Kick Baby Clothing Clutter

I don’t know about you, but we sure did have a ton of baby girl clothing when we began this adventure called parenting. It wasn’t too far into Ila’s life that I realized my home was being over run by pink dresses.

Before Ila was born we intentionally parted with many items in our home so that we could enjoy life and have more time for each other. And it had worked very well… until the clutter of clothing came upon us.

Between the hand me downs, baby showers and my own self indulgent shopping there wasn’t much room to move about the apartment. We had clothing in every size for every occasion.

It was at about the 2 month mark that I realized something needed to change. And fast.

Ila was grew so quickly out of her newborn and 0-3 month clothing. There were many outfits that she either didn’t wear or only wore once. Which really seemed to be a waste, since many of them were so cute. It was here, that I decided to become very intentional about what clothing I brought into the home for Ila.

I wanted to de-clutter Ila’s clothing because to me,  Less Really is More.  I wanted to have less clutter, and more room to store other things I needed or wanted. And I really wanted to do less laundry, so that I could spend more time with my little one. Who wants to waste time doing laundry instead of building a lifelong relationship with their child who will grow up too fast? NOT ME!

I decided that I wanted the clothing to meet these standards:

• Limited Amount- I aimed for these numbers when sorting out what to keep and what to get rid of:
  • 5 night outfits (I use each one two nights in a row if the didn’t have spit up on them before putting them into the laundry basket.)
  • 8 dress outfits (For special occasions and photos.)
  • 8 short sleeve outfits
  • 8 long sleeve outfits (For summer I only kept about 4 in the current size.)
  • A jacket/ or coat (For winter.)
  • A few pairs of shoes
  • socks (I only kept a few for summer because Ila likes to eat them)

• Seasonal- Clothing items needed to be the current season. With hand me downs and baby shower items so much of the clothing wasn’t the right size for the correct season. I had a ton of 0-3 outfits for winter… when it was summer and 100 degrees outside. Not practical.

• Enjoyable- I am the primary care giver for my little girl and I wanted to enjoy what I dressed her in, since I’m the one who gets to look at her all day, I want her clothing to be cute. (It’s nice to get the occasional “Oh what a cute outfit she has on!” too. 🙂 )

• Inexpensive- Babies grow out of their clothing so very fast, I don’t want to spend a fortune on what she will be wearing for a short amount of time. (I have to admit that I will occasionally spend a little more on a outfit if she will be wearing it for a photo or special occasion, and she will wear many more times.) I shop at mostly second hand stores, or in the sale sections.

• Good Quality- This was a big thing for me, as I try to apply it to many other areas in our life. I want the clothing that I get for Ila to last while she is wearing it. And I want it to look nice for more than one or two wears, especially since she will be wearing it many, many times.

• No buttons or bows I know, I know. But they are soooo cute! As cute as they are, I really felt like they were more of a choking hazard than anything. Since Ila was very young she has loved to put things in her mouth and naw on them, and I knew that eventually she would be teething and would want to chew on those bows and buttons.

After going through Ila’s clothing with these requirements in mind I headed to the second-hand store to sell what I no longer needed (I was given over $100). Followed by a trip to a local charity to get rid of what didn’t sell.

Girl, did it feel good to come home to a house that wasn’t infested with pink clothing! Now, I try to refrain from buying clothing ahead of time for Ila. I try to buy it in season at the size she is currently wearing. I know that it might not seem like a way to save money, but it really is. Here is how:

• Sizes are current– You don’t end up with the wrong seasonal size. As much as I tried, Ila was a different size than what I thought she would be when I tried to buy items ahead of time.

• You know what you have– When I tried to buy ahead of time, I could never remember what I had a didn’t have for that size. I always ended up with too many night outfits or dresses and not enough play outfits. And would have to take stuff back or just be out the money on what I had too much of.

• Saves time– You don’t have to take items back because it’s in the current season.

• You can buy used– Many used stores like Once Upon a Child and Kid to Kid have requirements that clothing has to be the current style. The clothing is generally gently used and sometimes brand new with tag on for 1/2 the price!

I really feel like these guidelines work well for our family. Living with minimal “stuff” has really enabled us to have more time for each other and relationships. Which was our goal!

XOXO & God Bless,

Hillary

HOW ABOUT YOU? I’d love to know your thoughts.  How do you decide on children’s clothing? Do you had a ton of it? Why or Why not? Share your ideas with me in the comments below!