When You're All Done Having the Babies

I've written extensively on surrenderdorothyblog.com, my personal blog, about my family's decision to stop after one child. (I can hear my sister-in-law shifting uncomfortably as I type.) A lot of people have a lot of opinions about having only one child, even ME (as opposed to them) having only one child, but everyone seems to agree on one thing: If you've made up your mind that you're done having kids, it's time to empty the basement. Last weekend, I studied the baby and toddler gear we have accumulated for my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter (the little angel). There were: - Six tubs of clothes, shoes, coats, Halloween costumes and dress-up clothes that no longer fit - Four strollers (we're keeping the jogging stroller and the umbrella, but the travel and universal car seat holder are so out of there) - Infant car seat with two bases - Two convertible car seats (we both work outside the home, and we never knew who was going to pick her up ñ we have two boosters now) - One tub of crib-related paraphernalia (Wetness absorbers! Head positioners! Crib rail protectors! Nets to keep the pacifiers from falling out! Sheets! More sheets! Good God, more sheets!) - One tub of infant toys and board books (this even after giving board books to her daycares twice) - One tub of towels and blankets - One tub of sentimental little dresses, her first shoes, her baptism dress and many other precious things they will have to pull from my cold, dead hands I couldn't believe I still had that much stuff. In the past three years, I've already given away a Baby Bjorn, a bouncy seat, four tubs of toys, and tons of shoes. I sent all of her newborn clothes to Hurricane Katrina. HOW DID I STILL HAVE SO MUCH STUFF? Because I was supporting the economy. (har) Really, though, all this stuff adds up to a lot of basement space and a pretty attractive charitable donation. When you're giving up baby stuff, think hard about where it's going. I'll trot my vacuum off to Goodwill in a heartbeat, but when it comes to baby stuff, I want local babies to be given it, not have to buy it in a store. I did my research and chose to give my items to a local daycare for the children of the working poor. I've given them things before and think they do amazing work. So I loaded up all my goods and drove on over there. They gave me a blank tax receipt. The key to getting the right charitable donation is to really look up the value of your stuff. I like to use shop.taxcut.com/servlet/ControllerServlet;jsessionid=4688beb486a640b088fce46d624e42d8?Action=DisplayPage&Locale=en_US&SiteID=taxcut&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=82180500, H&R Block's DeductionPro. It's sort of a pain to have to type it all in, but you'd be amazed at how much your stuff is really worth, particularly if it's in decent condition. Baby stuff is usually in great shape because the little buggers grow so fast. So seriously, you've spent enough on your children ñ don't leave your charitable donation dollars on the table. And now, folks, I have eight empty tubs and enough room to store 15 folding chairs in my basement. It feels so good.

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