Listen, no one has ever used the words “organized” or “together” to describe me. Unfortunately, no one has ever used the word “rich” either. My four kids are hard on clothes and grow fast, so I am all about hand-me-downs and buying used as much as I can. I love the children’s consignment sales that happen a few times a year, but I’m always that person that’s going “Wait. Is that this weekend? When can I go?”One time I did get in at a good time, with a list, and made it out with a lot of stuff I needed at really great deals. I’m still super proud of that, which is why I’m telling you. 😉
Needless to say, when my neighbor told me she was opening a Once Upon A Child in Winchester, I was SO excited! I had shopped at the store in Lynchburg with my mom so I knew what it was all about. In the year that it’s been open, Once Upon A Child has become a regular stop when my kids need clothes. I’ve definitely bought my fair share of clothes, but let me show you some of my favorite purchases.
I found this rocket costume one day about a year and a half ago. I did NOT need any more stuff in my house, but Wyatt looked so cute and it made him so happy, and it was such a good deal.... yeah. It came home with us. No regrets.
I was shopping with these two littles one day when Eva spotted this doll high chair and for just $3.50 I knew she needed it. It was almost Christmas so the employees helped me sneak it behind the counter and into the car - I bought it with her there and she never knew! It has been a huge hit.
Still, I was never organized enough to sell any clothes there. I have piles and piles of boxes of my kids’ old clothes in my basement. Occasionally a friend will need some clothes and I’ll pull out a box with the appropriate size written on it and say, “Here, have a go. Take what you want!”. Other than that, they’re just taking up space. I decided it was time to attempt selling. First, I called the store and asked if they were in need of anything in particular. The very nice girl I spoke to said, “We’re always in need of bigger boys’ clothes, but we buy all sizes and seasons all year round”. Which makes sense to me, because I have some of those medium-sized boys and they are HARD on clothes. Their clothes do not last long enough to get passed on! Since my boys are 7, 6, and 4 right now I’m holding on to what I have, so I decided to just open a box and go with it. In the end, I spent about 30 minutes packing my tub – I put a few pairs of little boy shoes in there, a lot of tops in the 3/4 year old range, and even two pairs of size 7 boys’ jeans I found because my children refuse to wear jeans, which I do not understand at all. I called up the store again to ask if I needed an appointment to bring it in (she said no, I could bring it in whenever, and it was first come, first serve) and if I needed to iron the clothes because they were wrinkled from being stored Sarah-style (she said wrinkled was usually ok, as long as they were clean and in good condition). So I loaded up my kids and off we went.
This is my basement. Alllllll those diaper boxes are full of my kids' old clothes. That plastic tub down in front is the one I'm on a mission to fill and sell! (Yes, it's inside a box of leftover edge pieces from the foam floor of the playroom. Whatever. It's a basement. We can roll that way.)
Done!
30 minutes of work and I'm ready to drop this off and see what happens...
Honestly, I had pretty low expectations. I knew that if I was trying to make a lot of money, then a consignment sale was the way to go. But I was just never going to be the person who took the time to go through and hang, price, and tag each item. I knew how low the sale prices were at Once Upon A Child from shopping there, and that the store had to be able to make a profit to stay in business, so I didn’t expect to get a lot of money. I looked at my big tub full of clothes and, with no expertise at all, randomly decided that my goal would be to get $20 for it. I figured that $20 for 30 minutes worth of work, plus dropping it off, was a pretty good deal. When I went in I had to fill out a quick form to check-in and they said they would look through my stuff, decide what they wanted to purchase, and text me when they were done. I had sick kids in the car, so instead of waiting, we headed to McDonalds for some french fries (I’ve heard those have healing properties when you have the flu.). It was only 10 minutes later that I got a text saying they were done! Turns out, they wanted less than half of my stuff. But they offered $22.30 for what they did want (and handed me cash right then)! Goal achieved!
As I thought about it, I realized that while it was disappointing for me as a seller that they didn’t buy everything, as a customer it means that everything that makes it onto the rack has been carefully inspected. So I was ok with it. Of course, now I feel like I have to challenge myself. The game is now “How Much Can I Get For This Tote?”. Next time I’ll fill the same tote, but be more selective about what I put in there. I’ll keep you updated on my Facebook page with how I’m doing! How high do you think I can go? And what should I do with the money??? (groceries. The answer, sadly, is almost always groceries when you have 4 kids)
The one thing I didn’t like was bringing the clothes they didn’t buy back into my house. Once I’ve gone through them, I want them gone! I didn’t realize it this time, but if you ask them to, Once Upon A Child will donate any clothes you don’t buy to Blue Ridge Hospice. This made my day and I’m so excited to know that next time I won’t be bringing any clothes home! (There will be a next time. I’ve caught the bug now.)
The tub when I got home, with what they didn't buy.
One thing I love about Once Upon A Child is that they pull the seasonally appropriate wear and put it together in one spot for you. So you don’t have to search through all of the clothes looking for a Halloween shirt – or even a shirt with your favorite sports team! They make it easy to stop in and check quickly to see if they have that seasonal thing you’re looking for. Follow their Facebook page for special events and deals!
Oh! And PS – I can’t believe I forgot this. They have books!!! So many books!! The reading teacher in me firmly believes you can never have too many books and that any book your child likes is a good book. So I love being able to load up on books inexpensively (you know my kids are going to love them until they’re destroyed anyway, right?!?!).
