Those of us who live where the seasons change have to change out our clothing. We just do.
If you live somewhere with a climate that varies only a bit or remains the same year-round, this post is not for you. You can go on outside in your flip-flops and contemplate the ways you are missing out on opportunities to build character!
You're going to be tempted to leave a comment saying something like, “I don't get it, just put on a sweater if you're chilly” — and that works for where you live, but not for where we live. See this post to understand why, when the sun starts slanting low or gets high up in the sky, when daylight is just a few short hours or most of the time, you need different wardrobes. It won't work to wear t-shirts all year round, nor is it practical to keep the heavy corduroys and flannels out in summer. For one thing, there isn't even enough room in our closets and dressers for all the things we need in a year!
But the changeover is a monumental task, as the rest of you well know. Even for the two of us here, the Chief and I, it takes so much effort. When you have kids, it's a nightmare! I remember! But it has to be done, especially when you have kids.
Adults might be able to reach past summer things for what they need. It's a drain on energy, but we would do it. Kids won't.
You don't want to have arguments about what to wear — it's bad enough to navigate styles and event-appropriateness without also having to handle “too-warm” or “too-cold.” (It's Fall so I'm going to talk about getting out the warmer clothing; just work backwards in the Spring.)
Your three-year-old who is positively addicted to shorts and a t-shirt is not going to give up if they are right there in the drawer, even if they are manifestly too small, let alone not warm enough! You have to put them (the clothes, not the children) in a bin and stow them in the attic, or donate, or throw them away. They have to be gone.
I go into this issue more in the “dressing warmly” posts. But trust me, it's better to do the work now than spend all winter arguing.
I'm going to give you the secret to making this task doable. It will still be awful.
It's hard for me to account for every situation — some have no closets at all, some are blessed with a large room they can fit a bunch of dressers in. So take all this as organizing principles and adapt to your circumstances.
Let's make a list of thoughts — the secret is in there, in Number 2:
1. Don't imagine you will do the switchover all at once.
Give up on that idea. I wish someone had told me this long ago when it really mattered! It's too much to pull everyone's clothes out and get all the bins down and figure out where everything is going and to whom, in one blow.
Accept that it will take at least a week, probably longer, with some prep going on before (keep reading for how to make the laundry routine work for the switch) and for that time, things will be in flux.
Your priority, as you meander through my observations here, is to get the new season's clothes in place. The pulling out of the previous season's clothing/storing them bit is secondary. It helps to remember this. But in the meantime, there will be a bit of a bottleneck. Accept it!
2. Plan for the item that will make it all doable, and the secret I am referring to in the title of this post: the extra laundry basket.
The secret: extra basket(s)!
This may be plural, depending on your numbers. My laundry system relies on having as few baskets as possible, because laundry problems start with too many clothes, but I have come to see that a few extras help in this seasonal changing out process. You will see why as we discuss it.
Let me mention here, though, that overall, during this time of turbulent upheaval, it will help to stay on top of the regular laundry. There are so many other things going on now with new school and activities schedules, but push yourself to keep the regular (sheets, towels, normal loads) laundry going.
3. Use your laundry system to re-route the most obviously seasonally inappropriate items.
(Don't have a laundry system? Go here for all the ways and means, and there is also a whole section in my book on this topic.)
Yes, the weather will still warm up, we may still have an Indian Summer (though we didn't really have actual summer this year and all it does is rain, but I digress). But as you wash the shorts, sleeveless shirts, linen capris, and little swingy skirts, take them out of the process. Your people can make do with the lighter cold weather items.
Do not put a summer item back into the drawer or closet if it's gone through the wash. I cannot emphasize this enough!
Certainly remove swimwear.*
This is where the extra basket comes in.
You see, the real pain and suffering of the seasonal switch is the perceived necessity to take all the summer things out and put all the winter things in immediately. However, if you think about it — and as it finally dawned on me — this isn't actually possible!
You can't simultaneously get things out of bins and into drawers and vice versa!
You need a third place.
