Simplifying~Kids Clothes

And I thought parting with MY clothes was hard.. nothing compared to kids clothes!
I am an addict, I admit that and I also hate that I do it,  I overbuy far too often. Sometimes I think our kids really have more clothes than they can wear.

I'm REALLY going to have to try this time, and it is going to be a 2 part thing for me, baby-steps in my addiction breaking.

Step 1.
Make a list of what they TRULY will need for back to school.

Yup, that's my list.. it will be SO hard but step 2 will help with the separation anxiety.

Step 2.
Keep a few backups for the inevitable stains, tears and lost items (and really to help me ease into this MUCH less clothes thing)

I have a lot of closet space I can fill with backups but shouldn't.
My plan is to put the stuff that is on the bigger side right now as the backups so they will get used when someone outgrows something anyway.

So my goal for the weekend is to have much emptier drawers and closets for these kids!
Y'all come back next week for the progress and my next step in Simplifying life round here!

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Simplifying~Closet Organization

I said I was going to simplify some things around here, some of them will be more drastic than others, and I am sure our "drastic" is probably nothing compared to others but for us there are some big changes.

Our closet is THE worst, I am a sucker for a cute top, and for a deal. This leads to lots of excess. I'm working on getting better, cause I realize a "deal" on something I don't need is NOT a deal. Hoping to get a little back at the consignment store. I've got a bag with about 20 things in it ready to go to the consignment shop. It's not as much as I was hoping for but it makes a dent.

In going through my clothes I realized I was keeping stuff that was too big, that is cute but I haven't worn in ages, or at all.  I got hubby to try and help me, hoping he would be a voice of reason.. he wasn't... soo I am using the backwards hanger method for everything that is left. Once I wear something I will hang it back up the wrong way. Any tank top that wasn't worn all summer has got to go!

I better start wearing some tank tops!!

I think dresses will be my issue, and things have changed, I work out of the house now, and tank top style dresses just aren't gonna work in the summer like they would if I was home.
So I know some of those will not get worn this summer and I will have a hard time parting with them! Unless I wear them every weekend when I am not at work.

Next up is the kids stuff! Already working on a more realistic list of what they need for clothes and hoping I can stick to it!  Why is it so hard?! Girl stuff is especially hard for me.

Do you have a go to list of what you keep on hand for your littles?

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Organizing Friday

Feeling pretty good that I am getting it done 3 weeks in a row. I am on a mission to get and KEEP this place as organized and clutter free as possible!

Last week was the closet that gets abused and has been my Friday project more times than I care to count. But I made a big difference this time and I am already loving the extra room. If I get the chance to really work on our stock pile I might be taking advantage of all this space!

I really like those green Ikea filing boxes, they were inexpensive and big enough to hold all our electronic crud, phone bases, blank cd's and stuff that NEVER looks pretty. There is just no way to make it look good so it needs a box! The other one has all of our wrapping stuff in it, tape, bags, tissue paper and scissors.

This week I am working on our linen closet. As you can see we have lots of blankets and extra bathroom products. I hate seeing boxes that don't stack well and just look MESSY! So I picked up these baskets here and there as I found good clearance prices. I have one for middle of the night kid stuff, cough meds, tylenol, thermometer all those type things. Because no one wants to be hunting for them while there is a sick kid!

The other thing I am doing while I am in there is checking all the expiration dates and amounts of the usuals, then restocking any we are in need of.

Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash take another basket up. Shampoo (I'm the only one giving that up) and a bunch of travel size stuff are in another basket. Hubby goes out of town pretty often so we use all kinds of travel size stuff. I am sure there is some stuff in here expired, close enough to empty or probably belongs somewhere else to make a difference in here.

I'll share the improvements next week! Happy Friday!

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