This is the fourth installment in our series, Homemaking Your Way. Catch up on the first three here.
If you are on a tight budget, you know that buying new clothes is one of the first things that gets cut. As newlyweds, my husband and I were just barely scraping by each month. Our concern was paying rent and buying groceries. New clothing did not factor into the equation.
Now that we have a bit of breathing room in our budget, we can afford to splurge occasionally on clothing. We go all out. Costco underwear. Old Navy clearance. Target sales. However, shopping for clothing with small children in tow is not for the faint of heart. If you are looking for a good time, this is not where you will find it. So even though I like new clothes, I don’t go shopping much.
But organizing closets? You better believe it. A clean, orderly closet is a thing of beauty to me. My goal for all of the dressers and closets in our home is that everything in them is something we actually like and wear. I know that getting them to that point is not always easy, though. Closets can be one of the hardest things to tame because the doors, in theory, are so easy to close. Maintaining them is really a constant process of sorting and tossing. Music to my ears. My closet is not custom-designed or color-coded, but there is a place for everything. And I sure like it when everything is in its place.
Kid clothes
I am relentless about sorting out my kids’ clothes. As soon as they grow out of something, it is out of their dresser or closet. Why? Because getting my one-year old dressed is like a wrestling match. I do not have an extra arm to rummage around in his dresser for something that currently fits. Helping my three-year old get dressed, on the other hand, involves good negotiation skills. She would squeeze herself into a size 6 month swimsuit and cowboy boots for a trip to the zoo if she found them in her closet. After my morning wrestling match, I do not have the energy for a discussion on appropriately sized seasonal attire.
It just makes life easier for everyone involved if the clothes in their rooms are limited to the clothes that actually fit them. To help with this, I keep five big plastic bins in my daughter’s closet: Two bins hold clothes (spring/summer & fall/winter) that are currently too big. Two hold clothes (spring/summer & fall/winter) that are too small and will be sold, donated, or given away. The last bin is for special clothes I want to keep. Worn-out clothing goes in a bag for Goodwill.
Once my kids have worn out or grown out of clothing, it goes straight from the clothes dryer to the correct bin or bag. By dealing with one piece of clothing at a time, it keeps this task from becoming overwhelming and time consuming. That about covers kids’ clothes in our house. As long as I can steer clear of Target clearance racks, I am good to go.
Adult clothing
Harder to manage, right? Here’s a good place to start: Take an inventory of your closet – How many shirts or shoes or pants do you own? Seriously, go look in your closet right now. I have a cup of coffee sitting here, and I will wait for you to get back. Shocking, right? I did this last week, and I was surprised. If you had asked me how many fitted, short-sleeved t-shirts I owned, I would have guessed ten, thinking that was high. Wrong. I have eighteen. Eighteen short-sleeved shirts! Six of them are black. That’s a lot of shirts, especially when I wear essentially the same thing every day of the week.
Figure out what clothes you wear and get rid of the rest. If you are a young mom, I know this is not an easy task. You have the pre-pregnancy clothes, the maternity clothes, the post-pregnancy clothes, and those clothes that you are hanging onto for the day when you lose those last ten pounds. At least get them out of your closet. It’s a mental game, but it just makes a huge difference to get them out of sight. Stick them in a box, label it, and check back in a few months. Absence will either make the heart grow fonder or forgetful.
I have a tough time getting rid of clothes that are still in great shape. Time to go back to my rule for clothes: Do I really like it? Do I actually wear it? If either answer is no, it needs to go.
Be strict with yourself. If you bring something new into your closet, toss something old out. I know this is not new advice, but it is really good advice. I force myself to do this because it keeps my closet under control. Except, apparently, for black short-sleeved shirts.
If you’re not ready to get rid of something, cut yourself some slack. We are all sentimental about different stuff for different reasons. For me, it’s this shirt I received for finishing the Chicago half-marathon. A decade ago. It is threadbare and full of holes, but I cannot part with it. I’ve tried many times. It is my wearable security blanket, reminding me of faster, fitter times.
I do know that as a devoted tosser, I have gotten rid of a few items through the years that I now regret — a shirt I designed for a band in college, workout gear from my basketball team, Umbro soccer shorts from junior high soccer days. Ok, maybe that last toss needed to happen, but it took me until college until I was ready. And this is coming from someone who is not all emotional, touchy-feely about stuff. Especially clothes. All I know is that sometimes it takes time to let go of things that are connected with special memories.
Limit those sentimental items, though, or you will have boxes full of clothes with a past but not a purpose. Memories are what are important; the majority of the time, stuff is just stuff.
Be honest with yourself. If you look through your closet while saying things like, “I wish… I might… I could… I used to… It’s still in good shape…” then you are probably collecting clothes instead of actually wearing them.
Several years ago, a woman hired me to help clean out her closets. The only problem? She couldn’t bear to get rid of… anything. For example, as we looked through old clothes, we came across a single scuba diving glove. “Well, I think I will hang on to this just in case. You never know!” She lived in the middle of Tennessee and hadn’t been scuba diving in over 40 years. Old maternity clothes, clown costumes (no joke), and random snow gear all got the same loyalty. She had overflowing closets and perfectly polished excuses for keeping each and every unused item in them. She was overwhelmed and her husband was frustrated, but by golly, she was going to keep that red clown nose and old ski sweater… just in case.
So what does staying on top of our homes, in this case our closets, have to do with frugal living? Lots.
I won’t get into the obvious — staying on a budget, determining needs, or prioritizing spending. I think it’s key for one very simple reason — when we have too many clothes, we forget what we have. I’m not getting philosophical here. I mean we literally forget what we already own. We forget we have four black shirts that still work and that last year’s winter coat fits our child just fine and those capris we bought at an end-of-summer sale still have the tags attached.
