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Maria B.
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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I am interested in different "methods/systems" for storing your kids clothing from season to season. I have multiple children - boys and girls -so our clothing gets passed on several times before they are too worn to wear anymore. What have you found to be your best way to store the clothing so that it is easy to access it from season to season? How do you sort it, etc.? This is a chore I dread each time the weather transitions from cold to hot!! It can take forever and be completely overwhelming!
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Maria in VA
Proud Mom to 10 Great kids!
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msclavel
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 4:35pm | IP Logged
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Eeek! This is one of my most dreaded chores. Let's just say that it never seems to be really "finished". Thus the various mini piles of folded, clean, sorted clothes by size that will eventually make it back into someone else's drawer the next season change, but wander aimlessly through the top floor of my house until then. Or there's the big stack thrown into the crib in my little girls' room. Don't worry, the baby still sleeps with me.
I'm ranting...I would greatly appreciate some tips as well.
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WayTruthLife
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 4:46pm | IP Logged
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We also have multiple children (boys and girls) and so far I have found the easiest way to store things has been in the big Rubbermaid containers. I always try to make sure they are the same so stacking is easier. We put a small piece of paper on top of the clothes telling us what contents are in the box, example boy's 2T and the number that is written on the outside of the box. Each box is assigned a certain number. Then we take a picture of the inside of the box with our digital camera. This has made it so much easier to find the sizes I'm looking for. Especially when you are looking for just that certain pair of children's shoes, etc. I just look in my photo album on the computer and tell my hubby what box I need. I hope this helps you in some way. Nonetheless, anyway you do it, it's still such a huge task.  I can't wait to hear other responses.
-Tricia
Wife & Mom to 5dc
d-7yr, s-6yr, s-5yr, d-2yr, d-1yr
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MacBeth
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 5:03pm | IP Logged
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Whenever I think of storing clothes I am reminded of the huge (or was I small??) back closet in the apartment where I grew up. In there, my mother would store seasonal clothing in large plastic bags, piled one of top of another. We wee ones would crawl to the top of the pile, releasing the strong odor of paradichlorobenzene  as our weight squished the toxic air out of the bags, and slide down the clothes mountain!
Sadly, I am not much more organized than my mother when it comes to clothes storage  . I'm waiting for ideas, too.
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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msclavel
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 5:21pm | IP Logged
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Oh MacBeth! Can't...stop...laughing!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 5:50pm | IP Logged
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rubbermaid boxes.. sizes on the lable on the outside of the box
nb/0-3 one box
3-6 one box
6-9 one box
12 mo girls one box
12 mo boys one box
and so on.. all clothes at this point are split boys and girls.. and one box each is my goal.. but I have two girls overlapping sizes so I'm using some "overflow" boxes so that I'll have enough for 2 girls in one size but once the two of them are out of that size I reduce back to one box.. so it's really only 2 sizes or so that have overflow boxes.. this works until size 7's.. I have both boy and girl 8's in use and will have to see how they fit in the box when there's both seasons there.. I haven't figured out what to do when the larger sizes won't let me fit enough clothes in one box 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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JodieLyn
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Oh and I switch on laundry day.. get out boxes while doing laundry and put away in boxes whatever's in drawers/closet and put out the new season/size then I can catch stuff to go in boxes as it comes through the laundry. boxes live in my living room for a few days but it usually takes less than 4 days to complete the shift.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 5:54pm | IP Logged
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oh and I don't do the try on and see if it fits thing.. I shift clothes so that if something is big I write the next size up on the tag and stick that in the larger size box.. and smaller I write the next size down etc.. basically you get a *wardrobe* you don't get individual items.. goes much faster that way. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 5:58pm | IP Logged
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I'm having one of those days.. say something and I'm sure I'm done and no sooner do I post than something else occurs to me 
My kids LOVE "mom's boxes" it's just about as exciting as getting something brand new :) That's what they call 'em.. somone asks where did you get that.. they usually just say "mom's boxes"
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 6:12pm | IP Logged
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Here's what works for me -- similar to Jodie-- but it's still hard:
I buy these (definitely when on sale -- I got the Home Depot shelves for $20 at a "grand opening sale"):
Shelves at Home Depot
Rubbermaid 14 gallon bin
And don't get bigger than the 14 gallon -- they don't fit in the shelves.
