New parents get giddy at the sight of cute little onesies and outfits, but once the novelty wears off those tiny togs can proliferate and colonize at a staggering rate. This is how I deal:
It helps to have strategies in place for dealing with garments in current rotation, bigger sizes and outgrown clothing.
Current Rotation: Whether you're using a changing table, open shelving or closets, designate spots for the basics - onesies/shirts, pants, socks and pajamas. Keep dressier outfits separate from play clothes. Baby socks will take over if you let them; confine them to a drawer, storage bin or tote. A canvas over-door shoe storage bag is great for its intended purpose and infant footwear can easily fit one pair to a compartment, but unless your child's name is Imelda you won't need all of those pockets for footwear. Stash hats, hair bows, mittens and any other random accessories in yours.
Bigger Sizes: Many parents want to take advantage of end-of-season sales to buy clothing for the coming year. I understand the impulse but can't get behind it. There are always deals to be found, it's hard to anticipate a child's growth rate, and your space is valuable. Hand-me-downs are another story entirely. When someone shows up with a ton of cast-offs, say thank you! Then sort through it immediately. Well-meaning friends may have forgotten that their January baby's summer gear won't help your June baby, and in their enthusiasm to purge their kid's outgrown clothing they may have overlooked stains and other signs of wear. Don't hang on to things that won't work for you. If the original owner doesn't want it back then get it out of your house ASAP. Devise a system for storing larger sizes and be consistent, like these bins or space bags. If you use luggage, cardboard boxes or anything else that conceals its contents, be sure to label the outside clearly.
Outgrown Clothing: All manufacturers have different sizing, so rather than going by the numbers, pay attention to fit. Keep a bag in the closet. The second something gets too tight stick it in the bag, and when it's full store it or give it away. If it's in rough shape and you wouldn't want to receive it as a hand-me-down then send it on to its next life as a rag.
Hoping to have another baby? Use the same approach that you use for bigger sizes, all clearly labeled. Use the deepest storage you have in your home because you won't need to access it for a while. Think attics, crawl spaces, top shelves. If your family is complete, get it out of the house. Hang onto a meaningful item or two, but get rid of the rest. Enterprising parents may want to find a local consignment shop, try their luck at ebay or hit message boards. Just want it out? Give it to your pregnant friend, or your friend's pregnant friend, or your uncle's hairdresser's sister's pregnant friend. Someone will be very appreciative. Spread the love. I can't count how many girls are wearing hand-me-downs from my twin daughters. (If you meet me in a coffee shop and tell me that you have a baby girl then I will give you a bag of clothes.) Oftentimes an obvious solution will fortuitously present itself; see that family at the park whose toddler son is the exact same age as your daughter, and whose newborn girl is the same age as your new little man? After 10-15 minutes of small talk it is perfectly reasonable to propose a swap of boy clothes for girl clothes. No patience to coordinate a hand-off? Post it on freecycle or donate it.
After the first 24 months growth slows down considerably, so once you make it through those first two years of endless little outfits it does get easier to manage. Promise!
(Image: Flickr member iskir licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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I hear you! We've just had our second child and I'm currently raking through my son's old clothes to see what's appropriate - he was May and our daughter is a girl (!), and November!
Our house is really poor for storage space, so I use these pretty but functional storage bags that are out on display in their bedrooms:
http://beautifulsquarefeet.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-home-introduction_21.html
Thanks for sharing your ideas!
I would add, as the kids get older and the clothes are less onesie and more "outfit," especially for girls, it helps to fold the entire outfit together into one bundle. My daughter is the 5th girl to get our extended family's hand-me-downs and I love that my SIL keeps each outfit, including socks and hair clips, all together.
I kept a box in my daughter's closet organized by size and would rotate through the items as she grew into the size. When she was very little I would replace all of her clothes when she grew out of one item of the smaller size. (We were blessed with lots of clothing and many more hand-me-downs).
Below her new clothes box was another box that I used to collect all of her out-grown clothing. As soon as it had been laundered, it went into that box. Once the box was full it is labeled and placed under the house for storage.
Any items that she only wore once because I didn't like them or they didn't fit correctly, etc, would be given away as the likelihood of me caring about them the next time around is minimal at best.