If you don't have extra baskets, that place will likely be… your or their bed. Which sounds all very well until those children — or you –need to be tucked in and the task isn't over (which it will not be), and then what? The floor… piles in the hall… a laundry room blocked with mountains of clothes…
This situation comes about because these articles have to be sorted. In the case of kids, there are the sizes to deal with, and for everyone, there are questions! Too old? Too worn? Not worth saving? Worth passing on? Needing to be donated?**
No one can handle this all at once. Just begin by funneling the items currently in use but needing to be retired into a basket as they come out of the laundry. For one thing, you then know they are clean before you put or give them away.
4. As you do this slow removal, which can take two weeks, actually, though I should have told you this two weeks ago, you also pull the cold-weather things out of storage.
Eventually, as you make this method your own, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that they are clean, and they can go right into the drawers/closet. If not, they can go into your laundry system and come out in due time.***
5. As I said, getting the new season's clothing out and in place is the priority, even as you have the extraction in mind as the new season approaches, while you do the laundry.
Laundry is happening anyway, and in the meantime, you can get those bins out of wherever you store them and begin doling out the items needed to their people. As you put the items in the drawers or hang them up, use that time as well to remove things you can see won't be needed. If those things are not perfectly clean, throw them in the appropriate hamper. If they are clean, chuck them in that extra laundry basket.
The extra laundry basket helps you avoid overwhelm; piles of clothes on the bed, the opposite: so much overwhelm.
And the storage bins will then be empty, which they need to be for the next step: when you are ready, sort the previous season's clothing into them.***
6. These extra laundry baskets you are using for this purpose can go behind a chair, at the foot of the bed, in the corner, or in the hallway. You can stack them.
This is the part you just have to resign yourself to unless you happen to have a vast laundry room: there will be these extra baskets out and about for a few days to a week. Keep them in your own room if you suspect a mischievous child of rummaging for his beloved, superannuated shorts. However, if things warm up, just go ahead and let the kids get ONE outfit back out. Then it gets cycled back into that laundry basket after the wash.
Even for myself, where I have a big enough bedroom to accommodate a whole extra dresser for storing our out-of-season clothes (in addition to space in one of my small closets, where I have hooks and a bin), that basket sits there for a good long time.
I think of it as the saver of my sanity, and so I give it some grace.
7. Since it won't get totally cold all at once, this process does take some time, and you will likely go through it a couple of (hopefully dwindling) rounds before you are done. Vice-versa in the Spring as it warms up, but not completely.
I regard this overlapping period, necessarily involving clothes not quite put away, as preferable to pulling everything out, putting everything away, making a giant committed overall switch — as then those supposedly done-and-done bins have to be pulled out of the far reaches of their storage yet again because it really did turn out to be an unseasonably warm weekend requiring t-shirts or what have you. Letting this happen wreaks havoc on your organizational system for sizes for future handing-down.
It will be an in-between time for a while, so just let it — with the idea that the little urchins can make-do without the extreme versions. Your daughter actually won't need sundresses in October.
8. When you have the new season's clothes in place and the past season has definitely turned, dedicate a day to going through the contents of the extra baskets — last season's items.
Sort sizes into their respective bins, after triage involving donation bags and discard piles.
Recognizing the monumentalness of all this is the way to keep from feeling that it's all too much. It just does take a lot of time!
Not to mention that now you have a shopping list of needed items…
I find that the biggest obstacle to housekeeping is the attitude of thinking these things should not take time, and resenting the time they take! Change that attitude and you will find it's not so bad at all. I mean, it's terrible, but it's all in the name of clothing the needy!
Now you are ready to put those bins away, to retire your extra basket(s), and to pat yourself on the back for another dreaded Switcheroo entered into the books!
*If your kids still have sports that require swimwear and lighter clothing like t-shirts and shorts, put those in a separate drawer or in a crate next to their dresser. If you have lots of uniform-requiring activities, consider a dedicated dresser, maybe out in the hall or in the laundry room, with a drawer for each child's needed items.
**This need to inspect/make decisions is why I am Team Folding Laundry. I know that all the advice out there is to skip folding. I don't know… As you fold, you notice stains, holes, too-smallness, etc. It's quality control. Think of folding as a time to rest, to catch up on your favorite show, to talk to your offspring or a friend on the phone… and think of how throwing some things away lightens your literal load! You will avoid the dreaded “I have no underwear that fits!” announcement; you will be prepared.
