Seasonal Clothes Swapping

First I will say that I do not enjoy this task but thankfully it only has to be done 2 times a year.  Transitioning from tank tops and shorts at the end of summer and the packing away of long sleeves and heavy coats at the end of winter. By the end of the season I am so over seeing the same clothes on the kids anyway, I guess that part I do enjoy, along with having it done!

First things first, make sure you have enough time. Don't rush it, make it 2 separate times if you need to but don't try to rush through it all.

Prep your boxes or bins, baskets or whatever you are using to sort.

I have 6 bins I use.

~ Keep in drawers

~Keep for next year

~Hand Down

~Donate

~Sell

~Scrap

Keep in drawer is something that is going right back in.

Keep for next year, stuff that will likely still fit in 6 months and is in good shape

Hand Down, outgrown by this kiddo but in good shape for the next

Donate/Sell. Honestly, sometimes I never want to see something again and if it's not worth it to sell we will donate it or hand down to another family that can use it.

Scrap, there is only so much you can do with a shirt that was put over chubby thighs and stretched out. If it's cotton I will keep it to clean stuff up, or use it to stain wood.

Once the current stuff is sorted. More prep. Get the kiddo ready! I can't tell you how much this part of the project will determine how it ends. In smiles and probably some mama tears or tears of frustration from everyone! Bathroom, snack and then distractions put away just sets the stage for a smooth transition. We have a speedy try on everything questionable session. Sometimes it's hard to know if something is going to fit without trying it on. Sizes on labels can be very different from brand to brand.

TIPS
~If you are a momma of more than 1, do 1 child at a time. It's already daunting, don't make it harder on yourself with more stuff than you have to have out at once.
~Keep 1 top and 1 bottom from the sell or donate pile handy. Just in case there is a weird weather day. You don't want to have to dig through a bin for them in the mad rush before school or bed the night before.
~Get the stuff that is going out, OUT as soon as you can!
~Label your bins/boxes with a label you can see easily

I have found that the more often I do this, the more often I buy less the following year. Seeing stuff that was not worn much before it was outgrown is a sure sign that our kids have too much.

Continue Reading ...

Organizing Friday {Week 13}

 

Spring Break Week!

I didn't really plan to do much this week.

I did go through all the kids clothes, pack up the long sleeve T's and get the short sleeve T's out.

We keep 1 bin under each kiddo's bed for out of season clothes that fit.

Slowly working our way towards having just the 1 bin, I was buying way way too many clothes, so each kid also had 1 bin under our bed of stuff that is too big. After this go around of clothes swap there might only be 1 bin under our bed! I am getting better about not over buying and letting stuff go. I used to have a whole bunch of hand me downs from our oldest for our 5 year old. I did such a good job last summer that the 5 yo has 1 tank top this year as a hand me down. All of the others were worn out or stained. 

Since I don't have much to share today from our house, I thought I would share these super ideas I have seen around for storing kid clothes!

 So smart to use the page protectors on the inside of the bins! We have used duct tape and written directly on the bin, neither of those ended well.

Here are some free printables too!

If you don't have room, or the budget, for plastic bins, there is this option.

a 2 pack from Dollar Tree of sweater bags. They aren't hard plastic, so if you have a smaller or awkward space under a bed, a corner closet etc. You just might be able to shove some of these in there.

These are the ones we use

How do you store out of season or out of size clothes?

I will share my process for season clothes swapping soon!

Continue Reading ...

Organizing Friday {Week 12}

I didn't get last weeks task all the way done.

Before

After

I don't really know what to do in here, we got rid of so much of the kids bathroom stuff, in anticipation of not having 2 bathrooms, that there really just isn't much to organize. 

I moved the beach and pool towels out to the garage with the life jackets and other summer stuff.

Just needed a space for 

TP

Towels and washcloths

We really kept all of their towels to the bare minimum so they don't take a lot of room.

We didn't unpack the decorations because it just hasn't happened and this bathroom isn't really conducive to it either.  

I do want to grab a couple of baskets for the shelving so I can start stocking up on necessities again, while keeping them pretty. Looking for some deals. When I am on the hunt I put the measurements of the shelf or area in my phone so I don't have to worry about buying something and it not fitting.

The extra bedding was just that, extra. We have been in this house 5 1/2 months and yet to need them. I donated all but 1 extra and there was plenty of room to keep it with the rest of the kids stuff in their closets.

We are heading out for a mini vacation, when we get back I am sure I will find another area that needs some attention. It's Spring Break here, what are y'all doing for Spring Break?

Continue Reading ...

Organizing Friday {Week 11}

After I cleaned up that wrapping paper and gift stuff I just kept going, had plenty of room to get the craft stuff done!

It wasn't horrible before but hadn't been done since we moved.

I was being a little more brutal with purging. For example, there is no way I am going to use all those beads for bracelets, it's already too late for some of the beads, the outfits have come and gone. 

I kept just a few things for birthday parties and was able to send a whole bag full to charity.

Not sure what to work on next, it's supposed to be 70 degrees here today, I won't be doing anything today other than playing with the kids outside!

How do you organize craft stuff? Have a whole craft room?

Continue Reading ...