With Christmas approaching, families across Solihull are being encouraged to look through the toys, clothes and books their children already own before making room for more.

A completely free seven-day challenge called Outgrown, Not Wasted is helping parents tackle the belongings children have grown out of, with a focus on reducing waste and giving useful items another life.

Instead of attempting a major clear-out in one weekend, the challenge divides the task into manageable daily activities.

Families begin with children's clothing before moving through toys, books, baby equipment, shoes and accessories, and larger belongings.

The final day is dedicated to deciding what happens to the items collected.

For each belonging, parents can choose one of five outcomes: keep it, pass it on to another family, donate it, recycle it responsibly or sell it.

The initiative was created by Karolina Gudes, a mum of two from Broughton in North Wales and founder of Kidora, a UK family platform.

The idea grew from her own experience of watching perfectly usable children's belongings accumulate at home as her children grew.

Karolina said: "Children outgrowing something does not mean it has stopped being useful.

"A coat, toy or book that one child has finished with could be exactly what another family needs."

Solihull already has local initiatives demonstrating how preloved children's belongings can make a difference.

The Children's Storehouse, run by Jubilee Church in Solihull town centre, provides free, good-quality preloved clothing to families in need through a referral system.

It accepts suitable donations of children's clothing from birth to 18 years, as well as selected books and small toys.

Families wishing to donate should check the organisation's requirements first, as it cannot accept every type of baby equipment.

Another example of local reuse is the NCT Solihull and South Birmingham Nearly New Sale, scheduled for Saturday 17 October 2026 at the Land Rover Sports and Social Club.

The event offers families an opportunity to buy preloved children's clothes, toys, books and equipment.

Both initiatives are independent of Outgrown, Not Wasted, but demonstrate how useful children's belongings can continue helping families.

The seven-day challenge encourages parents to involve children in the process, perhaps by choosing favourite books to keep and deciding which toys they would be happy to pass on.

Parents are also reminded to check baby equipment for damage, missing parts, safety warnings and product recalls before donating, selling or giving it away.

Some products may not be suitable for reuse.

Kidora operates a UK parent-to-parent marketplace for preloved baby and children's items, supporting local collection and nationwide delivery. However, selling is only one possible outcome of the challenge.

Participation is completely free, with no registration, payment or purchase required.

Printable checklists, posters and ready-made materials are available for families, schools, nurseries, PTAs and community organisations to share.

Solihull families can start the challenge whenever convenient and complete it at their own pace.

https://kidora.uk/outgrown