Spring ushers return of consignment sales

Birds are singing, flowers are blooming and spring is almost here. I’m excited about taking my two girls on trips to the park, walks in their double stroller and shopping – consignment shopping that is!

I began this column to chronicle my journey of bettering myself as a mom this year. But there’s one thing I’ve already started getting the hang of: shopping on a budget for clothes, gear and toys for my girls.

Even before I had my first daughter, I learned that moms all over the South look forward to children’s consignment sales. Babies grow quickly, so their clothes and gear – like strollers and swings – are often very gently used. While still pregnant and living in Mississippi three years ago, I initiated myself into this rite of motherhood and purchased much of our baby gear at a local consignment sale.

Friends and family blessed us with many baby clothes as gifts for our first daughter, and our second daughter will wear those clothes as well. But as our children grow, I’ve had to work a little harder to dress them on a budget.

If I find myself in a department store at the end of a season, I scour the clearance racks for clothes the girls will be able to wear the next year. I’ve often nabbed quite a few fashionable finds for up to 80 to 90 percent off.

But it only happens when I drag myself into a store. I’m sure I’d find even more deals if I frequented the stores, but I’m one of the few women that doesn’t really like to shop., Now, I did grow up in a family of shoppers. Seriously, my parents would map out family vacations based on the number of outlet malls we could hit along the way. My sister followed suit, but when I was old enough to stay in the car by myself, I’d forgo the shopping and forge myself into a novel.

But since I’m now a mom, I have the responsibility of making sure my daughters are clothed (although my 2-year-old enjoys removing her clothes and diapers and streaking around the house while potty training).

I love consignment sales because they usually come around twice per year – in the fall and spring – and you can get all your shopping done in one trip.

I’ve found plenty of gently used and even new brand name clothes at these sales for a fraction of the price I’d pay at a department store. And I’ve even found expensive boutique brands and smocked dresses that looked barely used for as low as $5 to $10 each.

After seeing how far I can stretch our clothes budget at consignment sales, I don’t know if I’d buy everything new even if we had the resources to do so.

I’ve decided to start consigning at the sales. My idea is to spend what I earn – or at least what I earn can go towards what I purchase at the sales. I’m also volunteering at a sale this year. That will give me early entry into the sale and first dibs on all the great merchandise!

Without further ado, here’s the run-down on some upcoming sales for Mooresville mommies:

• Carolina Kids Sale: March 10 to 13, 2714 Charlotte Hwy., www.carolinakidssale.com/mooresville.html;

• Teri’s Kidz Sale: March 20 to 26, 631 Brawley School Road, http://terikidzconsign.com/index.php;

• Lake Norman Mothers of Multiples: March 26, 664 Brawley School Road, www.lknmom.org/sale.html;

• Angel’s Armoire Children’s Consignment Sale: April 6 to 9, 204 W. Ave, Troutman, Search for sale page on Facebook.

Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Convert

If someone had told me four months ago that I’d be using cloth diapers on my infant and toddler, I would’ve laughed and called them crazy.

About a month after my baby was born, I started thinking about the possibility of using cloth. But I kept pushing the idea out of my mind.

I just didn’t know if I could do it. I imagined my hands full of, well, poop every day. And my husband would never go for it anyway. That was my main excuse. I blamed him.

But our baby had a consistent diaper rash almost from birth. And like many of you, my family is crunched financially during this tough economy.

“Could cloth diapers save my family money and help heal my baby’s little booty?” I wondered.

Like many people, I was skeptical. Around New Year’s, I challenged myself to a 30-day diaper trial.

I started researching and posted some questions on natural parenting forums. The cloth diapering community came out of the woodwork to help me.

I knew that to get my husband on board, I would need to invest in modern cloth diapers. These look like disposables – but cuter – and can be snapped or velcroed on. No folding and pinning is required. And my baby hasn’t had one “blow out” diaper like she frequently did with disposables.

My first obstacle was the up-front expenses of these diapers. The most recommended brands – Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz – cost around $20 each. I was told I needed at least 24 diapers for my baby and 12 for my toddler.

We just couldn’t afford it. I was disappointed that we had to spend money to save money. But I was determined to, somehow, give cloth diapering a try.

My research led me to The Cloth Diaper Foundation, a nonprofit that gives diaper loans to qualifying families, based on income. The idea is that families will use the diaper stash they send for several months, while slowly purchasing your own diapers.

My family qualified for the loan, and it’s been an amazing blessing. I was so excited to receive my package of diapers in the mail and get them washed and ready to put on my girls.

I then learned of Kawaii brand diapers, which are very similar to the name brands but only half the price. I’ve been building my stash with Kawaiis with great success.

