Sorting baby stuff I have bought throughout the year

Week five has been more mellow, if you consider how crazy week four was. At least schools is almost over, so the work I do is almost done. I took advantage of this week, and started sorting through all the things that I have bought so far for the baby. Before, when I started buying baby things at the beginning of the year, I had everything in one of our suitcases, but as the year went by, that suitcase was not enough anymore. I had already filled out two suitcases, yes, the big ones, a duffel bag, a comic-con bag (You know, those big ones to take with you and roll your posters in), and lots of big plastic bags, mostly the same ones in which some of the things I bought came in. It was a lot of stuff, but it was really fun to see all the things I have gotten so far.

If you have been following this blog, you know I have been hunting for baby clothes at thrift shops. Why there? Well, there is nothing wrong with getting seconds. If you think about it; a lot of people get baby clothes for the baby showers, but by then, you really don´t know what your baby is going to be like. Is the baby going to be short, tall, chubby, slim, you really have no idea. Therefore, a lot of the clothes that were given to those parents never get worn, and later end up in a thrift shop. If you think about it, you have to wash them anyways in both situations, because eve if you buy at a retail store, you never know where those clothes were at before. I have found very cool and awesome pieces that are new with tag, and other without tags that all they need is washing, which as mentioned before, we have to do anyways.

I am very passionate about organic products, and the only way to afford organic baby clothes has been through thrift shops. Instead of paying between $25 - $40, I pay between $.95 - $5.00, which for organic cotton, I feel very blessed. I am not going to tell you that I have not bought things at stores too, but I can assure you that I have saved myself a ton of money doing it this way. Every time I buy something, I register it in a spread sheet. I write the price I paid, and later research the approximate retail value of the piece, and you´d be surprised. I´ve bought pieces that are worth $60, and only paid about $3. It has been a good experience, and it has allowed me to research about brands I like, and about material that is safer for my baby. The best part of this, is that if for some reason some of these clothes don´t fit my baby, I won´t have a heart attack about it for overspending.

Economy is good, but not that great, and lets face it, babies are expensive! At least with saving ourselves all the money we have through seconds in the cloth and blanket department, we are able to save to buy the gear, which has to be brand new so we can submit the forms in case there are any recalls. Yup, those you can´t buy seconds, because it may be a risk. As an official paranoid person, and this being our first time trying to be parents, the last thing I want is to cause some harm to the baby just because I wanted to take advantage of a bargain without knowing the whole scoop on that particular product when making decisions. Of course some parents might be lucky and buy something that never hurts their kids, and you can also buy something brand new that may also hurt your kids. The difference is, that you need the guarantee and recall paperwork, and when it is second handed, they don´t usually come with these. Trying new products is as risky as trying used ones, the only difference is that you really don´t have much information to back up the used one, because it may be damaged and you really won´t know until it might be too late. So to us, that part is a big no-no.

We will be getting our gear brand new, and will just research where is the best place for that so we can still save some money on it. Honestly this year has allowed me to research through sales and I know that Black Friday on Amazon was a blast for baby gear. I will totally consider it next year. It also gives me an opportunity to enter to as many giveaways as I can to try to win the gear we need. That way we don´t have to buy those products and focus on the ones we have left in our "must-have" list.

Overall, this week made me realize I have enough baby clothes and blankets to avoid getting concerned for the first few months, or even maybe the whole year. I have clothes from 0 - 12 months, so I can say that I have done at least 50% of the shopping on that part and the rest I will buy until I know what gender the baby is. Not everything I bought was neutral, since it was too cute to pass, however if our first baby is the opposite gender, well, there are always baby showers. My husband´s family just had 4 babies during these past 3 months, so there are a lot of babies, and I know my finds may be useful to any of them. Besides, my brother already told me: "When you are done with everything, pack it and ship it to me!" I thought that was very funny, but yes, family should help each other out, specially when the little ones come.

At the end, things got sorted and registered into my baby-expense spread sheet. I realized that I have a baby-blanket problem. They are just too soft! I can´t help myself. And by the end of the week, I had also sorted my cloth diaper stash, which is not huge, but enough for the moment not to worry about it until the time comes.

And that is all for this week.

Participate in a discussion with me. Question time!

1. Do you guys prefer to buy baby clothes at a normal retail store, or at a thrift shop? I would love to know which one and why. 
2. Did you do half and half when shopping for baby clothes? Half retail and half thrift shop?
3. Do you prefer to go buy at a store or shop online for baby clothes?
4. Are there any good online baby retail stores that offer you sales often, and are as good as thrift shop prizes?
5. What is the best bargain you´ve ever found that is baby-related, and where did you find it?

You can answer any or all of these questions if you want to participate and I would really appreciate it, because since my family is far, far away, I really value the participation of this community. Just remember, be respectful, it is a family-friendly blog.

Until next time.