Organizing, Redesign & Staging

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Kids' Clothing Management - Too Big, Too Small and Just Right

I worked on my son's 'wardrobe' this afternoon, taking an early look at what he would have for Fall and school. Mind you, he's 3, but he gets himself dressed, and all his everyday clothing needs are within arms' reach. It is better for him to have it organized and better for me to know what he needs or doesn't need. Juggling the ever-changing sizes of children (especially if you have more than 1) is a challenge. In fact, I get a lot of mothers asking for advice on this topic.


In both my kids' closets, I keep a bin named "Clothes Too Big". Between gifts from relatives and donations from friends, we have on hand clothing that currently doesn't fit the child. If there is an item of clothing from my daughter (who's older) that my son can wear, it goes in his "Clothes Too Big" bin. Periodically (usually at the beginning of a new season) I take the clothes out of the bin to review whether or not it will make the active clothes in the bureau. Also in the bin are clothes that are currently out-of-season but that will fit him when they are appropriate again. (NOTE: I do store kids' cumbersome winter coats & accessories with adult seasonal storage).

I also have another open-top bin for "Clothes Too Small", or in our case, "to donate". This bin's contents are self-explanatory; when the bin gets full, I transfer the clothes to bags for donating to Big Bro Big Sis, and return the empty bin to the shelf. This method would work for whatever your destination is for the clothes that no longer fit.

I try to keep things really simple with my method: I don't have multiple locations where too-small clothes will go; I don't try to store multiple bins labeled with the size; I keep the clothes and bins in the closet so they're handy. Kids' clothes don't take a lot of space on hangers, so there is enough room either on the shelves or even in bins on the closet floor. Another option is using under-the-bed storage. Maybe this can work for you!