***The storage bins need to be labeled. Cross out whatever label was on there if it's no longer current. Label things by sex and size and season. Try to put jeans in one bin, tops in another, dresses in another, and so on. If you have the capacity, a rod to hold boys' blue blazers, arranged by size, will be super helpful. (This implies the key to keeping your boys looking smart: khaki pants, white dress shirts, blue blazers.)
NB: When it comes to putting way Winter clothes, next Spring, use this slower way I'm describing to examine your woolens, wash them (only dry clean if absolutely necessary, as in suits — almost all sweaters can be hand washed or put on the delicate cycle and carefully laid out to air dry), and put them away when they are perfectly dry in a chest or bin with mothballs.
I have a highlight on my Instagram page about all this!
bits & pieces
- I've mentioned Slightly Foxed here before. Their newsletter informs me of an upcoming radio broadcast of one of my very favorite books, Lark Rise to Candleford (which they offer for sale in their pleasing volumes). I did watch the BBC miniseries, and enjoyed it to a great extent, though later episodes seemed to go off the rails a bit. I have no idea how the radio show will be, but maybe we can listen together! By the way, I see this information on the newsletter, regarding their quarterly literary magazine: “We’re delighted to offer a 10% discount on all subscriptions to givers and recipients aged 30 and under.”
- I like games that can be played with simple objects, like graph paper, colored pencils, and dice. Are your students learning multiplication and calculating area (the two go hand-in-hand; sometimes we forget that when we are teaching multiplication)? Try this game. Graph paper is stimulating — I have always bought pads of it when I'm getting paper supplies. Let your kids play around with it! Here are some ideas to use with a Hundreds Chart, but start by having them make their Hundreds Chart! (You can skip the math workbook pages on the days they get interested in these things!)
from the archives
{getting frustrated with my old blog and its capricious “organization”? Buy the book! In paperback too! Comes with an index in every one of the three volumes, and a ribbon for keeping your place!}
liturgical living
St. Jerome — He's a real favorite of mine! Irascible and holy! “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.”
“The Thunderer”
God’s angry man,
His crotchety scholar
Was Saint Jerome,
The great name-caller
Who cared not a dime
For the laws of Libel
And in his spare time
Translated the Bible.
Quick to disparage
All joys but learning
Jerome thought marriage
Better than burning;
But didn’t like woman’s
Painted cheeks;
Didn’t like Romans,
Didn’t like Greeks,
Hated Pagans
For their Pagan ways,
Yet doted on Cicero all of his days.
A born reformer,
cross and gifted,
He scolded mankind
Sterner than Swift did;
Worked to save
The world from the heathen;
Fled to a cave
For peace to breathe in,
Promptly wherewith
For miles around
He filled the air with
Fury and sound.
In a mighty prose
For Almighty ends,
He thrust at his foes,
Quarreled with his friends,
And served his Master,
Though with complaint.
He wasn’t a plaster sort of a saint.
But he swelled men’s minds
With a Christian leaven.
It takes all kinds
To make a heaven.
From “Times Three” by Phyllis McGinley
(I found this poem on Scott Hahn's Facebook page.)
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Christine Smith says
I just finished that dreaded twice-yearly task a week or two ago! I have eight kids now, so the whole switch-out takes a full week, and then I need a second week to acquire any new things to fill the gaps – this year, it required two children’s consignment shops, a couple thrift stores, then lastly, a visit to the internet! The shopping part is my favorite, because it’s fun to get to pick out nice new things, so that is my reward after the total chaos of switch-out week 😄
M says
My mom friends call it “clothesmaggedon.”
Laundry question: our septic guy lectured me for using bleach and killing off our system bacteria. I guess it’s like compost and if nothing is active, you get overflow.
And now my rags and towels always smell musty!
Does hydrogen peroxide work as well as bleach? But it might also be bad for septic systems?
