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34 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2019 WRITTEN BY NIKKI DUCAS family money Whether you are done having babies, or you are faced with changing ages and stages of development, there is always a mountain of kid stuff lurking in a dark corner of the house. In my house, it always seems to be a mismatched sock, a broken toy or remnants of a goody bag. Most recently, the dark hole includes outgrown clothing and forgotten toys. Since my eldest is nearly 10 and my baby is no longer a baby at 6½, we were long overdue in clearing out the toddler toys. It was a process that had not been done in three years when we got rid of all the baby gear after realizing there weren't going to be any more babies. So what do you do with all of your children's outgrown clothes and toys they've lost interest in? OLD Out With ...give clothes to friends with smaller children, donate to chari- ties or contribute to your child's school nurse to pass along to less fortunate students. JUST WANT IT GONE? Many moms say they give clothes to friends with smaller children, donate to charities that help mothers and chil- dren in Fredericksburg and one mentioned giving clothes to their child's school nurse to pass along to the less fortunate. Looking to donate locally? Here are a few organizations that help mothers and children, families and homeless in Fredericksburg and surrounding counties. - Beauty for Ashes Women and Children's Home - Bragg Hill Family Life Center - Embrace Treatment Foster Care - Empowerhouse - Loisann's Hope House - Micah Ecumenical Ministries - Thurman Brisben Center PAY IT FORWARD. Organize clothing swaps with friends. You get clothes from a specific person but you don't exchange with that family. You pay it forward by handing down clothes to another family. A friend created a Facebook group to recycle clothes and toys among friends and it really helped me to clean out the playroom and receive some newer stuff in return. GET PAID. Buy and sell clothing and toys. Many moms use consignment stores/sales around the 'Burg: Two Times New, Once Upon A Child, Plato's Closet and Weecycled Wardrobe, just to name a few. There are also lots of online resale shops for children. I've used poshmark.com, swap.com, and thredup. com. Another popular buying and selling option is online on local Facebook groups and through Facebook Marketplace. In the past month, I've given four garbage bags of clothes, toys and books to my sister- in-law for our nephew; I swapped our old toys and gear with moms and got new- to-us toys, and sold over $100 worth of toys, books and clothes on Facebook Marketplace. This doesn't even include the bags and bags of worn out, chewed on, and bro- ken toys that were thrown out. I must admit, it's somewhat of a thrill to sell something that my kids no longer want and use that money to buy something they really need for their next develop- mental stage. the