I expected I’d be reporting some funny instance of me fumbling to get the diapers on correctly, but they’re easy to use. Some people prefer the stereotypical pre-fold diapers and pins, but there are many other options available. Hybrid diapers include a disposable insert and washable cover. Fitteds fit just like a disposable but require a waterproof cover.

Pockets and all-in-ones function like disposables but are reusable. (And these are just a sampling of modern cloth options!)

Parents chose to use cloth for a variety of reasons. Some, like my family, make the switch for economic reasons or because their babies have a negative skin reaction to disposables. Others switch because cloth is better for the environment.

Some moms like how fashionable modern cloth diapers are. I didn’t think this would be a factor for me, but really, they are CUTE! I’d much rather my baby wear soft pink-flowered cloth than a plain, scratchy disposable any day.

I had the misconception that cloth would leak or not absorb as well. In my experience, they work much better than disposables. 

Honestly, the only “gross factor” of using cloth for me has been toddler poop. I started out using cloth on my baby. That was easy. 
But toddler poop? It about did me in. 


I discovered that using a squirt bottle helps knock the solids from the diaper into the toilet.

Most seasoned cloth users prefer a diaper sprayer to help with this aspect of the cleanup. A sprayer hooks to the toilet and supposedly helps eliminate the gross factor. A diaper sprayer is on my wish list!

It’s been almost two months since my trial began. I confess: I’m a cloth-diaper convert.

Here's a pic of Baby Girl in her newest diaper, the "Moo Too" print Go Green Champ from Jack Be Natural! 

Want to get start cloth diapering your little one? I found these organizations/companies/blogs very helpful!

The Cloth Diaper Foundation

The Earthy Baby

Jack Be Natural

All About Cloth Diapers

Do you use cloth diapers? What prompted you to "make the switch"?

Do you enjoy reading The Humbled Homemaker?  Subscribe to receive posts via RSS (like Google Reader), here and e-mail, here. Find me on Facebook, here.

*The original version of this post appeared in the Feb. 25, 2011 edition of the Mooresville Weekly. 

Starting an action plan takes paper, ink and introspection

Two weeks ago, I wrote about meeting Heather Allen, a family coach through Family Manager. A coach helps busy moms conquer clutter, get organized and achieve goals in their homes.

With two small children, I often wonder if there will ever be a day when it does NOT look like a tornado has swept the entire contents of the toy box onto the living room floor.

Although she’s already honed her homemaking skills, Heather was empathetic and gave me hope that I can effectively learn how to manage my home.

A few days after my assessment, Heather e-mailed me an action plan.

“Don’t let this overwhelm you,” she wrote. “It’s 47 pages long.”

Forty-seven pages? I’m a little old-school when it comes to reading that much from a computer screen, and we were out of paper, so I waited to print it. After getting the paper, the printer ran out of ink halfway through printing.

I told my husband: “Maybe I’m just not supposed to be a better homemaker! I can’t even get my action plan printed!”

Once I replaced the ink cartridge, the printer started randomly shooting pieces of my action plan all over the floor.

“Isn’t this supposed to help our house be less cluttered?” my husband asked. “What’s all this on the floor?”

Once I finally read my plan, I found some really helpful hints.

The plan was divided into seven different categories: home and property, food, time and scheduling, finances, family and friends, special events and personal management.

After Heather analyzed my needs based on my response in an online questionnaire and in-home assessment, she listed my top three priorities for each category. She then provided a list of three areas to tackle now and three areas to focus on later. She gave me solutions to my weak areas and helpful hints to motivate me.

My action plan also included lists of time-robbers, quick fixes and other tips. One tip was to always keep office supplies in stock. That would’ve saved me from the printing frustrations moments!

I’m already learning about myself while working on my action plan, I’ve realized I’m an all-or-nothing person. It’s an odd version of perfectionism, and it’s really to my detriment. 

When I’m determined to make something happen, I spend all my time and energy making it happen. If I can’t do it right, I don’t do it at all.

There’s nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but unless we start out small – with perhaps even a few failures along the way – we will never accomplish anything in life.

And I’m giving myself grace. No one is perfect, so while I can aim to better myself as a homemaker, I need to have realistic expectations and realize that sometimes it’s OK to have a tornado of a mess in the living room floor.

Family Manager creator Kathy Peel said: “Clean and orderly are important, but so are warmth and welcoming. When children grow up, they won’t remember if the towels were perfectly folded and the floors were spotless. They will remember if home was a good place to be.”

And that’s what I want my kids to remember about how their mom managed their home.