Leila says
We have a septic system. If you look at my post about washing towels, you will see I do recommend bleach. Just use the very bare minimum you can get away with. For me, it’s usually not even 1/4 cup for a large load. How much do you normally use?
I honestly don’t know how that amount of bleach could kill off anything in the system. After all, you are replenishing it with bacteria all the time!
Perhaps you have a very small system? Ours is quite large.
Hannah says
When I have musty towels, I’ll throw in an extra splash of white vinegar and a few drops of tea tree oil (sometimes lavendar oil too if it’s really bad). Might be worth a try if you’re trying to reduce your bleach use for a while.
Karawan says
Some weeks I remember to check this blog and some weeks I don’t, but I am convinced that God brought me here today because “five-year-old boys are hard” is the story of my life right now! The clothing tips are also much appreciated. I have a baby growing so fast I feel like I am constantly swapping out clothes, and his are pretty well-organized, but in the background the aforementioned five-year-old boy does keep showing up to breakfast in those shorts I need to take out of his drawer! Same with the three-year-old girl and her sundresses. I was not fully prepared for how my only daughter would have so many more strong opinions about her clothes, and from such a young age, as her five brothers.
Leila says
Well, we are happy to have you here at any time… feel free to enter your email to receive the posts as they are published!
Anamaria says
Just the title of this is comforting. My husband does my understand 🤣 last year I had to do it two weeks post-postpartum- it cooled down right after he was born, but was 90 before (I do have to keep 2 short outfits out if I don’t want to dig in the basement- we could easily get some 85+days in October and 70+ days the week after days in the teens in February!)
Mary from NOLA says
Leila, you have written words of wisdom here. I can assure you that, even in New Orleans, with what most people think of as “hot and humid” and “hotter and MORE humid” as our seasons, changing out seasonal clothing still needs to happen. It is never a chore I look forward to, mostly because of those “in between” days. But this post makes it manageable. Assuredly, it is more difficult with multiple children, but needs to be done. Following what you’ve posted here should be a great help to those who need a push in that direction. But I would change out mothballs for herbal bags. (Good information on this can be found on the “innerwebs”.) Thank you for sharing these hints. And thank you for pointing out Cluny Media. I’m already making a list. God bless.
Lisa Beth W. says
Yes, another plug for herbal bags or cedar rather than mothballs. I CANNOT stand the smell of mothballs, and naphthalene or para- dichlorobenzene are toxic to humans, so there’s that. 🙂
Amy says
One thing I do, which probably is a result of having too many clothes*, is to keep an extra bin in the kids closet all the time. Any time I realize mid season that something is suddenly too small, it goes into the bin. If a seasonally inappropriate item somehow stuck around and mid season I realize it’s an issue, it goes into the bin. The bin also serves as my extra laundry basket for seasonal switches. Any clothes I don’t want in the current rotation go into the bin. It’s really amazing how just sticking them somewhere else completely eliminates all the emotions surrounding those clothing items.
Having too many clothes is such a helpful realization by the way. I’m actively working on having fewer clothes. Is there a number to shoot for?
Joanna says
Mom of 9 here with 7 at home. I like to have a goal of 5 tops, 2 sweaters, 3 bottoms, and enough socks and underwear for the week (maybe extra bottoms and undies for the toddlers who are prone to accidents). I also like to have 2 mass outfits, one dressy and one more casual. My teenagers take care of sorting and organizing their own clothes, but I like to encourage them to stick to a capsule wardrobe.
Jadeddrifter says
I do something similar: 6 tops, 6 pairs of jeans or dresses/leggings, 6 pairs of play socks and 2 church outfits per season and 7 pairs of underwear. A few more pants/leggings and underwear for the potty-training kids.
If you have storage space and more kids coming behind, I would save whatever pieces are your “extras” because clothing costs really add up as you keep going. But anything that doesn’t easily fit in with your other pieces should be sold on Ebay or given away.
Michelle says
This is Auntie Leila gold! A solution to a problem I didn’t even know I had & full of nitty gritty details that are so practical and helpful! You’re like an examen for the incompetent housewife: Shining a light on those cobwebby places so I can recognize my failings in order to overcome them!
