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7 Steps To Keep Your Kid’s Clothes Organized

7 Steps To Keep Your Kid’s Clothes Organized

I have three kids, so we have a lot of clothes…we all know that kids grow like weeds and it seems like every time I turn around another one of the kids has outgrown one size and have moved on to the next size.  If you are anything like me, I’m sure you are scratching your head wondering what to do with the clothes or shoes that they just grew out of, while still considering if you should save those items for their brother or sister.  If you do decide to save the items, then how would you organize them?  How can you remember where you put them when it’s time for the next child to use them?  What system should you use?  Help!clothes2

Katrina to the rescue!  I have been there and totally understand how daunting this task can be, especially if you are trying to pinch pennies and be as economical as possible.  I’m no expert, but here is they system I have come up with over the years to keep my 3 kids clothes organized by each season and ready for the next sibling to use.

Katrina’s Organzied Kid’s Clothing System:

  • Step 1: Shop at Garage Sales.  I shop for 95% of my kids clothes at Garage Sales in the summertime and I try to buy for that upcoming year for the needs that each child might need.  I have an older boy, middle daughter, and younger boy.  In a perfect world, I want my boys to share as much as possible.  A lot of times this doesn’t happen because boys just tend to be harder on their clothes, but I try to pass as much down from my older son to my younger one.  There are a few items that my daughter can share from the boys as well, but usually she gets her own stuff – lucky girl!
  • Step 2: If It’s a Really Good Deal Buy It and Save It.  I try to buy stuff at garage sales only for that next upcoming year so I don’t have to organize and store as much stuff, but there are plenty of times that I run across a really great deal on something that I absolutely purchase and save for the next couple years before my child can use it.  A perfect example of this is a winter coat.  I found an awesome deal on a very warm winter coat in excellent condition for my daughter that was a size 5T.  When I found it she was only a year old.  But, I knew she would eventually grow into it and it was worth buying and saving until she was ready to wear it.  Be careful using this system, you can find yourself with a TON of stuff to store for the upcoming years and you have to be careful that you don’t forget what you have already bought.
  • Step 3: Save Boxes or Storage Totes.  Ever since my first son was born I have been saving his diaper boxes.  I would use them for all sorts of things, but quickly I realized how great and convenient they were for storing his clothes that grows out of.  If you don’t have diaper boxes readily available, then collect some storage bins, totes, or other boxes.  Diaper boxes are wonderful because you can store stuff in smaller portions and break down the contents by size and season.
  • Step 4: Make Labels.  This is VERY important!  I make labels for my diaper boxes.  You can make them however you want, but I have BOY labels that are blue and GIRL labels that are pink.  I made my labels in QuarkXpress and I have them   broken down from baby sizes like GIRL 0-3 Mths SUMMER all the way up to BOY 7 WINTER.  You can break them down into whatever options you want.  I also have a few that are for shoes that say SHOES 0-5 GIRL.  I print them on regular paper and then I keep a big stack of the various sizes my kids are in at that specific time in a little box along with a big roll of packing tape on the top shelf of my son’s closet so I have them readily available when I need to quickly pack up a box.diaper_boxes_clothes_labels
  • Step 5: Label Two Sides Of The Box. Make sure to print extra copies of your labels and label two sides of your boxes.  I put a label on the length and width side of every box so that no matter which way I have store my box you can see the label.  And make sure when you do store your boxes that you always store them with a label out so you can quickly know what is in each box.
  • Step 6: Have All Your Supplies Readily Available.  When my youngest son was a baby he had his own room.  I would put an empty diaper box on top of his dresser in the closet and I would tape a label to the box of whatever size he was currently in at that time.  Since babies grow of out clothes very quickly, as soon as he would move on to a different size I could quickly throw those items in the box.  This works out great when you realize that adorable onesie you loved will no longer snap and rather than try to figure out what to do with it, I would just toss it in the box.  Done.  Simple.  Easy way to deal with a problem especially when you are so tired with a newborn! Then once the box is full you close it up and store it, and start over with the next diaper box you purchase.
  • Step 7: If You Don’t Reuse Your Items, Then Sell Them.  I use this system for all three of my kids and since I only have one girl, I am able to sell a lot of my daughter’s clothes online to my VarageSale group or for your own garage sale.  Using this system it keeps all my clothes organized and very easy to grab sizes and resell.  It’s also great when a friend needs a certain size and season of an item and I know exactly which box to grab to find those things.  Plus, it feels great to be organized!

 

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October 31, 20140 commentsRead More