I label with a Sharpie on the sides of the Rubbermaid size and season (eg. 2T Summer)
Then I lay out four empty labelled bins in the hallway, have the boys (who can) empty their drawers. Weed out clothes unworn or too worn. Take all the dirty laundry and put it in the laundry room. Give myself a couple of days to get through the laundry cycle. Close the bins and stack them on the shelves.
After the drawers are emptied out, I carry up the "stored clothes" bins up to the boys rooms, they who can, empty into their drawers. NO DIRTY LAUNDRY goes into the laundry room until I finish with the laundry that needs to be stored away. (So I don't deal with a mix of seasons).
For my climate -- I picked April 1 and October 15th to switch. Then I know when the dreaded chore is coming and can be prepared. Working with the weather was disastrous for me.
Then I let the boys keep two outfits of the opposite season out -- for the weird weather days.
Thanks for the reminder -- I need some more 14 gallon bins!
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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Matilda
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| Posted: March 13 2007 at 11:06pm | IP Logged
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We just did this TODAY! It was a massive laundry day. We took the summer clothes from the Rubbermaid storage buckets in the attic and washed all of them along with all of the dirty clothes they had already. We packed up all of the winter clothes save two every day outfits and one Sunday outfit for "weird weather days" as well. I will leave those boxes out for the rest of the week to catch anything we might have missed and then back up into the attic they go.
As the summer clothes were washed I had the kids try them on. Girls in one room, boys in another. I told them to first try on what they wore last summer (they remember better than I) and if it didn't fit, pass it down. Since my children are all built differently I have the younger ones try on the passed down clothes just to make sure it fits. If it doesn't fit anyone it usually gets donated. They each pile the clothes that fit them in a separate laundry basket and put them away.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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MaryMary
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 12:11am | IP Logged
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I *HAVE* found a way to make the seasonal clothing changeover less of a burden for our family. I only have three children (so far ) but here is what I do.
I purchased a VERY large (as big as I can find) underbed storage container for each child (first I make sure it will FIT under the bed!). In each child's underbed storage box go clothes that they will grow into. So under my eldest dd's bed is a underbed box with clothing that I have been given or purchased in sizes too big for her - both summer and winter. My second dd has an underbed container that contains my ELDEST dd's outgrown clothes, but clothing which is still too big for her to wear(they are a few sizes apart). When an item of clothing is outgrown by my eldest dd, I wash it and immediately put it in the underbed storage container of my second daughter, as she will be the next in line to wear it. If the item of clothing is impractical, worn out, damaged or stained I throw it out (or give it away if it is still usable)so I am constantly going through clothing items little by little so it does not become an overwhelming task at the change of seasons.
My little son has an underbed box that has items of clothing that he is currently growing into, as well. Any of his outgrown clothes go into a bin that I keep handy (hoping of course to be able to put it in the under-crib box of a little brother one day  )
Each season I simply roll out their storage containers from under the bed and pull out the clothing that I have stored there for them. It is then that I can assess what I have on hand that fits them, or what I may need to buy for them for this new season. It is so much more simple for me to actually keep all of that clothing in the bedrooms, rather than lugging storage containers down from the attic or up from the basement every season. Having huge bins under each child's bed has the added benefit of consuming space that only serves to collect dust bunnies, mismatched socks and various game pieces !
All the outgrown clothing that do not have another child waiting for them are sorted and put away in a deep closet in our basement. I only keep clothing that I really love and is in good condition. I try to get rid of excess clothing at that point, but still keep enough on hand that we would be able to easily clothe another child of that gender/size. Those clothes are in see-through rubbermaid containers and sorted according to gender and size.
{I just reread this post and I'm sorry it is not so eloquent - it's so late here (and I haven't really SPRUNG forward yet )}
I hope that helps some of you, I know it has simplified things around here.
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Mary
Wife 2 1
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amyable
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 5:55am | IP Logged
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We are not "terribly" organized here, but it works for me. I used to be more organized about this (boxes labeled, etc, but it's disintigrated)
I have several (maybe 8?) Rubbermaid boxes (I think they are the 18 gallon size I think). They store all off season clothes (except mine - a lot of my off season just stay folded up on my closet shelf). No true organization, although when I'm putting them in the containers I try to roughly group them by size. We have all girls, so I don't need to separate by gender.