Love the saint Jerome poem.
Looking forward to reading about difficult 5 year old boys. . . Thank you!
Hannah Hilgendorf says
Oh Auntie Leila! At two weeks postpartum, my laundry having forgotten what quality control is, my wardrobe telling me that not only do I need to switch from maternity to postpartum clothes but I may need to size up my postpartum selection…I may be living in denial that the seasons are changing and the kids are growing. 🤦🏻♀️
Thank you for this tip though! Having a designated laundry basket (or two) would take a lot of pressure off, and it’s true! It does take weeks.
Leila says
Oh yes! Do it so slowly… you will find it’s done before you know it.
If you have warm clothes for everyone, it doesn’t even matter how long it takes you to put away the others. Baby comes first!
xoxo
Sarah says
Oh goodness! God bless you. Low bar? Lots of help from grandma and a revisiting in a few weeks? Myself, I’d probably mail it in and have grandma pick them up two pairs of jeans and a sweatshirt from the thrift store with her senior discount!
Nicole Cox says
This is gold! I actually think a LOT about how to do this task and though it’s definitely tedious, I don’t hate it! I guess I like the challenge of seeing how thriftily we can clothe 8 people (6 of whom grow constantly still!), and I kinda like the change of pace in my laundry, seeing the other season’s stuff come out and anticipating the coming new season!
I have a very similar method, though I usually use an extra drawer as my “holding space”. I know I will lose that drawer once the kids’ clothes take up more space and we have more kids. Form now though, it works for me to take out everything that is super seasonal as you pointed out (swimsuits, tanks, at least half the shorts and tees), and stick them in the drawer, and with the new space in the main drawers, I insert the beginning of the next season’s stuff (light long sleeve shirts, a few leggings, pants, and sweaters). My biggest hurdle actually is just determining the size/ownership issues because we have 3 girls less than 3 years apart so there is a bit of overlap in sizing and boy does the territorial nature of the girls come out! Lol!
Also, that poem on St. Jerome is fabulous. Thank you for sharing that! 🙂
Sarah says
I hear you on sizing issues! I have five boys 2 years apart and various levels of skinny. I have a bin of jeans, of khakis, of bathing suits, of shorts, of church shirts and sweaters. One never knows which size the kid will fit, so they shop the bin.
Catherine says
Do you ladies know the dot system? Taught to me by a more experienced mom, of course.
One dot with sharpie on the tag/waistband/neckline (the thick part) is for my 6 year old girl, then when it’s handed down to the 5 year old girl it gets a second dot, etc. Easy and SO helpful. And then anyone can fold and sort their laundry, for those times when mom is sick/post-partum/you-name-it.
Sarah says
Thank you! I’ve heard of this but hadn’t tried it. Silly question – what do you do on dark colored clothing? We use a lot of navy – lasts longer around here:) Puffy paint dots would be fun!
Catherine says
Reasonable question re navy/dark clothes! I usually do my sharpie dots on the white tag. Or, if it’s a more faded/lighter navy, the black dots will show.
I wish there were something like a white sharpie? The system is not prefect for dark clothes. But I do really like it! (Despite resisting it for a few years; it was my husband who got us to adopt it, he’s not a system person but he was getting frustrated when he did the folding on occasion.)
Amelia says
For dark clothes, try a silver Sharpie. The metallics show up nicely.
Sarah says
This is great – thank you all! Silver sharpie sounds like a winner.
Molly says
Another gem, Auntie Leila, thank you. So many great details. And congratulations belatedly on the new grandchild!
Irascible and (striving to be) holy – that is me with the seasonal clothing swap. The extra laundry basket is key! Definitely a sanity saver. Also – it is wonderful to have older children who can do this on their own – I have such gratitude for this. This chore does get easier down the road, you mothers of many young children!
Thank you for the poem too – a second gem!
Mrs. Bee says
I thought the worst chore ever was dusting 🙁 But I think this sentence above is key: “I find that the biggest obstacle to housekeeping is the attitude of thinking these things should not take time, and resenting the time they take!” Though dusting the undusted is not a work of mercy like clothing the unclothed, so the motivation there is not quite the same 🙂 It does remain a matter of attitude, though. It’s been a struggle all my life – even as a little girl a broom or a vacuum would make me sing, a dust cloth cry… so if you have tips on how to make this more enjoyable, fire away!
