Clearing Out My Baby Items/Where to Get Boxes from Now On

Hello Loves!
Have you heard? There are Ontario-wide baby boxes in the works :)

Their website is here: https://babyboxcanada.org/

And here is an article confirming that they are authentic (I wondered too haha!): http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/19/baby-box-canada_n_9158616.html


As much as I have loved doing this for you, this little local endeavor has grown faster than I can handle. I have spent the last few months trying to find solutions and came to the conclusion that the only way for this to keep running was for it to grow significantly. More people, it's own space, etc. Then look what showed up? Someone else with the same idea but with more people and space! :P

So I am clearing the baby clothes out of my little laundry room and passing you over to the professionals. Thank you so, so much to all of the wonderful people who have made this happen! Every single thing that went in those boxes was generously donated by people in your community who wanted to make a difference.

 In the spirit of that I have divided what was left into one last round of baby boxes. They are pre-made and ready to go. Some are old boxes that were never picked up, some were made from what was left of my inventory. I have divided them by gender but that is all. No substitutions or requests, they go as is. The first people to arrange to pick them up will get them. One box per person. E-mail katieryn226@gmail.com  to arrange pick-up.

I have to offer:

5 Boy Boxes
4 Girl Boxes
3 Neutral Boxes

1 Bag Breastfeeding Supplies
1 Bag Cloth Diapering Supplies

I also have some bags of stained baby clothes if you are interested in trying to get them clean. I have one boy bag, one neutral bag and 2 girl bags. Feel free to ask for these with a box.

Some Little Changes

Just a heads up that there will be two minor changes to the way we are doing things, just to keep the program running smoothly.

The first is that there is now a fourth question when applying. It is:

"4. Are you ready/able to store the box (with you or someone you know) at this time?"

Where did this come from? Well, I have made about fifteen boxes in the last two months. (Yay!) Ten of them are still here. (Not yay.) I can store three finished boxes at a time in the hallway near where I assemble the boxes. Any more than that and my landlord reasonably disapproves, because it makes walking a problem. Where are the other seven right now? All over my house. Everywhere. In my living room, in my closet, under my laundry basket. It is crazy, and probably a fire hazard :P

So I am setting some boundaries. I have room to store three. So from now on that is the limit of how many finished boxes I can have at one time. People are always welcome to apply, at any time, no matter how many boxes I have. There may just be a delay in boxes being started depending on my volume of requests. And unfortunately, I will not be starting anymore until most of what I have are gone. 

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you are nearing your due date if you are applying late in your pregnancy. These guidelines aren't meant to leave anyone stranded!

Guelph And Area

To all of you lovely people who live near Guelph, but not quite in it, please forgive the wording on my "How To Apply" page. I have fixed it. If you are from one of the smaller towns surrounding Guelph you are definitely welcome to apply. Just please note that you will need a way to pick up your box from Guelph. <3

A New Record

Want to know where I've been? Making boxes, lots of boxes! The next one I make will be number 25!!! (Ok, so the title is misleading. Technically every box I make is a new record since this is the first year I've done this lol.) In honor of 25 babies who are going to be warm this year I wanted to tell you about a few of the people who make this happen. This program is entirely run on donations and without the generosity of people all over the city I would have nothing to put in the boxes!

The first place I would like to mention is Village Kids in Elora. It's the cutest little kids consignment shop, with clothes and toys. It looks just like your dream bedroom for your kids!
Twice now they have given me an entire garbage bag full of of things for the boxes! (If you received a box recently chances are you can thank them for the snowsuit. I was so happy to see those!) There were even a few bigger things for my son to wear in the fall hiding in the bottom of the last bag. :)

So if you happen to be enjoying a day in Elora, or want to shop at a business that is making a difference in your community, then please go visit Village Kids. You can check out their website here.

50% off? Yes please!

Hey there Guelphites, anyone planning to be at the 50% off sale at the Goodwill tomorrow?

 If you have some spare change toss a baby outfit or two into your cart for us, we made so many boxes in January that supplies are getting low! (Seriously though, their regular price baby things start at $1.25. Then cut those prices in half. If you have babies get yourself over there tomorrow!)

 If you want a reminder of what we accept take a peek at the list here: http://sweetbabystarterkits.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page.html

We have a special need for 12m sized clothes and sweaters, crib sheets, bottles, snow suits and small stuffed animals.  We would welcome anything on the list though, the stockpile is dwindling! :P

Thank You, Guelph :)

Want to know something crazy? I made eight boxes this month! On Tuesday I went and picked up six more of the paper boxes that I fill and as of tonight there is one left...

I love so much that you guys help me do this and are so generous with your donations and skills! This idea would be useless if you didn't pass on your baby things for me to fill the boxes with. I've even had some beautiful knitting donated just for these babies!

Of all of the reasons I keep doing this the biggest one is this: how incredibly often these Mama's are surprised that anybody cares. And I just want to say that so many people do! People all over the city are sorting through their baby clothes and folding up blankets that held their own little ones and passing them on to another Mama in her turn. So I guess I just wrote this to say thank you, because I'm grateful to live in a city where people do care. I am grateful for the chance to make these boxes and for the peace of mind they give new Mama's. Because no matter the circumstances when a baby is being born, they should never feel like no one cares.

Urgent!

*Update* Found her :) Thanks Guelph!

I am looking for a lady by the name of J_ _ _ _ _ _  who is due in two weeks. She replied to my kijiji add and I have not been able to reply to the e-mail address she used. If you think you know who this is, please have her contact me at  katieryn226@gmail.com. I can prove I'm the one she contacted by giving her her name and the sex of her baby, both things she mentioned in her e-mail.

Please help! I do not know her circumstances and hate the idea of her maybe having the baby arrive without everything she needs!