate to this. I basically also felt the pressure and wasn’t ready to give my daughters clothing away when I did. Since then I have regretted it, but then I feel bad, as I did help someone else out in times of their need.
I was fortunate to have my girls within a year of eachother, so yes hand me downs really happened, and it was fine.
I do regret not having another child though, and that saddens me. But it is what it is.
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Thank you for always being willing to share your memories with me. It’s really unfair in a way, especially when you know it’s the right thing to give the items away to those who need it. I’ve just been saying that I’m on the fence about having another child. We will see what will happen in the future.
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Lindsay, you are welcome. I love sharing my memories with you. About another child, yes, just see what happens. If it happens, it happens. 🙂
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A practice I do is I pack up everything outgrown or they’re too old for in a cardboard box and place it in storage. When it is time to throw things out again I bring out that same cardboard box, with time some things are less sentimental and I get rid of things that had no real sentimental value, and now know things that have the fondest memories attached. I place the true sentimental in a rubbermaid tub and move it out to the garage for future rummaging. And then I repack the cardboard box with the new stuff to pack away and store until next time. 😉
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Sounds like a really good plan. I gave some items away today that I was unable to part with a few months ago, so it’s a learning process. I think I need to initiate the giving away instead of someone else telling me to give items away.
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As a grandma there is great joy in taking out a few things that I have kept from when my sons were small. It is fun to show the grandkids what their dad wore and the blankets they were wrapped in. When my grandchildren were baptized they used the same blanket as their dad at his baptism. It was extra sweet.
Some of those items are like having a 3D photo album that you can see and touch. Memories are precious….cherish them.
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I don’t have children but I am a sentimental person at heart. There are somethings I hoard which is unhealthy and have since then thrown out or donated. However there are things that I love that I choose not to throw away, but I make sure that I have room for it. I don’t see this as unhealthy unless we become consumed by it or it has power over you.
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Ugh I haven’t parted with anything… Except the stuff I didn’t care for from the start. He’s not yet 2. But his closet is amassing way too many boxes of small clothes. My guess is we will wait until we have a second to go through them. I’ve considered it. Honestly now that unemployed the only two things left in the house to purge are the kitchen and my guys closet. We’re talking both bathrooms. Toy boxes all the book shelves my closet both my dressers. Hall closet laundry room living room.
I don’t want to, I’m dragging my feet. I’m pretty sure I’m even attached to the sone of the plain white onesies since I put him those the most. I didn’t want him ruining his nice clothes ya know. Especially, if we weren’t leaving the house.
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I’m so glad I’m not the only one. We moved homes, but I left all of his things at my parent’s home in storage boxes for the ‘next baby’. I know myself and I’ll probably want to get the baby all new things, but hey I’m not ready to get rid of his things. I’m so glad that we could connect on this. Don’t toss out anything that you don’t want to and take your time. All the best. I just followed your blog and I can’t wait to check it out. Have a lovely day! ❤
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