What's your process for storing outgrown or off-season kid clothes?

[reezley]

I have a perpetual pile and/or overflowing box of outgrown and out-of-season kid clothes in my office room at home (I'm a SAHM, my "office" is what I call the extra multipurpose room - has my computer/desk, dressers and hamper for the kids' clothes, an extra play area/toys, and guest bed).

It seems there's a constant trickle of clothes in those categories. They gather in a rather unsightly way in piles and then I eventually get a box for them from the basement, but the box isn't full so it waits for more. Then the box is overfull, with too many different categories in it - clothes for next winter, outgrown, some to give away, some to try to sell. So it waits for me to put them where they "belong"... in other boxes of these things that I already started, and are in different closets or the basement.

SO........ Help me organize this process?? My office would actually be pretty decent right now if I could get rid of this clutter!

[womenswisdom]

I use one container for clothes I am giving away and then sort clothes I am keeping for the future into different Space Bags (the kind you can suck the air out of with a vacuum) based on what season they'll be needed. So right now I have one bag for my ds(5yr) with clothes for him for this fall and winter and 3 bags for my dd(2yr) with clothes for this fall/winter, next spring/summer, and next fall/winter. I suck the air out and keep them either stacked on a closet shelf or in a rubbermaid tote in the attic.

[Crayfish]

My goal is for all clothes, in and out of season, current size or not current size, to fit in the normal clothes storage areas - closet, drawers, etc. If they don't fit in those areas, more clothes should go - starting with the "not current size", probably.

I have yet to decide if this is a realistic goal, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Crayfish

[Chamomile Girl]

I've got a toy chest that is full of the too-big stuff (includes offseason), and a smallish plastic bin with the current load of just-grown-out-of stuff. The older things that will never fit again (sniff!) are loaded into larger plastic bins and stacked into my outdoor storage shed (Size labeled). The stuff I decide I don't want to keep goes into a bag which when full travels straight to Goodwill.

I better have another kid darn it, or all that is just wasted space. And I 'aint got any space to waste.

[mkksmom]

I have a large rubbermaid tote in each family member's closet for out of season, and I was keeping outgrown clothes from ODD in the spare room in tubs, but I am moving them to bags in the attic because the girls are 5 years apart, and that's an easy way I can clear out some space. After YDD outgrows them, I am getting rid of them. But I do actually use the hand-me-downs, so it's worth putting them in the attic.

[OkiMom]

I guess it would depend if you use hand me downs or not. I know quite a few people who will not use hand me downs no matter what and get rid of all the clothes when the child grows out of them. Personally I love hand me downs and thrift store finds so here is what I do.

For out of season clothes I look at how big it is on the girl (I have only girls so read child) it currently belongs to. We don't really have much in seasonal wear because its doesn't ever get really cold enough to need heavy heavy clothes. However, each girl has a jacket and a few sweaters, if these look like they might still fit the girl in the upcoming year I put them in a small container in the cupboard above the closet. If it doesn't I look at whether it might fit the next girl, if it might it still goes in the cupboard. If it won't fit both then it goes into my not now pile.

Every 3-6 months or whenever the girls go through growth spurts I take out the next size and suppliment whats needed. Any of the clothes they have grown out of I look through and seperate into keep and give away. If the clothing is really worn or just not a style we like or works with our girls then we give it away (or toss it/make rags out of it if its really bad). If its clothing we like and it will fit the younger one withing the next 6 months or so I put it with the out of season clothes above the closet. If it won't or it belongs to the youngest then I box it up and it gets put in the storage closet. We really don't have the money to keep buying clothes for each child so I definetly save what I can that will work for the next one in line.

[honeybunmom]

My kids are 4.5 and 14 mos - and different genders. I finally got on the consignment bandwagon. And I had friends having babies, and I'm not having any more, so, I got rid of the baby stuff that way. The 12 mos-3 year stuff either went to my SIL for my niece or consignment. For each of my kids, I do shop end of season and I get hand me downs from my SIL for my son, the baby. I keep a bag/box in the basement of things that will go to Goodwill/Salvation Army; a bag/box for my niece and each child has a clear plastic bin in the basement for next season/next year's clothing. I don't have any intersest in storing anything that is more than 1 year ahead in sizing. Only exceptions are heirloom items I've received . . . and I've just got one of those. A cotton coat bought in China that my aunt had for my cousin when he was a boy.

I'm trying to make it a practice of culling things at least at the end of every season.

[reezley]

Mkksmom, thank you for what should have probably been an obvious thing to me - to actually use the closet the boys' room for storing stuff. Right now it's practically empty, with ds1's bed blocking the closet door (so we can fit the beds in the room.) I do save ds1's clothes for ds2 to grow into. Then when ds2 grows out of them, the goal is to get rid of them - some to a friend, some to sell, some hang around a long time because they're not in good shape...

[dbsam]

Since I've minimized the amount of clothing my children have, I use one rack in their closets for winter clothing and one for summer clothing. (Prior to this I kept out of season in plastic bins. Keeping the clothing in the closet is much easier and works great in the transitional seasons when we have a hot day in March, etc...)

I keep a box in my car for items they've out grown and pass them to others or donate once the box fills.

[nd_deadhead]

Originally Posted by reezley

Mkksmom, thank you for what should have probably been an obvious thing to me - to actually use the closet the boys' room for storing stuff. Right now it's practically empty, with ds1's bed blocking the closet door (so we can fit the beds in the room.) I do save ds1's clothes for ds2 to grow into. Then when ds2 grows out of them, the goal is to get rid of them - some to a friend, some to sell, some hang around a long time because they're not in good shape...

If you take the door off the closet, you can gain that space back again! The door can go in the basement until you need it again.

Clothes that are not in good enough shap to give away, and don't fit, should be thrown away, or donated to a place that will make rags out of them.

It's easy to get emotionally attached to kids' clothes, but once you get in the habit of getting rid of them, it's liberating!

[busymama77]

We use rubbermaid totes for the kids clothes and for our clothes. Purple totes: DS's stuff. Tan totes: DH and I's stuff. There are a TON more purple totes than tan totes. Speaking of which, I need to go through those and see what needs to be saved for DS#2!

[proudmomof4]

I have 2 big tote boxes winter / summer for children's clothes and I go through them at the change of season.
I try not to keep any more clothes that are too small (even though I have a "baby box" back home in Germany). So, what is outgrown leaves the house. Also, I've downsized quite a bit, as my children wear school uniforms here. (Well, the oldest one will wear regular clothes with the new school year.) But still we really don't need that many outfits. Too many clothes just lead to piles of laundry and piles of "don't know what to do with them" all over the place.

[Logan]

We store all outgrown hand-me-downs for the next baby in the plastic storage containers/boxes. We have WAY too much and Im really going pare down after the next baby outgrows stuff- just want to see if its a boy or girl first . We never seem to have enough boxes, or an empty one when we need it. One is never empty til all of the next size up has been grown into, making room for the outgrown. But I refuse to buy anymore, because they just seem to fill up when I buy them and this house cant handle anymore ugly plastic boxes (we dont have any where to store them except in plain view in the room) Then we have one of these for each child from ikea:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90076364

They stack really well and the lid lifts open while stacked. Its so easy to just throw outgrown things one by one in there. Usually by the time it is full, the storage box is empty and I can move it into there. And wow, I just realized they only cost $8.99 each in the US, we pay $24.95 EACH here!!!! Everything is so cheap there