The Great Pink Avalanche

Not long ago, I read a wonderful post by one of my favorite blogg...ists? (Is that a word?  Bloggist?), the great Michele of Frugal Granola, as she was guest blogging on Amy's Finer Things.  Her lovely post, which you can read here, was titled Preparing for Baby.  One of the highlights of the article, for me and my simplistic mindset anyway, was the following:

Clothing and Blankets:  I know, this is the fun part of shopping, as you prepare for the baby. But shop wisely. Don’t get too much; they’ll outgrow everything quickly, anyway. Borrow (or buy used) what you can; babies rarely wear things out! 

The Rule-of-Thumb is the quantity of 4-6 per item. This is usually enough of each item to allow for a few clothing changes per day (spit-ups and diaper blowouts will happen!), while doing laundry every few days. Add in a few extra warmer things for winter babies.   

Stock up on gender-neutral-colored basics (And your little ones don’t have to be stuck wearing yellow ducks; my babies were adorable with items such as denim overalls, red sweaters, tie-dyed t-shirts, orange pants, star-print gowns, and peapod-print onesies). If you end up having a girl, you can toss in a couple dresses and/or bows. The pink will certainly make its way into your life; it’s irresistible to Grandmas. 

 This inspired me.  Frankly, poor Little Sheep's closet was bursting with clothing.  We hadn't spent more than $10 on her entire wardrobe.  Just after she was born, I sorted everything by size and seperated it into those boxes that hold packs of printer paper.  In total there were 10 boxes, with a huge tub of unisex things I hadn't even gotten to look at.

So I gritted my teeth and dove into her closet.  I took all the boxes that were there.  I took out things that I actually liked and asked Papa Sheppard his opinion of other things.  After the first box, though, it became apparent that this was a "Mama job" because everything Papa Sheppard saw, he either said, "Oh that's so cute" or "I could go either way".

 So after one box, I tackled the rest, keeping in mind that she didn't need nearly as much as was there.  I kept the things I liked (or that I thought Papa Sheppard would like) and packaged up the rest.  In the end, I was able to whittle it down to 1 box per age group, a small box of shoes, another small box of socks and halved the blankets.  There are still some things in the big tub as well, but they are mostly snowsuits and two adorable unisex outfit sets that I didn't take apart yet.  I will save them and regift them sometime in the future.

What really shocked me was how much pink pink PINK there was!  I am not a big fan of the almighty girly pink.  And it drives me nuts when people think that just because I have a little girl, everything has to be pink.  I begged my mother to please not buy me anything pink from hereon out, and if anyone asked what they could get Little Sheep, to please tell them anything but pink clothes.


What I did discover, however, was a wonderful series of adorable animal-printed things from Carters that my mother-in-law had purchased for us while they were in the States last year.  Browns, beige, blue, yellow, orange, green!  Ducks, frogs, alligators, giraffes, birds.  So many beautiful colors!  Warm, wonderful pieces that suited my baby girl so much better than frilly bows and Sesame Street characters.

There were two sets of a Minnie Mouse outfit as well.  I have never been a big fan of cartoon characters or brand names, either, so they weren't sticking around.

After I had sorted and divided things up, I discovered I had enough to dress two other baby girls while still keeping my own baby girl in stitches without any complications.  I agree with Michele, you don't need nearly as much as you have.  After redistributing I have enough clothes to donate to both my sister-in-laws for their babies (hopefully they're girls, because if so, they'll have enough to dress them for a year each!  If they're boys, well...).

I do not desire to create another little consumer.  I desire to have created a beautiful human being who understands the value of her possessions and treats them with respect.  I want her to understand that just because we can run out and buy another piece of clothings doesn't mean we should or will.

 We were immensely blessed when we were given all these beautiful clothing items by friends and family.  Now we will immensely bless someone else with these pieces.  And hopefully our home will regain a bit more peace.  And become a little less pink.

Gifts for other little gals to enjoy!