With a big move quickly approaching, I find myself eagerly awaiting a full basement...aka, way more storage than we've ever had thus far in our marriage. Specifically, though, I'm wondering...
How do you organize your child's clothes? We all know that babies outgrow their clothes much faster than we ever thought possible...so how do you keep from being overwhelmed by it all? Labeled bins? Vacuum sealed bags?
I'd really love any insights on the best ways to do this.
Hey, thanks!
i tried vaccuum bags before, but i either have always had defective bags or am doing something wrong - they always rip, either when i load them too much, or when trying to store them tight. anyways, now i've just gone to large tupperware bins and labels (125 white address label sized from target for like $2 i think). It's not a huge cost either, because when they change a size I just buy one more. My personal rule is that if the clothes for one size dont all fit in one bin, then i have to get rid of some. then, i have a separate bin for all their outgrown shoes, and one for coats, hats, mittens, etc. i suppose once their clothes/sizes get bigger that they wont all fit in one bin, but for now i only have one bin for each size (and my newborn and 3 month sizes are in smaller bins since they are so much smaller, and they mostly just wear onesies at that age anyways).
ReplyDeleteRight now I have all the bins in the guest room closet, but eventually when the shelving is done in our basement unfinished storage area they will all move to there.
~Veronica
ps-I'm posting a comment!
Well, I obviously don't have children's clothes to store, but since I have a tendency to organize simply for fun, I am constantly thinking about things like this. I agree with Veronica on the labeled bins. I do all of my organizing that way and it is so easy/inexpensive! They also stack nicely and pack/move nicely as well.
ReplyDeleteI also find different colors just to make it easier to find things (Darker colors for winter stuff, lighter colors for summer, etc...) I'm all about the color coding :-)! Usually I like to get bins at the end of a season (like red/green or eastery colors) cause they go on sale!
One thing that I always do is to put a dryer sheet in with any stored clothes/shoes. It keeps them from smelling musty when you take them out again. I hate when that musty smell just won't go away! And I find dryer sheets to be the fix-all when it comes to smells. (I put them in the bottom of garbage cans too and it eliminates/masks the smell for a LONG time)
Hope that helps!
I agree on the bins. I organize by size and gender. I also have a bin for Halloween only stuff: costumes and outfits - since we seem to have a lot of those things and I don't want to have to search for something so seasonal.
ReplyDeleteI love Karen's tip on the dryer sheet, by the way!
Another bin lover here! We have tried the vacuum bags and they never stay flat. We also tried the GIANORMOUS ziploc bags that are like the vacuum bags but don't let you suck the air out and they ripped. We just have bins for each size. For now since there are only boys we keep the clothes together, but should we be graced with a girl some day I would keep her clothes seperate.
ReplyDeleteI vote for the bins as well. Since we are going to be moving a lot (yay Air Force!) we decided we wanted to find something that was good for storage, but also durable. We chose the Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs because they give a bit and stay shut! The hard plastic ones can actually shatter so I would maybe recommend against them (Steralite?). Now that we have chosen those, I watch for them to go on sale and just buy a bunch when they are on sale. We found them at Target for $3 once! Wal-Mart and Home Depot have them too. Then, just sort by size, and I guess your case gender :)
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
Well, with an overwhelming response in favor of bins, we're definitely going that route! Thanks, everyone! And thank you, Carly, for suggesting a specific brand...I think we'll stock up on those :). I'm hopeful to get a good system going and make use of all the storage room in that basement!
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