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Organizing: Children’s Clothing – Part 3 of 5

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Though this process is definitely taking longer than I would like, I am making progress. After completing Step 1 – preparing to upgrade my daughter’s clothing from the 12-month through 18-month clothing to 2T items, I purged the closet, dresser, coat closet, diaper bag, and car as I finished Step 2 last week. With piles of clothing organized by size, I then proceeded to Step 3.

STEP THREE: Pack

12-month Clothing

After locating the tote with the label “Girls – 12-months – summer clothing,” I added all the short-sleeved and light weight clothing from the 12-month clothing pile. I neatly folded and packed these items to fit as many as possible in one tote.

Any winter clothing for this size was packed in the tote marked “Girls – 12-months – winter clothing.” When the tote was full or all the items packed, I placed the lid back on the tote and return it to the hallway for storage.

18-month Clothing

When the tote holding the 12-month winter clothing still had room for more items, I added the 18-month winter items and changed the label. Now the girls’ winter clothing includes 12-18-month sizes.

All the 18-month summer clothing was packed into totes labeled “Girls – 18-months – summer clothing.”

Shoes

All her shoes are kept in the drawer of her changing table. While I was packing away the clothing items, I placed her size 4 shoes in plastic bags, labeled them “size 4,” and placed them in the tote labeled “Girls shoes sizes 1-5.”

Donations

The pile of clothing that had not been worn was packed into plastic bags to be given to a little girl younger than my daughter to use. With a mound of clothing bags, I rid our home of excess clutter while blessing another family.

Having packed the 12-month and 18-month summer clothing, the 12-month winter clothing, shoes, and donation items, I now have a bare closet, dresser, and room in which to work as I continue to Step 4. The steps help me break the project into manageable sections.

I may not have 2 hours to hide in her room to work, but I can usually find 15-20-minute increments to get a step or two complete. By doing the next thing and following the sequential steps, I can complete the project while using time wisely.

Question: How do you label your children’s clothing? I would love to hear how your system differs from mine. Please share your ideas in the comments.

Organizing: Children’s Clothing – Part 2 of 5

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Going to the closet in the morning only to find clothing that is too small, too short, or in the wrong season does not help in using time wisely. Instead of getting my daughter dressed, I am taking time to sort through her clothes searching for something in the right season that will fit.

After finally recovering the last clean suitable outfit, I get her dressed and sent down to breakfast. When I arrive downstairs, I find that spilled milk soaked her top and bottom, and I am back to finding another outfit. Been there? I have more than once. Staying a step ahead of my children’s growths spurts is an ongoing battle, but a great use of my time.

Though I cannot control their growth spurts, I can plan to change their clothing at least twice a year. I prefer spring and fall before the heat and cold arrive. With fall upon us, I am in the process of organizing my children’s clothing. Last week, I shared STEP ONE of my 5-step process. Today, I will take you along as I purge my youngest daughter’s clothes.

STEP TWO: Purge

In my daughter’s nursery, her clothes are housed in the closet and dresser. There are also items in the coat closet, diaper bag, and car. In switching out her clothing, I began with the largest supply found in her closet.

Closet

As I checked each label for the size, I took out any 12-18 month clothing and most of the summer items. As I went item by item, I folded the clothing and set them in piles by size and type (winter or summer).

If I never dressed my daughter in an item of clothing, then I placed it in a donation pile. I would rather someone use the item than to save it for the off chance that I might use it someday.

After purging one rack and placing those items in piles, I went to the next. When the closet was complete, I moved to the dresser.

Dresser

In checking these labels, I kept her 18 month bottoms since my daughter has just outgrown her 12-month pants. As I pulled out items too small for her, I rearranged the piles of clothing in the drawers to allow more room for larger sizes.

Each out-grown item was folded and added to the correct sized clothing pile. Going drawer by drawer, I quickly purged the entire dresser. Then I searched the rest of the house for her clothes.

Coat Closet

In the coat closet, I purged the winter hats, mittens, and coats. These items were added to the appropriate piles in her room.

Diaper Bag

Since I keep a change of clothing in her diaper bag, I needed to take out the smaller size and replace it with a larger size when I get to STEP FOUR. For now, I just removed the smaller sized items.

Car

The last place I checked for her clothing was in the car. My children have a tendency to get dirty, so I keep a spare set of clothing in the car. These items were now too small for my daughter, so I added those items to the piles in her room.

Whew! With lots of clothing piles waiting to be packed away in STEP THREE, I am left with a bare closet and a semi-empty dresser. Though my process is still underway, the progress is moving forward. In using time wisely, I will soon have the correct sized clothing in place making the morning routine less eventful. Happy organizing!

Question: Do you consign your clothing or give it away? Please add your answer to the comments.

Organizing: Children’s Clothing – Part 1 of 5

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It’s official. My kids have grown. As I went to my daughter’s closet for a long-sleeved outfit, I found one dress that was long enough for her to wear to church this morning. Besides sending up a red flag that it is time to reorganize my kids’ clothes, the smaller clothes reminded me that my little ones are growing up.

Though I cannot keep them little, I can add larger clothing for them to wear. In keeping my children’s clothes organized, I have a developed a system that works for us. My process occurs in 5-steps:

Step One: Prepare – gather all the supplies

Step Two: Purge – unload out-grown clothing from closets and dressers

Step Three: Pack – put folded clothes insides totes

Step Four: Place – unpack larger sized clothing into closets and dressers

Step Five: Preserve – place all the totes in storage

As I work through my process, I will take you along with me. In the first step, I need to gather my supplies.

STEP ONE: Prepare

Gather from Storage

All our children’s clothes are stored in large totes in our upstairs storage closets. To help me, my fabulous hubby brought out the clothing totes and placed them in our upstairs hallway.

Place clothes near bedrooms

Having the totes near their bedrooms helps me in using time wisely. I can unload and reload without wasting energy or time in transporting the clothes to another room.

Place shoes in bonus room

Paul continued to help by bringing the totes of shoes into our bonus room. Besides keeping them separated from the clothes, my girls enjoy playing with the shoes. (It is amazing how both of my daughters love shoes. My son could care less. :-))

Stack labeled storage totes

Having all the totes labeled with “girls or boys,” “clothes or shoes,” “winter or summer,” and the “size,” I can easily find the totes needed for each child.

For my youngest daughter, I will need totes from 12 months to 2T. I will be putting away her 12 month to 2T summer clothes and getting out her 18 month – 2T winter clothing.

With all the totes gathered from our storage area, I am ready to start Step Two: purge. Next week, I will bring you along on my journey as I purge my children’s closets and dressers of summer clothing and articles that are now too small. In using time wisely, I will soon have more than one option for my daughter’s Sunday wardrobe. Happy organizing!

Question: What type of storage system do you use for clothing? Please add your answer to the comments.