At every change of season, we take them all out, dump them on the floor and the girls have a fashion show. They LOVE this. Particularly because we usually make it a holiday from school! They find a few things in the piles that they think will fit them, and go try them on. Then they come show me. I OK whether it really fits (or will soon) and if it should go in their closet. The big girls can put their own up. I help the 1 and 3yo.
We have a tag system too: we put one dot on the tag of things that my oldest owns, two for the second child, three for #3, etc. I change the tags as we do this fashion show if someone is getting something new to them.
So it does take all day, and it's tiring, but we try to make it fun. We even put on music and let them "walk the runway." My drama queen 9yo especially gets a kick out of this. It's a good opportunity to talk about modesty in how one carries oneself!
All things that don't fit anyone go back in a bin or get given away, and everything gets hopefully put away by the end of the day! 
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mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Matilda
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 6:36am | IP Logged
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Ooooh....I like the dot idea! We only have two girls, but they are so close in age and size that it is hard to remember sometimes who is wearing what.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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I have 4 girls. I changed last year from storing by size (what each girl would grow into) to storing by type of clothing item/all sizes. ie:
bin/s for dresses
bin/s for pants
bin/s for shirts
bin/s for bloomers/shorts
bin/s for summer misc.
bin/s for skirts
etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum
It has been much easier this way.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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amyable
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
I have 4 girls. I changed last year from storing by size (what each girl would grow into) to storing by type of clothing item/all sizes. ie:
bin/s for dresses
bin/s for pants
bin/s for shirts
bin/s for bloomers/shorts
bin/s for summer misc.
bin/s for skirts
etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum
It has been much easier this way.
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We are going to do the seasonal changeover this weekend (so I can see what we need for the big kid's consignment sale the weekend after ), I think I'll try this and see how it works for us!
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Sarah
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 7:34pm | IP Logged
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I use the rubbermaid bins but when I open them there is a stale smell. It got me to thinking that maybe they are too airtight. Does anyone else have a yucky smell with their clothes stored in rubbermaids. The clothes are clean when I put them in. I always have to rewash to freshen them. (The kids don't seem to mind the smell however! So it really only bothers me.)
My biggest problem is that the kids anticipate the change before I do and they begin a digging/dumping frenzy! 
This is a great thread! I was just thinking the same thing. . .
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Matilda
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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I put a fabric softener sheet in the middle of the box and it does a good job of keeping everything smelling nice. I still wash everything though before I put them in their drawers.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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MarieC
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 8:23pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
I have 4 girls. I changed last year from storing by size (what each girl would grow into) to storing by type of clothing item/all sizes. ie:
bin/s for dresses
bin/s for pants
bin/s for shirts
bin/s for bloomers/shorts
bin/s for summer misc.
bin/s for skirts
etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum
It has been much easier this way.
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I went to this system last summer for my girl clothing (sizes 4-8/10) and so far it's working well. When the weather warmed up over the weekend and they were asking for warmer weather stuff I just went to the capri box and chose 3 pairs....way easier than getting out 3 (or more) "sized" boxes and choosing.
All that said I still have a LONG way to go in clothing organization. I'm trying to decide how much to part with...the older girl stuff I'm keeping since the girls are just four years apart top to bottom but what to do with all that littler girl stuff? I sure hope to have another girl but who knows? And it is just taking up a lot of space right now. Everytime I look at those boxes of baby girl clothes I get an ache inside. Sorry for rambling on but clothes are a HUGE issue for me....in so many ways!
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Marie
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dds-98, 00, 02 and 09 & dss-03 and 06
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 14 2007 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
I have 4 girls. I changed last year from storing by size (what each girl would grow into) to storing by type of clothing item/all sizes. ie:
bin/s for dresses
bin/s for pants
bin/s for shirts
bin/s for bloomers/shorts
bin/s for summer misc.
bin/s for skirts |
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Oh man -- I'm thinking: boys are so simple. I forgot about how complicated girls clothing can be!! And I'm not even talking modesty!!
Suzanne, we're living "opposite" lives with kids about the same age. And I have way less bins -- cause my life is full of boys!!
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Change of seasons and clothing
