WESTBROOK – One thing that every parent knows is that kids’ clothes can get very expensive, and kids grow so fast that it’s hard to get your money’s worth out of something before it’s outgrown.

Now, families in the Westbrook area have a new option for kids’ clothes with the opening of The Kidz Closet at 820 Main St.

Owned by Victor and Terri Stacey of Windham, The Kidz Closet opened Monday with an inventory of used clothes for babies, kids and teens. The store also carries a selection of toys and books.

Terri Stacey, who was running the store on Tuesday afternoon, said that she and her husband acquired the store’s inventory in a most unusual way.

“My husband’s always on Craigslist,” she said. “And (one day) he just happened to be looking and he said ‘Hey hon, there’s a store for sale outside of Machias.’”

After learning that it was a used kids clothing store, Stacey said, she told her husband to get in touch with the people selling.

“We called and we went up there and we made an offer, and they accepted our offer,” she said.

With the clothes and the display racks from the Machias store, the big question was, what would they do with it all? The answer was a simple one.

“After we bought it all, we decided to open a store,” Stacey said.

While Stacey hasn’t owned a retail store before, she has experience dealing with children thanks to the day care that she ran for 24 years before she retired two years ago.

“It’s my first adventure,” she said.

They found the space in Westbrook that, coincidently, had previously housed a similar store, and got things set up. As with every new business, the first day can be a nerve-wracking one, but fortunately for The Kidz Closet, the response to the opening was a good one.

“(We did) very well,” Stacey said. “Better than we anticipated.”

For now, Stacey said, she is going to focus on selling the clothes that they have on hand from the Machias store inventory, but she does plan on taking in clothes and other goods on consignment.

“(We’ll do that) probably in another month, because I still have a big inventory at home,” she said.

Any clothes coming in on consignment will have to meet the same standards that Stacey has set for the items she already has on hand. She said she wants to make sure that she isn’t offering anything that isn’t of the highest quality.

“We only take clothes that are gently used,” she said. “No stains. I clean everything before I put it on the rack. And I check to make sure there are no buttons missing and the zippers are working, so you can come in, try something on and wear it.”

While she was only about halfway through her second day, Stacey had high hopes for the future of The Kidz Closet.

“I’m hoping (the store) stays here a long time,” she said.

Terri Stacey of Windham is the owner of The Kidz Closet on Main Street in Westbrook along with her husband Victor. The store, which sells used kids’ clothing, opened this week.