Have you spent countless hours searching clearance racks, yard sales, and even the attics of friends and family for baby clothes? Moms know that until the age of two or so, kids don’t wear clothes for long. Subsequently we wind up buying entire new wardrobes for our children every couple of months and search high and low for cheap baby clothes. If your current methods of hunting out great deals on baby clothes are just way too time consuming or if you’re getting a bit worn out from it all, there is another way.
You can organize a swap with other parents to find super cheap baby clothes (because hey, nothing beats “free” right?). First, find a venue for the swap. In the event that your house or yard isn’t an option, talk to local churches, schools and community centers to see if there is a gym, auditorium, or other large indoor area that you and your fellow clothing-swappers can occupy for a short period of time. If you’re lucky, the venue will come cheap or maybe even free. Make sure you book it about a month in advance so you have plenty of time to recruit other parents to participate.
Next, invite people to the swap! Start with people you know personally that have small children just a little bit older than your own, about two or three years older at most. If you go further than that you run the risk of inviting parents that will have no need for cheap baby clothes and may not even have anything to contribute. Parents often get rid of clothes within six months of their child outgrowing them, so keep that time line in mind.
Once you’ve started to get the word out to friends, family members, and neighbors about the clothing swap meet, move on to the next target group: acquaintances. If you don’t know many of your neighbors, fellow church members, or co-workers, now is probably a good time to start chatting them up. Find out who has small children and close family members with small children (i.e. your neighbor may not have kids, but her sister may.) Also, for those of you who don’t yet have a Facebook account, now may be the time to get one so you can get in touch with long lost friends who could have children in the same age range as yours.
Of course, not everyone has a large social network, be it in person or online. If this is you, don’t worry that you can’t have a swap with other parents in order to get cheap baby clothes. You’ll just need to be a little more resourceful. Post flyers around your neighborhood advertising the swap and try Craigslist too! Don’t forget to make sure all invitees know that only items in good condition should be brought to the swap. Good luck and happy swapping!
