paring down the whole family's clothes...

[doulawoman]

Hey all,

I posted  few weeks back about moving 3000 miles and taking hardly anything. The suggestions I got were great. We have a yard sale happening as i write, and we decided to onyl take what will fit on our toyota camry and on top in a 18 cubic foot cartop carrier, as well as 2-4 boxes (books, financial papers, dd's wooden toys, and winter jackets etc.)

I'm having trouble paring down clothes. We already have few, but dd (17 mo) and dh have the most. We are hoping to fill our suitcases plus maybe a few more items... we are moving somewhere colder than her e(desert here) and are moving aug 1st.

What does an "essentials" toddler wardrobe look like in your opinion?

we will be camping too for at most a month, with temps high and low at night.

-how many pj's?

-how many dresses?

-how many tights?

-pants -and reg vs. fleece?

-socks

-sweaters?

-shoes and sandals we have figured out at 1 pr. sneakers, 1 pr. boots, and 1 pr. sandals for now.

Most of ehr clothes were free but the issue seems to be the randomness of some, and them not going together, any tips on simplyfying? Should I try to get a 5 pack of solid (or even same) coloured onesies/t shirts?

For me, I'm 14 weeks pg and already in maternity clothes, many of which I bought new.

I have so far:

1 shorts

1long black leggings

1 black yoga pants

1 brown skirt

1 burgundy long sleeved (winterish) mat dress

4 long solid coloured t-shirts will work maternity and after too

-fleece vest

-7/8 pairs underwearm one nursing bra fits now and probably through pg, one which will fit after pg

a whole lot of other randomish skirts, shirts etc....should i ditch those?

dh will be working ina  winery (drafty)

how many work shirts? Esp the thicker fleece lined kind? I think he has 3 which are in great shape

he has 3 shorts (2 caus, 1 work)

like 10 t-shirts

warm wool sweater not for work

a few pants

wedding attire

Just give me a list of what works, what to look for for each of us (i.e. solid colours etc,) most of dd's clothes are crazy polka dots or nice osh kosh overalls but with trains etc.

[bandgeek]

It mostly depends on how often you will be washing.  I can only wash once a week so I need more clothes than someone who can wash every other day.  For example, I wear polos and khakis for work, so I have 5 polo shirts, 2 pair of khaki pants/shorts, then like 8 everyday wear shirts, since I need something to change into every day after work.  If I could wash every other day I'd have 2 polos, 1 pair of khakis and 3-4 everyday shirts.  Know what I mean?  So I'd start there.  If you can wash often you can get by with a LOT less, even with a messy toddler. LOL

For my DD, I try to keep her closet stocked with outfits that actually match and not a lot of separates.  She almost never can wear her jeans and pants twice the way I do, so I toss them in the laundry with the matching shirt and it all stays together.  I'd say pick your 3 (or 5 or 8 depending on wash schedule) fave outfits for each season and stick with it.  PJ's...it depends on if you ever have issues with diapers leaking at night.  If you can't have her re-wear the pj's then you need as many as you have outfits.  Otherwise count for 1 pair every 2-3 days between washes.  I rotate like 3 footie pj's all winter long, washing once a week.  In summer she just sleeps in a dipe and whatever shirt she had on OR a onesie.  No summer pj's here.  I'm not a dresses/tights kind of person so no idea on that.  I might have one dressy outfit per season and do pants/shirts the rest of the time.  We only have one sweater for DD.  It doesn't get very dirty because we take it off asap when we get where we're going and wash it maybe once every other week.

For the maternity wear I'd pick only the stuff you KNOW you will be comfy in and that will get worn at least weekly.  And then maybe one dressier outfit for special occasions.  So yeah a lot of the "random" stuff would go if it were me.  Both times when I was pregnant I had a ton of clothes and only wore like 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pair of pants and like 5 shirts, because when it came down to it, I HAD to wear what was comfy.  I had a lot of stuff that got worn only once and I could have easily done without it.

[doulawoman]

well, i found out we're going to be camping for one month, then ina  cottage where laundry access is 15 mins away...so...keeping all the pj's etc...i wish her clothes all went together mroe easily, she doesn even have "outfits" some things all onyl go with 1 pr pants etc. The dresses are not dress-up church or going out fancy dresses, they are mostly all everyday ones and with tights and a sweater count as an outfit ona  cool day, or by themselves ona  warm day...

[Comtessa]

I'm with the PP -- set out your DD's clothes into matching outfits -- if one shirt will only go with one pair of pants she owns, well then, you have an outfit!  Decide how many full outfits you will need, set those aside (head-to-toe; include socks, sweater, etc), then ditch everything else.  It's nice to have things that can mix-and-match, just for the sake of variety, but unnecessary IMO as long as you have designated matching items.  I certainly wouldn't buy new stuff for that purpose.  PJ's are unnecessary for toddlers, IME, except in winter maybe.  A few extra t-shirts will probably be all you need for that purpose.  For a 17-month-old, make comfort your priority when packing.  No toddler NEEDS to be in jeans or stylish skirts. 