We have well meaning super shopper grandmas and aunts (and two boys born the same time of year), so we keep a laundry basket under the crib and routinely fill it with outgrown items. We have one big bin in the basement that is a holding zone for clothes our youngest has yet to grown into, and one big bin for the big ticket or special items we're waiting to pass on.
And as you advised, the great majority goes to whatever pregnant friend/acquaintance/total stranger happens to pass by when I get it ready to go!
We have a girl and a boy and are generally planning to have another baby down the road, so our stored clothing is getting a bit voluminous, but at least it is neatly organized by size and gender, in large bins in the basement. We deal with hand-me-downs exactly as you say--go through them immediately, get rid of anything that won't work, and sort the rest into the appropriate place (current wear drawers or future wear bin). I disagree about post season sales, though--I feel my kids' growth rate is pretty predictable and the sizing doesn't have to be perfect, so I find it's a good way for me to buy special pieces at a discount that I wouldn't otherwise splurge on. I got a little stack of things that way through The Mini Social today, actually! Yay for a pretty spring/summer dress I've been drooling over since last year, AND a gorgeous coat for next fall/winter at 75% off!
If you don't know anyone with kids and you don't have a consignment shop near you (that you know of) you can also join an online clothing swap such as Thred Up. (I think it's thredup.com)
I saved my daughters diaper boxes and have used those to save all of her out grown clothes. I used construction paper to make big signs saying what size everything is. Baby #2 (coming soon) is also a girl so I am really happy that everything is so well organized and easy to get to!
Agree with all of this. Especially not buying ahead!! Oh, the money I wasted before learning that.
After trial and error (and by that I mean realizing that I did not have the time to periodically organize clothing), we got six large totes for our storage room. Sizes are clearly labeled (Newborn/0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18-2T, 3T+) on the outside and there is a cardboard divider for the older ages for summer/winter. It’s made dumping the too-smalls and pulling out the next size easy.
I’ll be adopting the bag-in-the-closet though. We’ve been doing period dumps, but that seems simpler.
Our 7-month-old is a tall boy and already wearing 9-12 month clothing. So, I've got several boxes of clothes already waiting to be passed along to friend having a baby later this month (thankfully, also a boy). I've organized my son's dresser to have two top drawers of "currently wearing" items and the bottom for "upcoming features." It keeps it easy to transition (just switch drawers and empty the old ones), and I just sort and purge as soon as the old stuff gets traded out. Despite the easy system I set up, I can't wait for rapid growth time to end!
I like the end of season sales for items that are fairly flexible (t-shirts, onesies, lightweight jeans, shoes) because even if the month sizing isn't perfect, it is generally close enough that you can layer to make it suit the season. Add leggings under a sundress if it fits better closer to fall and short sleeved shirts can be worn with shorts or pants and with a jacket so it works for almost all seasons. I definitely agree that buying ahead isn't great for items like winter coats though.
While pricey, space bags can be great for storing things long term since it reduces their bulk so much. The other way I like to store things is in those plastic zippered bags comforters and blankets come in; they are free and they are easy to stick under a bed.
I also buy larger sizes in things that are flexible - tshirts, jeans, sneakers, pajamas -- I only buy things that are a really good deal, like less than $5, so if I end up not using a couple things it's not a huge disaster. Also, I have a girl but tended to buy somewhat gender-neutral items in the baby stage just in case our next is a boy (onesies/blankets/play toys etc). I can't wait to start getting rid of things once number 2 arrives - the big plastic bins from Ikea we use are fantastic (stacked all the way to the ceiling in the attic!) but I can't wait to have it all GONE! My best tip is to find a good re-sale shop where you can drop off all those like-new hand-me-downs that not only would you never put your kid in, but wouldn't inflict on anyone either. There was this one sweater-set in a leopard print.... Well, someone wanted it because it sold!! :)
It IS difficult to buy for a small baby when they can grow so unpredictably, but I started looking for 24M/2T sizes once my daughter hit 9-12 months. Things like pajamas, hoodies, long-sleeved shirts... you can wear those for 3 seasons in PA. layer layer layer! And coats are actually kind of nice when they are a little big. I save more specific purchases like swimwear and seasonal shoes for purchase only at the time of need.
And truly, I do the "too small" bin in the closet and it is a wonderful thing. It keeps my husband from attempting to dress our little girl in clothes that don't fit anymore.
