There are numerous books on pregnancy, babies, toddlers, food, and discipline. However, I have never seen a book on the topic that takes up the majority of my time: keeping children dressed in reasonably clean, correctly sized, season-appropriate clothing on a budget. (The budget part is crucial because, if I were insanely wealthy, my personal shopper or I would buy whatever my kids needed when they needed it and pass the clothes on promptly when outgrown.)
Laundry
It probably comes as no surprise that I have a lot of laundry. The boys in particular go through a stunning amount of clothes in a week. Ryan averages two outfits a day during the school week (school uniform during school hours, which must be changed before he heads outside in the afternoon). Of course, they wear pajamas at night.
My boys also have a well-deserved reputation for being the dirtiest children in any given situation. Whether playing with friends in a backyard or at a park, my friends’ boys will return with the odd grass stain or dirty hands. My boys will have sand in their sweaty hair, dirt smeared on their faces, mud caked on the knees of their jeans, and mulch-filled shoes. It’s pretty impressive. I have more than once wished that my van came equipped with a water-reservoir and small hose so that I could strip them down and rinse them off before we head home. In the summer, they are guaranteed to go through 2-3 outfits per day.
Believe it or not, laundry is the easiest aspect of clothes management. I wash the kids’ clothes three times a week regardless, and they usually have what they need when they need it.
This is what truly blows my mind….
Hand-me-downs (from the outside)
We have been tremendously blessed in the area of hand-me-downs. Please don’t let the following words make you believe otherwise. They have saved us so much money. Filling in the gaps is a drop in the bucket compared to buying an entire new wardrobe for each season. However, hand-me-downs are a lot of work.
First, you never know what you’re getting and when you’re getting it. Friends who know that their families are complete get really excited when they have someone to pass clothes to. I can hardly blame them! As soon as we found out that Abby was a girl, the girl clothes came pouring in. Garbage bag after garbage bag arrived, filled with a variety of sizes for each season. There was/is no rhyme or reason. When Abby was in the womb, I had random clothes in sizes newborn – 4T!
Second, if you don’t organize early and well, you’re in trouble. The second picture above shows what I pulled out of Abby’s closet a few weeks ago. I had failed to sort clothes as they were given to me, and it left me with hours of sorting.
Third, clothes must be stored in clear containers in closets (not the attic!). If you decide while you’re pregnant that you will remember two years later the clothes that you stored in the attic, you would be wrong.
Hand-me-downs (from the inside)
I have two boys, so it clearly makes financial sense to keep the clothes Ryan has outgrown until Miles is ready for them. For many reasons, I was excited when we knew we were having a boy. One of the reasons was the ease with which I could dress him. I would find the appropriately labeled container for each size and season…and voila!
Wrong again.
It actually worked out fairly well for the first year or two. Then, it started to get complicated. For example, Ryan is really hard on his pants. He wears holes in the knees at a rapid rate. Even if the company claims that their Iron Knees are un-tear-able and therefore worth the extra bucks, Ryan will prove them wrong after a few weeks. The benefit for Miles is that he gets new pants every winter. A rare treat for a second boy!
Shoes are the most expensive part of the kids’ wardrobe, and we haven’t gotten much of a break here either. While Ryan’s shoes have (miraculously) held up fairly well, Ryan was born in February and Miles in July. Anybody see the problem with that? Yep, Ryan’s outgrown sandals fit Miles perfectly…in December.
Sizes
For those unfamiliar with the sizing of children’s clothing, it is intended to correspond to their age. For example, “2T” is supposed to fit a two-year old toddler. Simple enough. You can probably already guess that it’s not.
My boys usually wear a size down in pants (3T shirt/2T pants), which means you’re digging clothes out of at least two different bins per season. Two bins per two boys equals four bins of winter clothes that must be readily accessible. And if a child grows into the next size mid-season, the fun really multiplies!
Buying clothes ahead is also a risky gamble. Growth rates are completely unpredictable. My mom and I bought fall clothes for Abby while we were at the beach last summer. After great debate, we chose 2T since she would be turning two at the end of October. She is just now growing into them. At least she’s set for next fall!
Seasons
The seasons add one final layer of complexity to the dressing of children. Spring and fall are gorgeous in the mountains…but also bring a wide range of temperatures. Earlier this week, we were enjoying highs in the 70’s. Yesterday, the high was 41. This means that space must be provided for jeans, shorts, long-sleeved shirts, and short-sleeved shorts in appropriate sizes simultaneously. Everybody’s drawers are busting at the seams. This will last for 2-3 months, at which point I will finally declare it safe to weed out the winter clothes for 2-3 months. Then we’ll do it all over it again come fall.
Paying it forward
What makes me truly giddy is that I have finally found people to start passing clothes on to! This means that I have a little less to keep track of and will have the space to receive the other clothes that keep coming my way. A few weeks ago, I packed up a bunch of boys’ clothes for a family with two boys of their own.
I also packed up and gave away four bins of girl clothes for friends who have daughters younger than Abby. They are as grateful as I was (and am!), although I always feel a little guilty knowing how much work comes along with it.
So, there you have it. Next the time you see my children dressed in clothes, please don’t take it for granted. I certainly don’t!
Note: All of the work described above, with the exception of typing, was done prior to my injury. I am not that crazy.
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