"During my college days, having roommates was the best. We were constantly raiding each other’s closets for new outfits to wear. Back then, we didn’t have a huge budget to constantly be buying clothes. It was a budget-friendly hack we all needed. A pair of jeans turned into the “sisterhood of the traveling pants.” Fast forward to more than 10+ years—it’s no secret that having babies is expensive—and this wardrobe hack has transformed into sharing baby and kids’ clothes amongst my friends.
While sharing baby clothes isn’t a new idea, one mom has recently shared her genius way of doing it. Her advice is so efficient and so easy that you’ll be asking yourself why you and your friends didn’t think of this sooner. Siece Campbell (@siececampbell), soon-to-be mom of two, took it to TikTok to share how she and her mom friends share their baby clothes. Her viral video has been watched almost 900K times with hundreds of comments from moms. TikTok user @barbburrl commented that the sisterhood of the traveling pants has now turned into “Motherhood of the traveling pants 😝💞,” and it’s so true.
Campbell is definitely sharing the wealth with her info on how to share baby clothes. She says that she had the idea to make communal bins stocked with baby clothes since she and her friends are all having babies about three months apart. While they already were planning on giving each other hand-me-downs, she thought it would be easier to take an efficient approach to the idea.
No need to send out an S.O.S. text for more clothes. And the struggle to remember who you loaned your newborn outfits to three years ago? Gone. According to Campbell, you organize baby clothes that you aren’t using by size. You then put them into a bin, and you and your friends store everything at the same place for easy access (whoever has the most extra storage among your group). It’s essentially like a baby clothes “pantry.”
Benefits of a Communal Baby Clothes “Pantry”
Aside from being budget-friendly, Campbell also mentions that sharing baby clothes has other benefits. “It’s a really good way to help with the financial burden of having kids, the mental load, sustainability, good for the planet—all that stuff,” Campbell says.
Having One Place to Store Your Clothes
A plus is having a place to store all your outgrown clothes. This is great because all those piles of clothes are essentially not taking up too much space for storage. Someone who currently needs it can take it off your hands right away.
You’re Still Getting “New” Clothes
If you’re worried about clothes becoming too worn, Campbell adds, “You’re all adding to it.” As you get clothes from your baby shower or find something that looks cute from your Target haul, there will always be new clothes in each bin. So, don’t worry about wear and tear. That is something that is bound to happen over time.
There Is a Sentimental Value
There is also the chance that you may be like TikTok user @chantelleee5, who commented, “I’m too sentimental for this.” As a very nostalgic person, I hate to see things go. It is even harder when there are so many memories tied to baby items like clothes. While I wouldn’t want to get rid of my baby’s first coming home outfit, I have to say, there’s still something very special about seeing your baby’s clothes on your friend’s baby.
For example, my sister passed on her son’s clothes to me. We absolutely love it when she points out when my baby is wearing an outfit that her son used to wear. It brings back so many sentimental memories for her, and it doesn’t require having to pull out a keepsake box. I’m not the only one. TikTok user @kelliswims loved this angle of sentimentality and commented, “I absolutely LOVED seeing my hand me downs on friends children. GREAT idea.” I also love @wuiannamarie_’s idea, which suggested, “Obsessed! I would leave notes in the bins!”
How to Start this Hack With a Group
Making new mom friends is like dating—it can be scary. However, this is something that can serve as an easy icebreaker to finding other mom friends who are in the same phase as you. If you want to start this budget-friendly baby clothes hack, Campbell says it is as easy as making a Facebook group or reaching out to a mom group. Send out a message like, “Anybody have kids or going to have kids in the next three to five years?” And who knows? If you are currently struggling with finding your village, your future mom friends might just be there. It only has to take one person. “YOURE ACTIVELY BRINGING BACK THE VILLAGE! 🥰,” TikTok user @rochelle.ryder adds.
The Hack Isn’t Just for Clothes
This hack isn’t exclusive to clothes. Take it up a notch and throw in things like baby toys, high chairs, and more. Other moms have even used the idea for maternity clothes, like @jennabrianne15, who commented, “My bestie and I did this with maternity clothes!! We passed the bin back and forth for four pregnancies 🥹.” The opportunities are endless. Just a few days ago, I reached out to a friend of mine for all the other baby and newborn essentials. She’s been my “baby things” fairy godmother. Why not do the same?
Final Thoughts on Sharing Baby Clothes
I’m all for the hacks when it comes to motherhood—especially when it involves saving money—it’s a no-brainer for me to add this one to the list of mom hacks. I think there are a lot of moms out there who feel like TikTok user @remysetgo, who said, “omg I have so many baby clothes that I don’t want sitting in my garage unused but don’t want to buy all new stuff when I have another kid. This is so smart.” I agree. You get to save money, you have more clothes than you ever thought you would, you still get to be sentimental, and there’s a chance you will find more mom friends out of it. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Patty Schepel, Editorial Intern
As the editorial intern, Patty works with The Everymom’s team on pitches, creating original articles, updating existing content, photo sourcing, writing shopping product descriptions, inputting freelance articles, and more. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family, training for half marathons—she ran one 16 weeks pregnant—traveling, cooking, reading a rom-com, and keeping her sourdough starter, Rose, alive.