Baby Neutral Challenge 2008

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

After spending quite a lot in the sales for baby clothes to hopefully do us until at least December 2008 i now need to stop as 1/2 pay has kicked in :eek:

From March 2008 when the bump arrives - the challenge i am setting myself is to sell baby clothes / unwanted items on ebay to fund further baby clothes purchases.

This will be clothes only not nappies/wipes etc.

Hopefully as much as possible I will not need to add any further monies to purchase new clothes - but fund all purchases from ebay profits.

Would anyone like to join me in my neutral baby challenge :T ?

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

Although the bump hasn't arrived yet (34 days to go :eek: ) - i am getting geared up to do my challenge.

My mil bought us some gender specific clothes that we now know will not be suitable so i am getting ready to list them on ebay.

I'm sure that quite soon after the bump arrives the newborn clothes will be too small so they will also be listed. I am going to keep one outfit as a keepsake - maybe the outfit we use to come home in.

I think i will just allow the money to build up in my paypal account and then just withdraw funds each time the baby needs larger clothes.

Please wish me luck in staying motivated

geekgirl

Remember to check out NCT sales near you as well. I have been to a couple and people were making quite good money on the items. Especially the rewashable nappies, they were selling like wildfire.

I like the Baby neutral idea!

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

thanks geekgirl will do

izoomzoom

Argh I have just done you a huge reply and lost it :mad:

The next 34 days are probably going to seem like the longest 34 days of your life. Congratulations and best of luck.

My DD is now 3.5 months and if I could offer myself some advise 4 months back it would have been a combination of:

1. Ask MIL to take back the wrong gender clothing and swop it for something that is correct gender &or a bigger size.
2. Same goes for the newborn stuff, although
3. Eventhough we don't know many people, we were given loads of gifts and many of them were newborns and 0-3m stuff and the newborn stuff lasted all of about 5 days (she was 9lbs6oz at birth). So if you do get gifts either ask for them to return it for bigger stuff or
4. Make sure you keep the labels on stuff until you actually physcially use them because if you do sell on ebay, BNWT go for slightly better prices than BNWOTs / used.
5. My experience of ebay is that stuff goes for next to nothing and this can be quite disappointing but on the flip side you can pick up stuff for good prices too.
6. Don't turn your nose up at hand-me-downs (which I know you aren't) because we were given 3 rubbish bags full (so far - more is still to come) and even some of that stuff still had labels on.
7. Freecycle often has people advertising, so that if a good place to pick stuff up or offload what isn't good enough for ebay and finally
8. Have you considered cloth nappies. DD is now 3.5 months old and for the first 3 months I used disposables and worked out that it was costing £25 (or 210 nappies into landfills) a month. I have just spent about £200 (OMG:eek: ) but that equates to £5.80 per unit but my nappy needs are now sorted for the forseeable future. If you aren't sure what type to go with you can purchase a pack with a couple of different types in from perhaps this seller, or you could buy individually from either ebay (new only) or another auction site for used nappies (new and used). And afterwards you could even sell your used cloth nappies for 20-60% of their original costs, depending on condition.

HTHs

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

thanks izoomzoom - sorry you lost the first reply - i hate when that happens

all great advice - especially the nappies - i am very tempted but i am worried about the extra work - we dont have a tumble dryer or easy access to garden to hang out - so it would mean a lot of wet nappies hanging around the flat.

i am going to use the disposables i have already bought whilst i give the reusuables more thought

thanks again

izoomzoom

I am surprised at how dry the nappies come out of the washing machine. I do not tumble dry my nappies because (you know I am not sure, but have been advised against it - perhaps it makes them shrink or they get hardened ) but my fitted nappies take about 18 hours to dry, but that is just me leaving them to dry on a rack in a windowless unheated room. I am sure if I opened a window or stuck them in the airing cupboard, they would dry overnight.

I have a stack of disposable nappies which I bought when I was pg, so in order to use them up I am putting Samantha into a disposable overnight. I also use them when are out for the whole day.

jessbrown100

Hi, still in very early stages of pg with baby#1 but interested in your challenge. haven't bought anything yet and aren't doing till the first scan. if you'll have me i'd like to join up so i can get started being baby neutral asap. will think of things of ours to e-bay in order to pay for the initial clothes for the baby so am being neutral right from the start.
just a quick query- does anyone use terry nappies rather than the shaped reusables? are they any good?

Miss_Kitty_Fantastico

welcome to the challenge jess

sorry can't help you re: terry nappies bit im sure someone will be along soon

izoomzoom

jessbrown100 wrote: »

just a quick query- does anyone use terry nappies rather than the shaped reusables? are they any good?

Me me me :j :j :j

I am presently using both, but more the square terries than shaped because I have bought a bigger size shaped and my DD wont fit into those for another month or two.

I used terries with both my boys 6 /8 years ago. Why do you ask ?

izoomzoom

Ooops I see you did ask, you want to know if they are any good.

I think they are fine. You can fold them in 101 different ways and can fit your baby from day dot to fully weaned.

I got about 15 terries off freecycle and they are mothercare ones. My experience of terries is that you should purchase the most expensive ones that you can afford, as the better quality they are the more absorbant they are. I don't know how mothercare are rated, but I know my current ones would not last until potty training stage.

I purchased a fitted nappy to just have a see, and have been converted, but each to their own.