How to Organize & Store Kids Clothes
I am a big proponent of shopping a year ahead when it comes to kids’ clothes. This is a great way to save money because you are able to wait until the end of the season to buy next season’s clothes. For instance, this past week at Target I bought shorts for just $1.30 a pair – can’t beat that.
Between clearance at Old Navy, Target, Carter’s and Oshkosh B’Gosh, I am pretty set for the kids for next summer.
My organization has always been simple: two Rubbermaid boxes – one for Elias and one for Adeline stored at the bottom of a closet. As I would shop, I simply would deposit the next season’s clothes.
I also have an extra bar in Adeline and Ezra’s shared closet, so I have the immediate next baby sizes hanging in there so that I don’t miss anything! This week I ordered these closet organizers to make it even easier to see what I have.
That said, my system isn’t working as well since having Ezra because now I need to save Elias’s clothes (that are not too worn) for the next 4-5 years. (Though they are 7 years apart, Elias wears size 6 now). I had contemplated NOT saving the clothes, but it seems silly to rebuy clothes when Elias has some really nice, classic pieces that will still be fine for Ezra.
I really don’t have the storage space to do a bunch of Rubbermaids for the clothes! My thinking is that I could do space saver bags for Elias’s old clothes for Ezra and then do the Rubbermaid bins for just the year to come for each child. My mom is coming for a visit later this fall and she is going to help me get things in order.
This topic has had me thinking, so I recently asked my Facebook friends to weigh in how they keep clothes for multiple children organized. Here are a few of the comments:
I have a big IKEA dresser that I have one drawer for the next size and then another drawer for the other sizes after that. Not sure if you were looking for more specific organizing ideas. I also have a mental list of what I’m still missing for the next size so I keep an eye out for sales or used.
I have a very large 31 duffle type tote with 3 separate sections inside. It was a hostess special a while back so they don’t sell it normally. But I think you could create something like it with other bins. Each child has one. I keep them at the bottom of their closet. One section for next season. One section for this season but maybe next year (to grow into) and one section to be consigned if I am waiting for the right consign season). This has worked so well for us and keeps things sort of in my view so I don’t forget what I have.
We were blessed to receive a full wardrobe for our little one pretty much from birth to 18 months from a friend of a friend getting rid of their daughter’s clothes (I’m hoping we can keep this going through the teenage years!) All the clothes are organized by size and type (6M tops, 9M PJs, etc…) and put into Ziploc bags. The bags with clothes she isn’t wearing yet are stacked underneath the dresser and the bags with clothes she has outgrown are put in a Ziploc storage tote(http://www.amazon.com/Ziploc-Flexible-Totes-XXL-Qty/dp/B003UEMD1M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441213454&sr=8-1&keywords=ziploc+storage) and put in the closet. Some of the nicer things she isn’t wearing yet are hanging in the closet already. It is a challenge – but this is working for us right now.
I have 3 closets covering a whole wall, where we store our kids cloths by size (ranging from 10 until 3) We just use the size they have right from those closets.
We do have 5 children (boys 8 and 5 and 3 years old and girls 7 and 3 years old).
hi! we are in similar situations but my kids are a little bit older. Girl 11, boy 7 and girl 4. With that in mind I recommend that you do not save very much of Elias’s clothes for Ezra with the age gap. I will try to keep it short and sweet on my method of clothes organization along with why I save or let go.
Each kid has a tote or a dresser drawer with upcoming size and/or season clothing in their room. Two kids share one room. In the basement are outgrown clothes, basically one tote each. When girl age 11 outgrows clothes I decide at that time if I sell, donate or keep. I do not keep much at all anymore. If the girls were closer in age I would keep more but keeping things for 5 years is just not doable for me.
I actually sell or give away most outgrown clothes. When I sell through consignment, like Once Upon a Child, or a garage sale I use that money to buy clothes my kids currently need. What do I keep? Things like black snowpants, high quality mittens and boots, some jackets or sweatshirts. We live in a cold winter region so I tend to buy these items for a higher price to keep my kids warm and so the items last longer. I buy the kids’ clothes either second hand or on sale as much as possible.
Personally, I just can’t keep clothing items for 5 years for a few reasons. 1. Space. That would be a lot of storage space I don’t necessarily have. 2. Style. I saved a few baby clothing items from my first and used them with my third. I tried to keep classic type clothing items but even some classic items do change a little. 3. Kid preference and possible size/look differences. Each kid has a style preference he/she likes to wear (even at a young age). My friend has boys 5 years apart. The first boy is long and lean. The second boy was long but bigger and had a little deeper skin tone. Clothes did not really fit the same for the 2nd boy. 4. Sell now to buy for now. Just what I do with kids clothes. Sell them to use for clothes they can currently use. 5. If you are really good at getting clothes at clearance prices what is there to lose? Shorts for $1.50? I’m pretty sure you get your moneys worth by just wearing them for the one summer and then donating or selling.
I have space saving bags. They are not really space saving unless you put things like pillows, fluffy comforters, etc in them, items that more air can be squeezed out of them. Cotton shirts and pants don’t have much air to be squeezed out. I use the space saving bags with the outgrown clothes in the basement to give myself a piece of mind that no bugs will get in the clothes. So I put the clothes in the bag and the bag inside the tote so I can stack them better.
Good luck with your organizing!
I have 3 girls (currently 2, 4, and 6), so I have lots of bins to put outgrown clothes in. I try to label by size of clothes and season. And a different bin for new clothes I have bought (for the next season). My 4 year old is actually right behind my 6 year old as far as sizes, so I just move those clothes from one drawer to another!
I have live-in GK kids … boy 1, girl, then a 9 gap before boy 2. Most of the older kids stuff was passed to my sisters’ kids. The main things I saved were snowbibs and snowboots. I mainly bought black unisex of each … so Chase (now 10) wears the snowbibs and boots that his older siblings wore. We live in Northern VA, so we don’t need these items on a daily basis in the winter, but the kids do need them.
I did save a few items for sentimental reasons … the Gymboree “Jeep” outfit that Will wore day in and day out for two summers (it got washed mostly nightly). Infant Easter outfits, etc.
For out of season and hand-me-downs I use clear plastic bins from Ikea that I have stacked in my basement.
I have 2 girls, ages 11 mths and 3 yrs. I have small bins (20quarts) for each size, and have limited myself to 1 or 2 bins per size. A lot of little clothes can fit in those bins, and I end up then giving away/consigning just the few that I really didn’t like that much that don’t fit in the bins. The bins are then stacked on a shelf in my basement.
I read about a great idea if you have 2 or more of the same sex children. use a permanent marker to make 1 dot on the tag for the biggest kid, 2 dots for the second and so on. when the biggest kid is wearing something that looks to small all you have to do is mark it right then so you won’t forget when it is laundry time.
I have large flat plastic storage bins that go under my children’s bed. I also buy a year in advance, and when family/friends ask what size each child is wearing, I tell them that they have plenty of clothes now, but they need the next size up. Then I store each next size in each childs bin.