Although we’re only a month into this parenting thing, we’re already having a hard time figuring out how to organize all the clothes Sienna has been receiving from some very generous friends and family. So, without further ado, today’s question:
I’m Wondering: How do you organize kids and baby clothes?
I collect suitcases at garage sales, and have one for each size or occasion.
I have them labelled as, for example, “9-12 months” or “Halloween”.
I have a suitcase addiction, so this puts them to good use.
Suitcases look prettier on my shelves than boxes.
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We got a short dresser for Sulli rather than a change table because space was limited. Diapers take up the top two drawers, onesies in another, sleepers in another, thin pants and shorts in another (bulkier pants in the closet), and socks/hats in the last one. All sweaters and long shirts hung up
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I use diaper boxes because you collect so meny. I have 3 girls so at the end of each season I put 3 boxes in my laundry room and when some thing does not fix I put it in that size box and season. So the clothes go away clean and organized. The boxes are get because you can stack them up and write on them. I do the same with clothes that are new and to big so I know what size and season.
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We bought vacuum bags. Sorted our clothes into sizes and put them into the bags with a paper tucked inside with a description. Vacuumed out the air and put them in our basement closet. As new clothes come in (Christmas, Birthdays, Garage Sales) I have a plastic drawer set that they go into so I don’t have to open the bags every time. Once the drawer is near full, I add it to the bag in the closet and revacuum.
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At the infant stage I would keep as many things as possible hung in his closet sorted by size (and ACTUAL size- not necessarily what was written on the tag since we all know how much that can vary!) That way I had a visual reminder of what I already had in the next size up as well as a reminder to check periodically to see if new things fit. Personally, I like hanging the best even though it’s an extra step at laundry put-away time. I just find it’s easier to keep organized and to see exactly what you have. Now that my son is almost 4, I am able to hang everything except socks/undies/jammies. Tops go on actual hangers (sorted by type now that everything is the same size) and pants/shorts go on one of those canvas hanging shelves (again sorted with a different type (jean, sweat, dressy) per shelf).
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Although I’ve been out of the little baby parenting for awhile, when my kids were little I used diaper boxes, and would put two sizes sorting them out per item. ( One box for onesies, one box for shirts, pants, etc) Babies grow FAST! so I always made sure I always had a couple different sizes in one box so I did not have to go rummaging through things larger in size.
Really though.. its difficult to keep it all sorted and organized… baby= organized chaos.. don’t stress to much about it
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Clothes too big = in the closet (luckily we have a large closet organizer in her room – thanks to the previous owners!)
Clothes right now = socks, hats, accessories, t-shirts, pants, pyjamas all in her dresser. Dresses, sweaters in her closet.
-Once a week, I put together outfits from her clothes, making about 7-8 outfits for the week. I hang these outfits in her closet on the bottom rail for my husband (he gets her ready in the morning)
Clothes too small = all in one large storage bin under her dresser. Every few months we sort them and either bring to charity or store in large tupperware bins in the basement (labelled by age)
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When my son Joshua was born a year and a half ago, we were flooded with gifts of clothes, it was such a blessing. Most of the gifts trickled in, a few here and a few there and now and then we would receive huge bags of hand-me-downs from friends. Every time we received a gift, I would remove all the tags, wash it and put it into large plastic storage containers labelled by size (newborn to 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months etc). Washing it first meant that it was ready to wear when needed. This has helped a lot since our newest little boy just arrived 2 months ago
If we need to buy clothes (i.e. something season specific like swimwear or a winter jacket) I buy it at the end of the season at a discounted price for the next year (it involves a little bit of guessing at which size to buy, since we don’t know when babies get their growth spurts). I would remove the tags, wash and then store it, so it’s fresh and ready for the season
Here’s a tip: We received TONS of size 3-6 months clothing, most people would say “well, they grow out of newborn size so fast so… I bought 3-6 months size” My friends who recently had babies said they had similar experiences too. I wish I returned a few of the outfits and bought bigger size clothes (like 18 months, 1 year, 2 year) Most stores will allow you to exchange an item without a receipt, if it’s still current and has all the tags.
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When my little guy was born we did get a lot of clothes, and they ranged in size from newborn to 2 years. I had a chest of drawers for Liam, and his current clothes where placed in the top draw, then bigger stuff in the drawers below. Every once in a while I would pull out clothes from the “bigger” drawer and try them on, just so that we didn’t miss wearing clothes that might fit him. Also I placed all his “old” clothes in the bottom drawer to be sorted later for either charity or consignment. This may not work for everyone just because of the amount of clothing. But it worked great for us.
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We used clear plastic totes and labelled them by size and season. Best of Luck!
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My daughter has one five-drawer dresser. Luckily her clothes are all so small that I am able to leave all her clothing of her current size in the dresser. One dresser has the socks, underwear, tights and swimsuits. The second dresser was pjs or diaper shirts. The third dresser is short-sleeved shirts and shorts. The fourth dresser is long-sleeved shirts and the last drawer is pants. In the closet is her dresses, skirts sweaters and hoodies, arranged by size. I also have a closet organizer with slots where her pants and shirts are organized by size. We are keeping all of her clothes until we find out what our next child is going to be. They are organized in totes 0-3 mths, 3-6 mths, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months.
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Everything that currently fits gets hung up except undies (mine are older), socks and PJs. When they were small I would also hang things as outfits. I also do a rotation, things that have been worn and washed get put at one side of the closet and I take clothing from the other side, this ensures that everything gets worn and about the same amount. It also ensures that if you don’t like something it will sit at the front and you will be reminded to get rid of it.
Things that don’t yet fit get organized into bins by size and season and the bins are stored in the child’s room (I am fortunately to have bid enough closets).
I also find it useful to put things where you find them most convenient ie I have a bin of hats by the door so when going out I don’t need to search in their rooms, bathing suits with towels in a bin in the laundry room makes packing for swimming much easier.
Good luck!
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I have two still-growing boys in the same room and the clothes situation is rather overwhelming! I have a “too small” box for each of them on the closet floor, and a “growing into” box for each too! It seems all I do is reorganize clothes. It really helps to have things hanging, because it’s so much easier to see what you have. If it’s all in boxes, it’s easy to miss an outfit that might be just right. I hate how baby clothes sizing is so random. My 6 month old is wearing some 9 months size, some 12 months, and some 18 months stuff. The tag is irrelevant, the only way to know if it’s going to fit is to try it on! So if you have closet space, hang as much as possible!
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We have my husbands childhood dresser in our daughter’s room. It’s a wide, 4 drawer, and when she was an infant, top drawer was for diapers, wipes, socks and accessories, next was for onsies and jammies, next was pants and l/s shirts, bottom was shorts and s/s shirts. (She was a winter baby, I can see switching that if a summer baby.) Now that she’s older (4) the top is for panties, jammies and socks, next drawer for clothes for daycare, swapped out by season, 3rd for non-daycare clothes, again swapped out by season and bottom drawer is for sweaters that she can wear to daycare, (hoodies, zip front, etc). Her closet has her pretty sweaters, and dressers and any overflow of new or too big stuff. Hope that gives you some ideas. I used the diaper boxes for storage too.
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