I don’t have many children so I can stick to the rule that all our clothing must fit in the closets, even in our all-4-season place. The coat closet is rather bursting, having to hold light jackets, mid-weight jackets, and heavy coats for the whole family, but we can manage. I acquired a tall but very narrow dresser for hats, gloves, and various scarves – it fits right next to the front door and it makes me very happy, as those items can be a nightmare to store for the entire family.
My frustration is with the linen closet!! A flannel sheet set occupies a lot more volume than a light cotton set, winter blankets are a lot bulkier than summer bedspreads… and yet my linen closet refuses to change its size when it’s time to put away all the flannel and all those blankets! I resorted to tucking wool blankets and quilts here and there, one in this drawer, one on that closet shelf – but then I have to remember where they are. Maybe I should make a note and leave it in my planner, or tape it to the linen closet door… I never thought of that.
Leila says
It helps me to think of dusting as “wiping down” — and “making shiny.”
It also motivates me to know that at some point, no amount of vacuuming or sweeping makes the room look clean — only dus- I mean wiping down does the trick!
As mentioned above, listening to a podcast or talking to a friend on the phone helps the job go quickly.
Elizabeth says
Dusting is my least favorite chore too! I will try thinking of it like this. (By the way, Mrs. Bee asking this question reminded me of the first chapter of one of the Mrs Piggle-Wiggle books…maybe we should all pretend that an evil empress is going to come inspect our work and we only have 10 minutes to finish! Lol)
Leila says
Oh yes, I though of this too — set a timer! Sometimes I dus– er, wipe things down when I have 10 minutes before having to go somewhere.
Some chores are best done at a trot.
Mrs. Bee says
Wiping instead of dustAHHHH might even work… It made me realize I don’t mind cleaning the kitchen counters, so wouldn’t that be the same activity applied to other surfaces in other rooms?
Also the timer, why didn’t I think of it – it will hopefully completely demystify this chore: whatever we loathe doing can grow bigger and bigger in our minds, but a timer may reveal that we can accomplish more than we thought! At the very least, it will be a dreaded activity that will only last 10 minutes, anyone can survive that! Thank you both!
Leila says
Also: It can really help to have those flat bins under the beds, and how intuitive to have the blankets and flannel sheets belonging to that bed right under it?
But maybe you have other things under the beds…
Another idea is to find old hutches and glass-doored china closets (they are in every size!) and put the blankets in there. It is so pretty in a bedroom! And this sort of furniture is often being given away, practically or really!
Mrs. Bee says
I have bins under 2 beds with the clothes waiting for my youngest to grow into them, and also, I confess, with baby clothes I could not bring myself to donate, hoping they’ll stay in the family 🙂 But I see I don’t like putting too much under the beds, it makes vacuuming more difficult, especially with all but one of our beds against the wall.
Your suggestion of a cabinet reminded me there is a big sideboard in one of the bedrooms, holding books and toys… but I bet I can claim half of it for my winter overflow! Sometimes we have everything already there, we just need to try to see things differently… 🙂
Jadeddrifter says
This post is timely for me too, how do you do it, Leila? I have a love/hate relationship with this chore. I used to love it, but now I feel like I have so much going on that this is just ONE MORE thing to add to a tottering tower of to-dos. I think it’s also a bitter reminder this year that I now live in one of those places that is mostly summer year-round and I’m missing the glory and joys of fall.
It turns out that even in places with perpetual summer, you look up and discover your kids have grown and their things are stained and literally have holes worn through them from the last 5 months of summer and you need to swap out the hand-me-downs for the baby, and so…here I am, swapping things out today while it is still summer and will be summer for at least another month. I’m thinking about replacing some summer items with in-between kinds of wear since cool weather will eventually come.