If you're camping then you'll prob. need a few extra outfits b/c your LO will get very dirty very quickly in that environment.  Plus if it rains, you're dealing with having to keep everyone in dry clothes -- which can be a huge challenge even with easy access to laundry facilities.  Warm clothes for sleeping are a must. 

It sounds to me like you could maybe use a good sturdy pair of maternity jeans -- the kind with adjustable elastic bands that can fit throughout your pregnancy might be a good investment -- and a couple of warm things for layering -- a hoodie and a sweater, or something like that.  Especially for camping! 

Your DH's wardrobe sounds sufficient.

Remember that clothes are ALWAYS easy to find, so I'd under-pack!  If you find you need something later, you can hit a Goodwill along the way. 

Oh!  One more thing.  Think in terms of loads of laundry.  If most of your clothes are dark-colored, you don't want to pack three pale pink t-shirts that you have to wash by themselves in a huge laundromat washer.  Likewise, you don't want one thing you have to wash cold and line-dry in a pile of things you're washing warm and throwing in a dryer.  KWIM?  A clothesline & pins can save a fortune on laundromat dryers, too, so bring those along!

[doulawoman]

pp, tbh i never wore maternity jeans last pregnancy, i don't really understand that suggestion? Is there a reason you think i need some? They are  expensive, uncomfortable and don't fit very long. I got some second hand cords last tiem and they only fit for 2 months. I do need a sweater but when i went shopping there were none that fit so have to wait till we pass through a bigger city.

DD doesn't have jeans or fancy skirts so that is not an issue. all her clothes are already comfortable, mostly stretchy cotton...I guess i find the "outfit" concept really odd...we usually throw stuff on and randomly the pants or shirt to an outfit may still be in the wash (at home) so they get separated which is annoying....I can't wrap my head around that, I'd rather just have like7 t-shirts that go with everything. PJ's save us a lot of extra clothes. She's usually dirty by bedtime...so pj's are a nice thing to change into, otherwise we need to get even more clothing...all her pj's are warm. Laundry will be pretty accesible while camping, but after sept, not so much.

ETA: dd's clothes are nearly all hand me downs. So for "outfits" we may still have 2 pants that go with one shirt, then depending on how cold it is she will wear fleece vs. cotton, shorts vs. pants etc. etc. Now I'm just getting confused. i thought I saw other threads abotu streamling wardrobes for kids so that they pretty much all go together?

[Logan]

I think the PP mean that you need to decide how many outfits you will need between washing and get it down to that. Ideally it would be great if everything is interchangeable, but if not then just take certain things which can match with one another. PJ's are fine but if you want to go more minimal then I would do away with them. Think about it like this, if you are camping and everything else ends up wet and dirty you can't exactly re-purpose the PJ's and have her wear them out. Well you can, but it would look ridiculous . Whereas if you just use the clothes she already has (soft comfy ones) then they are multi-purpose and depending how often you wash you wouldn't even need any extra. 

[doulawoman]

I know, but as I said she doesn't have enough clothes that I can do that. And once we move thepj's will be nice to have. we already have them, i feel like i should just keep them, esp with us having minimal laundry access in the cabin. If not, I'd have to buy a lot more clothes tbh. which doens't seem very minimal.

[Comtessa]

If that's the case then by all means bring the pj's!  Buying more stuff at this point is totally not minimalist, I agree! 

Originally Posted by doulawoman 

pp, tbh i never wore maternity jeans last pregnancy, i don't really understand that suggestion? Is there a reason you think i need some? They are  expensive, uncomfortable and don't fit very long. I got some second hand cords last tiem and they only fit for 2 months.

It just looked to me like you were lacking a pair of sturdy pants that could hold up to a bit more wash/wear than your usual maternity stretchy-pants.  But if you aren't comfy in jeans then you're right, it doesn't make sense to get some.  I practically lived in the same pair of stretch maternity jeans for my whole pregnancy -- in fact, my single pair of Motherhood Maternity "secret fit" jeans lasted through 2 pregnancies and are still in good shape.  (It's the only article of clothing I've purchased from that accursed store that has lasted through more than 3 washings.  )  I was also pregnant in the winter/spring, however, and I did not gain much weight with my pregnancies, so I didn't change size too much.  I still think some kind of sturdy pants with pockets will serve you well while camping. 

[Logan]

Originally Posted by doulawoman 

I know, but as I said she doesn't have enough clothes that I can do that. And once we move thepj's will be nice to have. we already have them, i feel like i should just keep them, esp with us having minimal laundry access in the cabin. If not, I'd have to buy a lot more clothes tbh. which doens't seem very minimal.

In that case I don't think you need to pare down any further, sounds like you already have the most minimal amount you can have 

[Comtessa]

Oh!  OP, I was thinking about this last night, and I thought: swimsuits!  Don't forget them!  You might find swimming at state parks/city pools a good free source of entertainment (and cooling, if you're camping in hot weather) while you're traveling.