Storing Outgrown Clothes

I do something similar to you, then one day when I'm feeling perky, I wash them all and sort into ziplock bags and label by size for those that aren't *favorites*. That way they're easy to hand down, and are super easy to find.

For favorites I store them in a plastic tub. Someday (so the plan goes) when kiddo's grown and I'm empty nesting, I'm going to make a quilt out of them.

I have an 8 year-old daughter and a 5 year-old granddaughter. I offer the higher quality things to my DIL in case she wants them for her daughter. I offer the occasional specific things to people that can use them. I've saved some special "baby stuff" but as she gets older, there hasn't been many special things, just regular clothing. So everything else she outgrows goes in bags and the local Disabled Vets group comes to the house and picks it up.

I have rubbermaid totes, lots of them, in the basement. When the kids outgrow stuff, I stick it in a laundry basket and carry it down to the totes. About four times a year (seasonally) I go "shopping" in the basement for clothes for the younger one that the older one has outgrown. Once a year-ish I go through ALL the stuff and figure out what I don't have a sentimental attachment to anymore, and send it to Goodwill. It's amazing how you look at things a little bit differently after a year. I'm not keeping stuff for nieces and nephews. As special as you think your stuff is, someone else won't. It will just end up in THEIR Goodwill box.

I sort my 4 y/o daughter's clothes into sizes/seasons, put them in space bags with size/season written on piece of paper. Use the vacuum to suck down the bag to an inch or so and then store the bag in rubber tote in the basement. Once my 8 m/o girl outgrows the hand me downs I'll sell or give them away except for a few of their special pieces which I've already stored away in bags for each girl.

It has been a very conscious effort, but I am loving the immediate purging. I have stuff that I drop off for donation or day care if it is stained etc they can still use any clean, dry clothes. Nice stuff I pass along to nieces or nephews as I get a box. I have saved just a couple of the baby pieces for their time capsules. Nothing else. Items that are just in a box, not preserved are unlikely to survive in wearable fashion over time. Elastic dries out, the fabric deteriorates etc. I clear out their drawers in the spring and fall. Good time to do inventory to see what they need. Free yourself, and clear out.

Labeled Rubbermaid tubs!

I go through everything once a season. I take out everything of one size (even if it still kind of fits) and put it in a plastic tub. I label the tub and put it in our shed. It inevitable that you're going to miss a piece here and a piece there. I have a box in the kids closet where odds and ends go. When I clean do my seasonal clean out, I put the stuff in the box away too. It's not an idea system, but it works for me.

I've just this week started giving stuff away. I tried to sell some stuff last year, it took an eternity to tag it all (for a charity garage sale) and then there was SO MUCH stuff at the sale, much of mine didn't sell anyway. SO, I've determined to give them to friends who can use them RIGHT NOW. The stuff that is stained or a little bit worn I'm donating to charities (whoever is in the neighborhood next to pick up will get it) and the special stuff is going to girlfriends with baby girls. The closet full of totes is cluttering my home and my mind. I was trying to save them for two of my SIL's who I expect will have either another baby or a first baby, but have decided that since neither one of them is currently pregnant, I'm not holding it anymore.

If it is taking up time and room - it's time to purge. Just my opinion. :)

J.

When my kid was your age we had rubbermaid type bins for 6-9 months, 9-12, and 12+. Only grandchild and hand me downs gave me a lot of stuff. I also have 2 friends with children around a year younger than mine and 1 friend with a child a year older so it is a constant flow of in and out. We have seasonal "fashion shows" where we go through his drawers and see what is trash and what is going to friends. Then we refill the drawers from the "too big" bin and start all over. Now that my son is 3, we don't keep any cute things but the quilt is a great idea. We just have a few in a scrap book. Best of Luck, N..

I use the diaper boxes, since they are small enough to be stored in closets or go up in the attic. Like you, I sort clothes by what may fit later (I love my sister, but she thinks her niece is bigger than she is), what won't fit and I can part with, and what I want to keep. Periodically I go back through the keep pile to see if I'm still as attached to them 6 mo. later.

If you have pieces that you don't want to keep for future kids (since they aren't currently in the picture) what about freecycling or calling up a charity so at least that much is out of your house? As they get older, about once a year we do a closet purge, and get into every drawer, under beds, etc. Then I go through them because the girl especially tends to toss out clothes and want them back later, so I pick out the pieces I think she'll regret losing. I also pick out clothes too damaged to donate and toss them. The rest of the clothes then go to charity or freecycle.

I had bags piled in my room for ages (they were in the hallway, but we couldn't keep walking around them and I wanted the hall clear for safety reasons anyway). I don't have an extra room or storage. I no longer save any "special" pieces, so I can't help you there, but I can say that if you are saving them for grandchildren make sure they are stored in a way that will make them wearable. I can't say how many friends I have whose mothers or mothers-in-law gave them their old baby clothes and they were just disgusting or so outdated they would never use them.

I recently went on an organizing binge at Wal Mart after measuring spaces in closets, including top shelves, and bought a lot of bins. I found a long narrow one that fits in the top shelf of my kids' closet and I actually managed to get ALL of their in-between clothes in it and off-season clothes. I have 2 boys, so was saving stuff. We also have an immediate hand-me-down family now (one of my husband's managers, who is raising a nephew--he is one size smaller than our youngest boy), so even if I only have three t-shirts that are clearly too small, I can wash them, fold them, and get them out of the house immediately. No storage! I highly recommend finding someone who is happy with hand-me-downs if storing clothes is an issue for you. I have started just writing our last name in the tags since we are having a third boy, but if only a fraction of the clothes come back, we've put them through at least two kids ourselves.

I also try to anticipate my kids growing out of things. If my son has four pairs of jeans and two pairs of regular pants, and then one or two pairs that "just" fit and won't for much longer, I'm more likely to get rid of the almost-fitting pants now since he's more than covered for the long haul. I try to do the same thing with my own clothes. If the fit isn't great, and you've got enough else, why bother taking up the space?

I have 3 kids and find that if I don't go through things right away, it gets out of control and overwhelming. I have an 8 and 3 year old girls, so it doesn't make much sense to save things. The styles change and for some reason when storing I was having problems with things staining. I save the real important/sentimental things. Everything else I donate about once a month. I like to get rid of things immediately:)

However, when I was saving everything, I used rubbermaid bins marked with the size on the outside and stacked in the garage.