SUMMER
7 white pair socks and underwear (3 bras for older girls)
3 pair jeans
2 pair shorts, lightweight pants or capris (boys will need 5 pair)
6 play shirts
2 everyday dresses (for girls)
1 fancy dress/outfit
2 casual outfits for going out
2 summer pjs
1 bathing suit
1 sweater for cooler evenings
WINTER
7 dark pair socks and underwear
1 pair stockings (girls)
3 pair jeans
2 pair dark pants (boys will need 5 pair)
6 long sleeved every day shirts (sweatshirts, sweaters)
2 long sleeved everday dresses (for girls)
1 fancy outfit
2 casual outfits for going out
2 warm pjs
1 winter coat
I take this list with me when looking for my children's clothing. This saves me time, money and space. My children like having less clothing to take care of. As usual, I didn't come up with this idea alone, I adapted it from flylady's suggestions.
edited May 2008
one step at a time...
After you mentioned this is a recent post I went through my children's drawers and got rid of many things. They had way too much clothing, most of it passed down to us. Thanks for helping me see that just because it's nice and it fits doesn't mean we need to keep it all!
ReplyDeleteHi lindafay,
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic near and dear to my heart. I took it one step further and for my boys I cut the list even more. I do their laundry twice a week instead of once and they can get away with even less clothing. They are growing so fast at ages 11 and 13 so it makes sense in our family to buy only two pairs of jeans at a time and the ones they replace become their "play" jeans. They don't wear "pajamas" anymore so that was eliminated from the list and we did what you talked about with socks....each boy has a different colored toe on their socks. My oldest uses diaper pins to pin his socks together before going in the wash and that saves lots of time when they come out of the dryer.
Thanks for sharing your list.
Barb
Harmony Art Mom
I am so glad you posted this because I was wondering!
ReplyDeleteI heard a good tip somewhere....keep a nice "going to town" outfit in the closet so the kids will have something nice to wear when it is time to go out. My daughter seems to spill something on every piece of clothing she owns! I've been thinking about keeping the ones without stains out of reach until we are going out in public :) I'm trying to teach her how to be neat but she is so clumsy.
I really appreciate you posting this list. Thanks for great info.
Do you feel like elaborating on the amount of toys the little ones have?
I've decluttered many toys. We don't have as many as most of our friends. I've noticed some children who visit us look around as if there is nothing to play with! I still think we have too many. It is hard to get rid of things that are good but just not necessary.
But when there is too much they don't seem to play with anything.
Hope you are having a great week,
Stacy
Thank you for posting this. It will be a great help to me. I was wondering: Do you use the same list for yourself? Or, perhaps, a slightly different list? If so, would you please share that, as well? Your blog has been idea-provoking and encouraging! Thank you for all the wonderful tips and tricks and just sharing what's going on in your life.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Linda! I'm cleaning out all of our closets tomorrow and heading straight for donation! Now if it was just as easy to find modest clothing and some flat heeled dress shoes for my daughter, we'd be set. I know it can be done - but, sometimes it's pretty discouraging out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your wisdom.
Linda in Oregon
Barb, I'm impressed.
ReplyDeleteSerena, I don't deep a list for myself, but I keep my clothes to a minimum, too. I think Flylady has a list for moms, as well.
I think this is such a great idea. It makes such good practical sense! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteNow I've got to make our own lists and get busy getting rid of extra clothes! (Woo hoo!!!) Now, does that mean I get to do less laundry, or just see the same things over and over and over again? :)
~Stacy
Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's very helpful to consider how much a person really needs. And makes life easier for children as well.
BTW, I got here via Charity Grace. Nice to "meet" you. ;)
Nice to meet you, too, Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this. I have been trying to figure this out, but never seem to have time.
ReplyDelete