Oh but keep in mind, if you buy ahead, you might not want onesies or one-piece pjs for 24 months. You may be potty training!
This info will come in super handy when the stork drops off my firstborn in May. At least I think the stork will be dropping it off. . .That's how it works isnt it? . . . Gulp . . . xx
I'm surprised at how many people are saying they haven't had luck buying ahead--I just alway err on the large side, and I've never had a problem. My kids are tall and seem to keep growing fast, so if the item is for 6-9 months from now, I buy about 12 months ahead. If I hope it will last longer, I buy bigger. So, my 3 year old daughter is wearing size 4T now. I bought her a size 5/6 coat for next winter, and I'm not too worried about her outgrowing it. If anything, it'll probably be a bit big, but I don't mind coats being roomy. The other thing I do for "insurance" is to try to buy gender neutral things ahead whenever possible. If, for whatever reason, something doesn't work out for my daughter, it'll still likely be good for my son pretty soon. And worst case scenario, it'll be a beautiful new item with tags that I can give as a gift to one of my many friends with kids (it's never come to that so far, though).
We have four boys from 7 years to 11 months (today!) I have bins coming out the wazoo.
It's an ever evolving system, but I think we've pretty much got it sorted now. #2 is tall and thin so #1's clothes just go directly into closet #2 once outgrown.
Our bins are large, and labeled, but it's still a big job going through all that stuff, throw in a season change (mostly summer to winter up here in Alberta) and it's a mind numbing soul crushing time sucking job.
The first two are July/February babies so for #2's first (full) winter I just bought about 6 long sleeved onesies for him to wear under #1's short sleeve hand me downs. Saved time, money and space, trifecta of brilliance!
I also buy things out season (I got 2 Columbia winter coats this year for $15 each) and don't worry much about fit because it's bound to fit someone eventually.
I always have small boxes in rotation. One for each kid, as they outgrow an item it's put in the box, then I do a big box-bin sort every few months. There is also always a box for the thrift shop because as you mentioned, there are some items I know I'm not going to put on any of the other boys.
We've got a smooth system down - a bin on top of her bureau we constantly add to, and the culled set of 'keep for next kid' in the attic - but ye gods, that neat stacks of boxes in the attic is a MOUNTAIN at this point.
If I had a million, I would pass it all on and just buy new for the next kid. A MOUNTAIN, I tell ya. I didn't realize the volume that would be involved we did the save-for-next-kid thing.
I used a sweater hanger for my tots when they were babies. Current clothes were kept in the dresser, the next few sizes were in the labelled compartment of the sweater hanger. Infants vhange sies so quickly, it was nice to have the next size close at hand.
I'm having the worst challenge on how to deal with storing pants in Max's room (he's almost 2). They don't really fit on a hanger (too bulky), and I don't have a dresser in his room (not enough space). Thoughts on how to be creative about storing them?? Everything else fits pretty well on the hangers in the closet. I'm open to any suggestions! Thank you!
Something like the sweater hanger mentioned above would be great if you don't have room for a dresser. It's like a shoe hanger that hangs from a closet rod, but wider, so it's good for folded clothing. And you can see everything. I had one from Target that was a really nice quality (the bottom panels were sturdy and didn't bow under the weight of the clothing). I believe it was the Michael Graves design.
Yeah... it took me over 7 years to have my second child, who ended up being born at the exact opposite time of year and is a different sex. I totally understand the mountain-of-saved-clothing phenomenon (and cloth diapers too!). Everything is in clear Sterilite bins or large bags... We're doing a purge right now but I'm still saving some boy clothes b/c a younger sibling is still planning one more kiddo. I don't have money to re-do the baby's closet, but I am taking some unused space and adding Elfa shelves to it (on sale right now) in order to make it easier to see what we have and move out what isn't working anymore. I am grateful for all of our hand-me-downs, but culling, washing, and organizing them definitely takes some time every month.
I inherited so many clothes from friends and coworkers for my son (now 5 months), plus gifts from some very excited grandparents, that I probably could have dressed him in each outfit no more than once. Does anyone have tips on actually organizing drawers of currently sized clothes? The dresser drawers are ENORMOUS, and the clothes are so tiny, and I find that my son will outgrow something before he ever wears it just because it was at the bottom of a stack of onesies. I sort by clothing type, and I've looked for drawer organizers but I can't find anything that fits my drawers well.