Baby clothes everywhere! (Need ideas please)
LollyBug18
member
I started pulling out our newborn clothes this week to get them ready for #2 and have since realized that I should have thought through how everything is going to be stored for awhile since the dresser in the nursery will not be freed up until probably sometime in January when DD will move to her new room. So I've got that dresser full of her clothes and a laundry basket full of newborn and 0-3 clothes for the baby but no where to keep them at first. I could make some room in a couple of DD's drawers but I'd kind of like to avoid have clothes stashed in other parts of the house for when middle of the night changes are needed.
And then when I start trying to think through how to alter my current storage system for outgrown clothes to adapt it to two kids, my head kind of hurts. Right now I'm just using a plastic bin in DD's closet and once that gets full, I transfer everything in it to one of those space bag things. I know DH wouldn't be thrilled about more bins but I'm thinking that may be the best solution. But even then I'm not sure because I wouldn't really want to mix sizes but we don't have enough of each size to fill one bin. Bah, and now I'm just rambling...I think maybe this is harder right now since we're team green. If #2 is another DD, it should be easier. I have no idea what I'll do if a bunch of boy clothes get thrown into the mix!
So, how do you handle the constant shuffle of all these little clothes? I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of answers involving multiple plastic bins...
Re: Baby clothes everywhere! (Need ideas please)
Since mine are all boys, I keep everything. I don't even find that different sizes/seasons matter since kids grow at different rates and I can make a lot of stuff work in opposite seasons anyway (layer long-sleeve onesie under a tshirt in the winter, etc.).
My system does involve a lot of plastic bins, which I guess is not what you wanted to hear. I use the kind that can be put under the bed, so there are 4 under my toddler's twin bed, 3 under the crib, and a few under our bed. That way they're all pretty accessible, and I write a note on the top of what size is in there, and how many of each item (5 jeans, 4 sweaters, etc.). I try to go through things every 2 months or so to swap in/out what is needed, and after baby #3 outgrows things I'll be selling and donating things to make space. It does feel like a lot of time and energy goes in to either laundry, or sorting big and small clothes out of their closets. I'm always dealing with kid clothes in some capacity.
I have two girls, so I don't have to worry about sorting boys/girls, which I think does help with the space issue
Here's my system, which I'm constantly tweaking:
When DD1 was still in the nursery/DD2 in our room, I had half of the nursery dress full of DD1's clothes and the other half with DD2's clothes. That dresser is the type that has two drawers side by side, so I could easily say "Right half DD1, left half DD2". We did that for 5 months or so until DD1 moved to her new room and her clothes went with her :P
For outgrown clothes, I keep a diaper box in each closet. Once all clothes in that size have made their way to that box, I fold it all and put it in a storage bin, label it and stick it in the basement. I tend to do half/half in each bin to save space - for example, in my basement right now I have a bin of newborn and 18 month clothes, a bin of 0-3m and 24m, etc. That cuts it down to only 4 bins for the time being. I think as we have more sizes to store I will look into space saver bags instead.
ETA: When DD1 was still sleeping in the nursery, I would keep a few diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes in the living room for middle of the night changes. Not ideal, but it was only for a few months so we made it work.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
All this is so true. It literally takes days every year to deal with their clothes, and that's with two of the same sex. They're in their own rooms (for now), so all the "to be grown into" clothes are in the basement in labeled bins (ummmm...20+ bins. That is insane. In my defense, I yard sale/clearance shop ahead for the basics that won't go out of style...so that's nb-size 6 or so). In the bottom of their closets, they each have a laundry basket/cube/bin (depends on a few factors) that I throw outgrown stuff into throughout the course of the season. When that smaller bin gets full, I lug it to the basement where it gets transferred to the labeled Rubbermaid tote.
They obviously have their own separate dressers, so that's not an issue either. It will definitely be interesting when we move them together in preparation for #3 someday.
Anyway, that's my system. As a pp mentioned, the seasons/sizes haven't really made a difference. They have a ton of clothes, and we've never really been "short" on anything for Sam, though I have picked up a few things for him just because he should have something new too (usually I'm shopping for stuff for Luke, since it makes more sense that way).
And yes, toss it if she didn't wear it! Chances are if you didn't like it enough to put it on your first, then you won't like it more to put it on your second. New baby will also get more clothes (even if she's a girl!), so there's no point in letting undesired pieces take up space...
I used the shelves in the closet for the new baby's clothes and kept the dresser for LO.