Anamaria says
Where do you live??? Probably not Oklahoma but just checking 😂
jadeddrifter says
Texas! Closeish to OK, but not quite. 🙂
Caitlin says
Oh Jade, I’m sorry! I fled Texas as a child 😆 but still remember the weather with great bitterness! We live in NC now, which I also find depressing with the perpetual heat and humidity.
My husband and I are seriously considering moving to Wisconsin. For the weather. (Don’t make fun of me!) 😂
Catherine says
If it makes you feel better, up here in Wisconsin I definitely have to do mid-season patching of pants, retiring of dresses that have gotten too short, etc. It’s just in winter for us, because long-sleeve weather lasts 9 months!
Anamaria says
Maybe in April that will make me feel better, cath, but when we just put away the shorts (today! And keeping 2 pairs out!), I’m with Caitlin! Wisconsin sounds glorious!!!
Amelia says
I really like the idea of putting a hanging rack in the attic! That sounds excellent for winter coats and things like First Communion suits. Anything to reduce the number of big bins to sort through semiannually.
One tip that’s worked marvelously for us so far is to use banker’s boxes. I designate one for each season/sex/size combination: “winter boy L” “summer boy 6-9M” “summer girl 4T.” No mixing in bins and bags, no searching and sorting later.
It’s a good size for a capsule wardrobe. If one ever becomes truly insufficient, two never will. Outerwear and shoes are not included in this but relegated to the aforementioned big bins.
Off-season boxes that I anticipate needing within a year fit on upper shelves in our closets, so very few actually have to be brought out or put away each change of season. When something needs to be packed away, it usually goes right into its box.
Boxes in the attic stack next to and on each other and the labels make everything completely easy to find.
Plus, they’re around $20/package of ten! Replacing the occasional smashed one is still cheap.
This system has enabled me to practically enjoy wardrobe changes because at least they mean refreshing weather!
Caitlin says
This is a great idea! Thank you! My kids are so little that extra-large “storage size” ziploc bags work, and are reasonably waterproof/yuck resistant, but it’s not quite cutting it for the older ones’ clothing.
Annelise Roberts says
How did you know!? I have decided that since our homeschool co-op has a break week and our school load is reduced, this next week will be dedicated to the dread task. Thank you for the pep talk. With 4 little boys (and a fast growing baby) it about makes me insane. Alas. I have already gotten the baby squared away, next the 2 year old, then we’ll move to the the downstairs room. I tend to use trash bags inside of bins (sometimes there’s not enough of a size, or I use them to separate summer/winter), but you’ve made me feel so much better about the fact that these bags have been languishing in corners. I had every intention of getting it done, but it’s been warm all September and the school train had to leave the station first. It is just such a monumental undertaking. Any advice for getting it done without kids wrecking all the piles? I call someone in to try things on and then they go rummaging around and pull beloved 2T shorts out to wear 😂😅…
Leila says
Here it is going to warm up a lot again this week!
Just keep at it. Let that one pair of shorts go but keep an eye on it. Once you have everything squared away, you can nab them just before you put the final bin up and away.
For the scenario you mention at the end, be sure to do the trying on separate from the piles/bags/baskets/bins. If even just that they are behind you a few steps so you can run interference. Or take what you want tried on into a different room.
This is why that third place/item is so important. It’s one thing if they rummage in a basket. Totally unacceptable (unless they are a super responsible older person) to have access to a sorted bin!
Do you see the distinction? That’s what I’m trying to get at…
Whitney says
Yes to folding clothes! It makes the morning chaos of getting dressed and out the door so much more pleasant when you can find the clothes you are looking for, which is simply difficult to do when they’re not folded. To make it even easier, we use Marie Kondo’s method to fold, which makes all the clothes visible at once like a bookshelf. I’d rather have a chunk of time on the sofa folding while listening to a book, than a crazy morning where no one can find anything!
Michelle says
I am a clothes folder too. I’ve tried not to be, but I can’t help it. I love Auntie Leila’s explanation of using folding time as an opportunity to take stock of what has holes or stains. It’s always felt like a useless task as some of my smaller boys pick up their piles and throw them in the air and then stuff them helter skelter in the drawer. Now I can at least feel I’m not completely wasting my time.