This is Post 2 for today, be sure to head back 1 post to check out some delicious and easy Creamy Italian Chicken for your Crock pot!
Staying up on my kids clothes is a FULL TIME JOB! It seems someone is always outgrowing something, or just when I am on top of things, its time for a Season change, and I pull out almost all of the Winter to make room for the Spring things. These transitions are hard, because I can barely fit all of one season in the children’s shared closets, let alone leaving in half of the last season, plus the new, in one tiny space!!!
My favorite way to stay on top of things in the Clothing department, is have an empty Tupperware bin that lives in each child’s closet. As soon as I know something is too small, whether its coming back to the room in the clean laundry basket, or whether I have deemed it too small after they put it on and it needs to come back off, it goes into said bin. When the bin is full, I clearly label the bin with size, season and gender. Then to storage it goes! Easier than rummaging through drawers and closets later, trying to remember what fits and what doesn’t!
If my younger 2 outgrow their things, they go into a different set of bins. These bins are full of things that will be sold next time I get around to having a private clothing sale in my home.
Here is the current state of my bedroom:
That’s because I am getting ready to consign all of these clothes of Avery and Paxton. I will use the money I make from this sale to buy clothes for the big kids this year. It is SO nice that I had girl, boy, girl, boy….the younger 2 literally have bins and bins of clothing from the older two, just waiting for them to grow into. I LOVE it!
I just switched out Avery and Paxton’s closets, swapping out red, black and winter colored clothing, anything fleece or lined, and putting in their Spring clothes. It stays cool (or even COLD and snowy) where I live for a good month or so, but I LOVE to see them in those bright colors, so I get them out first part of March and the kids can wear cotton long sleeves, wind breaker play pants and colorful sweaters for school and church.
To church now, the boys will wear cotton spring colored button downs and sweater vests instead of winter colored full sweaters and plaids.
{Good-bye Winter Clothes}
{Hello, Spring!}
No more Velvet, fleece or red plaid dresses for the girls!
They will wear bright colored spring dresses with tights and white sweaters. Gone are the black shiny church shoes and in come the white patent leather. As it warms up we will exchange tights for lace socks, and this summer we will lose the white sweater yet too.
This allows these dresses to be used for 2 full seasons: Spring AND Summer!!! Bonus!
Avery loves all of her summer play dresses, so we have been making those “weather appropriate” by adding sweaters over or long sleeve shirts under them with warm tights and cowgirl boots. She insists on a dress nearly everyday, this way I can say yes! 🙂
What are your favorite tricks for staying on top the ever-growing pile of “Too Small” Kids Clothing?!
~T
4 little Fergusons 
Well I’m not a bit surprised that you have such a grand plan. No doubt, you HAVE to, to keep up with things. Your little models look adorable in their spring fashions. I’m sure there are folks waiting anxiously for you to get those nice clothes to the consignment shop. Thanks for sharing – we can all learn from you!
Great job, Tonya!
Your system is quite similar to mine.
Just curious about the consignment part…
Do you take the clothing somewhere?
Or just sell it from your home?
I need to look into this process of creating cash for the older children’s clothes.
And boy, do I have a ton of little boy things I could get rid of!
Thanks!
I usually do private home sales, but I am trying this Consigning thing for the first time. Look into Kansas Kids Closet. http://www.thekansaskidscloset.comGreat place to Consign clothing!! (and shop for more!!!)
Our system is very similar to yours. Except we only have one kid. Although, we do share everything with our niece who is 7 months younger. We have a bag in Adelynn’s closet. I mark our initials on all her tags and put them in the bag once they are too small. Once the bag is full, I hand it off to my sister in law. Once she gives the clothes back, they get sorted into tubs that live in the storage bedroom in the basement. Once our family grows some more, we will have to implement a system like yours!
Oh Tonya you are always so on top of everything …I love it!
And you also have the best ideas to fit all your needs.
I don’t have any kids at home ( all grown) but I did just spend two days cleaning out our master walk in closet!
What a job ..I’m so surprised that hubby and I can have so much ummm junk,stuff whatever you want to call it:) LOL!
We have had about 10 days so far in the mid 70’s and that makes me want to get busy with Spring cleaning!
Now that that’s done I can enjoy the weather outside today!
Your kids look so cute no matter what they wear!
Thanks, Diane! We are supposed to be in the 70’s too! I am working hard this morning to get my chores done so I can go sit outside with a book during nap time! 🙂
Keeping clothes organized is a constant battle at our house. Thanks for sharing your system. I’d love to know your strategy for keeping in-season clothes organized (i.e. what are your kids responsible for, and how much to you do yourself?)
I organize their drawers and closets with the new seasonal items, by color and kind: church or school, sweaters or button downs etc.Then, each week when clean laundry baskets come back to bedrooms, they must neatly put play clothes in play drawers and socks in sock drawers. I help with the hanging clothes, so they are tidy, but otherwise they do it themselves. Avery, my 3 year old, still needs to be overseen, but the big kids have got it down pat! 🙂