Elena, whose son is almost two, called me for help organizing his bedroom. When I walked into the room, I saw four huge bins filled with baby clothes that Elena’s friends and sisters had handed down on loan from their own, older children. Obviously her son no longer needed clothes for newborns to 18-month-olds, so it was a good time to return them. Fortunately, most of the clothes were labeled with the owner’s initials, so Elena would be able to tell what needed to go back to whom.
First thing we did was separating everything by last name and then by age according to the labels (0-3 months, 3-6 months and so forth). We repacked bins for each owner, grouping the clothes by size to make it easier for the next family with a newborn to quickly find the clothes they needed.
We also went through the son’s dresser, and a stash of hand-me-down found in the closet that Elena had forgotten about. Those outfits were sorted to be returned as well. Current clothes that the son can wear now and the clothes to grow into were placed back in the dresser. Each drawer was labeled so the son’s caregivers- not just babysitters, but even his busy parents could easily grab a clean change of clothing. Elena reported later that labeling the drawers also made putting laundry away faster, simpler process.
The best part for Elena was that, when she returned two bins of outgrown clothes to one friend, the friend offered her another batch of hand-me-downs in larger sizes. We neatly stacked the bins of clothes that couldn’t be returned immediately in a guest room, so they were out of the way until Elena could get them back to the owners. Moving the bins out of the son’s bedroom made room for current things and gave her son a huge new space in his room to play.
I loved that Elena had set up this system with her sisters and friends. By trading around the clothes their children outgrew, this group of women spent much less than they would have otherwise. Passing on outgrown clothing to another family is a two-way gift: it not only helps your friends/siblings, it also frees space in your home. And, like in Elena’s hand-me-down circle, it is always ok to tell other parents that you would like the clothes returned, if possible. Children can be hard on clothes, though, so don’t lend out anything you really want back! It is ok to keep a small number of favorite outfits stored away in a memory box for each child.
I can help you organize your child’s bedroom and playroom.
Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. To protect privacy, all names have been changed.