How To Organize Kids Clothes
If you have young kiddos, you know the immense task it is to keep their clothes organized throughout constant growth spurts, changing seasons, and laundry that is literally never done. I’ve come to find that keeping their clothes organized helps streamline our days so much more because we rarely find ourselves scrambling to find something for them to wear out of the house. If you can keep things ready to go, it’s so much easier for you and for your kiddos! Sign me up for as little morning frustration as possible, thanks! Haha.
How To Organize Kids Clothes
Throw Away Damaged Clothing
This may be common sense, but if a pair of jeans get a irreparable tear or a shirt comes out of the wash with stains that cannot be undone, I don’t put those clothes away. Rather than holding onto clothing that I wouldn’t let me kids wear out, I just recycle or trash it to make my job easier when packing away the clothes they’ve grown out of. I wouldn’t want to pull out tattered clothing for the next child to wear as a hand me down so it simplifies that to just get rid of it as soon as I see it’s damaged.
Store Clothing by Size
Kids grow out of clothes SO fast. It seriously blows my mind, even after three! I like to go through my kiddos clothing 4 times per year, so once before each season begins. This allows me to assess if my kids have moved up a size. Because we don’t feel our family is complete just yet, I save all clothing in good condition for the future. I like to keep large storage totes labeled either girl or boy and the size. This makes it easy for me to rotate through when necessary and everything in that size is easily searchable.
Store Out of Season Clothes
After I’ve got out all of the clothes that we own for that child in the size they are for the season we’re going into (wow, you still with me? haha!), I sort through each item and make two piles: one to put away in either their closet or dresser drawers for them to wear this season, and one pile to put back into the storage tote because the child won’t likely need it due to the weather. For example, spring and fall wardrobes (especially in Utah) need variety. You never really know what you’re going to get. Spring and Fall call for rain jackets and rain boots, long sleeve shirts and short sleeve shirts, etc. Summer, on the other hand, means that I can store away winter coats, long sleeve shirts, excess pairs of pants (I like to keep 3-4 nice pairs in summer), and beanies and scarves. Winter means we don’t need to have swimwear, sleeveless shirts, or sunglasses out. This just simplifies your options when you or your child are getting dressed each day.
Keep it Simple
This can be the hard part, for me especially! But you really don’t need to fill their drawers full of options. If you can, I recommend keeping their wardrobe as streamlined as possible by selecting (if purchasing new) clothes in palettes that already coordinate. I think that a good rule of thumb is to 2x the amount of clothes you think they’ll wear in one week. For example, if in Winter you think your toddler will wear 10 long sleeve shirts in a week period (keep in mind accidents, wardrobe changes, and spills), then I like to keep 20. That means i’m never scrambling to do laundry because we’re out of clothing and also means that when (and this always happens) an item of clothing gets permanently damaged, we can throw it away or recycle it and still not have to worry about going shopping again. I like to do all the shopping at once!
File Fold, KonMarie Style
I know you have all read or at least heard of The Magic Art of Tidying Up and likely seen Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, so you’re aware of her file folding method. This method of folding and storing clothing in drawers is such a game changer when it comes to children’s clothing. Because their clothes can be so small and plentiful, it is super helpful to be able to see it all at a glance and to be able to easily grab what’s needed without ruining a stack of clothing. Want to learn more about the KonMarie method? I’ll link a tutorial here.
Keep A Bin In Their Room for Grown Out/Donations/Seasonal Clothing
My final tip for staying on top of children’s clothing is to keep a bin or basket in their bedroom that is used for clothing that no longer belongs in their closet or dresser. I like to throw clothes that they no longer fit in (in good condition), clothes that I’d like to donate, and seasonal clothing that I didn’t catch earlier in this bin and then when I make my weekly deep clean, I will put away those items so that they are out of the way.
Kids Clothes Organizing Essentials
I’ve made a list of my most-helpful tools when it comes to organizing kid’s clothes. These have been life savers for me because mama, you know what a job and a half laundry can be with children so anything that will save me time and help my children stay organized is an investment I’d love to make.
Laundry Baskets
Children’s Hangers (here’s are the boy’s hangers & here are Tatum’s)
Drawer Organizers
Tatum’s Bow Organizer
Kid’s Shoe Organizer
Storage Totes
Clear Labels for Storage Totes
Hanging Cube Organizer
*Great if you want to lay out their outfit each day a week ahead of time so they can get themselves dressed easily each day.
What are your favorite children’s clothes organization hacks? I would love to hear on my most recent Instagram post!