Organizing/storing kids' outgrown/off season clothes

[Blueberrybabies]

I feel like I'm going crazy trying to keep it all organized in a way that I can find stuff later. Right now we keep stuff in the attic in trash bags or the Ziploc Big bags, sort of organized by size and season. But as they're getting older they don't outgrow things as fast, and they're wearing things now that they wore last year as well, or that will fit next year.

Maybe I'm just overthinking this :shrug What do you do? I know some people just don't save clothes, but since A and E are pretty close, it's working well so far to just save A's clothes for E.

[KatieMae]

So far we're doing a similar thing - I use SpaceBags sorted by gender & size (labeled). Within the bags I try to group the seasons together, but it's not worth the effort to bag them separately IMO; I just pull out an entire size at a time. Besides, I like to keep one or two pairs of pants out during the summer & likewise with a few onesies or t-shirts in the winter.

So, I like my gender/size method, but I understand what you're saying about kids not fully outgrowing a size in one season like they do in the first 2 or 3 years of life. So here's what I'm doing... Lucas, for example, was wearing mostly 4T's this past winter but all his spring/summer clothes are 5T or 5's. So any winter size 4's are getting bagged, but anything that's a 5 or 6 (we sometimes get gifts that are too big, or I buy a few sizes of things when they're super-cheap on clearance, esp jammies which won't go "out of season" anyway!) will be kept on the top shelf of their closet. That way, the hangers/drawer space will be free, but those things won't be forgotten about when next fall comes around.

[2sunshines]

We do big rubbermaid tubs in the basement. Now that they're older and things fit from one season to the next I just put away ALL their clothes from this paritcular season for the next. Then wehn I take them out the following year, they try everything on. That which fits goes in their drawers, that which doesn't goes in another outgrown bin or donated. :yes

[ziggyplaid]

I need to figure out a new system. Right now I put things in labeled big garbage bags in the closet under the stairs. :)

[Kiera]

Since my girls are a little different in sizes I just put everything back into the tub labeled with what the item is labeled. ALL 5T things go into the 5T tub and that way I can just go through those tubs and what the girls can fit into each season, we put in their closet.

[Blueberrybabies]

What do you do for the transitional times? I don't know that a few pairs of pants left out will cut it, as we keep getting lots of warm days and then a few cold days. I'm just tired of bags and piles of clothes sitting around!

[Niphredil]

:popcorn

I feel like I've been constantly getting out new things and putting the old away. Maybe that's just life the first year, though...

[KatieMae]

I feel like I've been constantly getting out new things and putting the old away. Maybe that's just life the first year, though...


It definitely is! Jude went from Newborn to 12-month clothes in a mere FIVE months I believe. That was a LOT of shuffling things in & out of his dresser & the storage bags in the basement.

[ArmsOfLove]

Right now I have the air tight bags with stuff shoved in them :shifty

When I switch out the boys' room and dd's I'm going to let her repaint however she wants ;) and I'm thinking of getting some cute cardboard boxes from IKEA to sort them all into by size and putting them on the shelves that will be in dd's room :think

[tempus vernum]

We have an area in our basement for too large/too small clothes that I want to keep. I use plastic storage bins and they are all labeled on the sides so that I can pull them out as needed. I have stopped keeping everything though because I do find some things don't age well. I tried the space saving bags and they kept tearing and expanding so I went back to storage bins. I have heard not to store in the attic because of the heat change causes yellowing. ANd no basements if they are damp (we have a dehumidifier).

I also have an empty bin in my bedroom so that I can toss things in there that are too small when I am folding laundry or the kids are getting dressed.

It's worked pretty well. The problem for me is DOING it. Yesterday I finally emptied out our enormous bin in our closet - it was overflowing :O

[MarynMunchkins]

I have under the bed storage boxes and a couple Rubbermaid containers. :) I put all of one size in one container, and sort through them when I switch out clothing. It's all organized enough that pulling out a couple doesn't cause too much mess.

[Mama Bird]

Each kiddo has two large Rubbermaid tubs. One holds spring/summer clothes, the other fall/winter. They reside in the top of their respective closets. In said tubs, I put clothes that don't fit this season yet, and clothes that would conceivably fit the next season. It usually takes me a full day to do the seasonal clothing switch, because I de-stain, muck out the closets (sometimes I have to leave a trail of crumbs so DH could find me... :giggle ) and decide which clothes can be remade, become rags, or be sold or donated. It's a very exacting process for me, but it always works. :yes

[RiverRock]

I have 2 boys and 2 girls so I have 2 colours of rubbermaid containers. I use a big address label (or length of masking tape) and a Sharpie pen to write the ages the child was when the clothes were outgrown. I might write "Girl 5-7 yrs" if that was the age the container was started then filled. I mark the ends of the tote so I can see at a glance what size might be inside. The containers are in an attic space off our rec. room so they are easy to access. It is so easy that if a friend is over and a change of clothes is needed to loan I can get pretty much anything within a few minutes. As the younger 2 outgrow items I get them out of the house since we are not growing our family at this time. I keep all winter wear and shoes separate from clothing storage...they have their own systems. ;)

[Mother of Sons]

Right now because the kids aren't too far apart in sizes I have one BIG rubbermaid bin. At the end of a season I pull out the bin, take out the next seasons clothes. Then I weed out this seasons clothes that won't fit anyone next year and I put what will fit in the bin.

That's it :shrug

's clothes I have by size but I'll be giving those back to my sil. The ones I am keeping are all just in one bin.