Life is full of so many good things; who wants to spend it digging through a cluttered closet when you could be shopping with your small children or… scuba diving in Tennessee?
Written by Emily Chesney, who lives with her husband and two small children just east of Portland. She is a homebody who loves to travel. Even if they are just mental vacations every time an REI catalog shows up in the mailbox. She also loves matching hangers.
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Someone once asked me “how can you afford to clothe all your kids?” My response was “organization!”. We have nine kids (ages newborn to 10, 4 girls, 5 boys) and so very little actually gets tossed/donated – it all gets stored for the “next one”. I bought the 72qt sterlite storage tubs at Walmart and each tub is labeled with a size and sex of a child (for instance, “boys size 2”) and stored, in order in the attic. Friends often pass on their “outgrown” kid’s clothes to us, so we have clothes that are much bigger than what our kids wear – so I make a tub for “girls size 12” even though my oldest daughter is only in an 8. That way, when someone’s clothes start getting too small (seems to happen all at once!) then all those clothes are pulled out of the closet (all at once) and put in the appropriately labeled tub and the next size up tub is brought down and the closet is “refilled”. We call it “going shopping in the attic”. I have similar tubs for shoes as well – when someone’s shoes get to small they are put in the appropriate tub and all I have to do is get the next size up (much easier and cheaper – since I bought them super cheap and just saved them – than running to the store whenever someone needs new shoes). When we get too much to fit in a tub, then I know it’s time to start going through and keeping just my “favorites” and I find a family to pass them on to.
Thanks for saying: “Be honest with yourself. If you look through your closet while saying things like, ‘i wish… i might… i could… i used to… it’s still in good shape…’ then you are probably collecting clothes instead of actually wearing them.” I really needed to hear (um, read) that. I’ll make it my mantra when I finally get around to tackling BOTH my closets!
BTW I’d like to share one of the best clothing tips I’ve ever come accross: When you find underwear that really works for you, buy as much as you can afford and pitch all the rest. Why fish through the ones that ride up, are too big, give you a “muffin top” or whatever to find the pair or two you can stand? This could also apply to pants or anything else, really. If you find a pair of pants that truly flatter you, are comfortable, and are always your first choice, it makes sense to go out and get a half dozen pairs in different colors. This may seem boring, but I haven’t found “playing dress-up” to be fun since I was a teenager.
P.S. I’m a stickler for matching hangers! When I come across a pink or green one, it instantly HAS to go. I guess that’s how I try to control what I feel is out of control. But at least I don’t get tempted to buy new hangers… I’d have to by a few hundred at once or they wouldn’t all match!!!
I love the bin idea for a younger child’s clothes. Its amazing how fast they grow in and out of stuff. Thanks for all the great tips, really enjoy your posts Emily!
I love your posts. I would have never thought to clean the toilet while giving my kids a bath, but yesterday I cleaned the floor and the toilet! 🙂 Someday maybe this kind of thing will come naturally. I can dream, right?
What a talented writer you are! Great article.
I have one question. How do you remember what doesn’t fit so well anymore for your kids? I understand the wrestling match, which generally means for me that they wear it for the last time since it is already on. But I also have laundry for 6 in my house and after doing laundry and folding, I don’t always remember. Does anyone have any ideas? I had thought about putting a safety pin on the clothes that needed to end up in the bins, but I wondered if there was any better ideas.
You could keep a seperate dirty clothes bin? Then you can wash them all at once and box/bag them up all together?
Good idea, Erin. Or, if you’re worried about stains setting, you could use a mesh bag and add clothes as they are outgrown. Toss the bag in the wash, and move the clothes to the right bin or bag after you pull it out of the dryer.
How much do you charge to clean out someone’s closet? 🙂
I LOVE clothing swaps!! we should set one up in Gresham
for women AND kids
Yes, yes, yes!
I live just east of Portland too, in Gresham 🙂
One thing the ladies in my church have started to do is a “clothing swap.” These have been a tremendous success!! Everyone brings their unwanted clothes, shoes, and accessories and we lay them all out in a room of our church, transformed into a “boutique” for the night. There is also refreshments, and it’s so much fun!
I went the last couple times and it was a great way to freshen up my wardrobe for free.
Love this series, ladies!
Your posts are always so right on point. Thanks for so many solutions to this issue in my household! I went into my 1 year old daughter’s room, and went through all 10 boxes of all the things that she wore once or not at all, and downsized a ton! Now off to get my dresser and nightstands organized! 🙂
I love this post! A couple things I do as the mom of 3 preschool/toddler boys:
1) We took an old set of shelves out of a closet. I now sort clothes by size, with one size on each shelf. (by actual, not labeled, size when I already know how big it is from a previous boy) That lets me put away what is too small for one boy in an ordered way for the next. If you have several same sex children, you also have more than just “too big” and “too small”. It also lets me see what I have enough of and what I could use more of in each size, because it’s visually broken out.
2) I like Kohl’s and have a Kohl’s charge so I either shop instore or online (when there’s free shipping) for things that matter to us. (stylish Thomas T-shirts only last through one boy. Belts are hard to find at consignment stores.) This lets me know exactly what I want and what a good price is without using time/gas to go to the store. If Kohl’s is out of stock of the size you need, you can order it from the store’s kiosk and they’ll ship it to your house for FREE, even if it’s only a single pair of toddler pants.
“If you are a young mom, I know this is not an easy task. You have the pre-pregnancy clothes, the maternity clothes, the post-pregnancy clothes, and those clothes that you are hanging onto for the day when you lose those last ten pounds.” Ahhhh! This is SO me! You are spot on with getting the stuff OUT OF SIGHT though. I dug around in my “too small” box recently and realized that over half of it were no longer things I was interested in wearing. Downsized that box, downsized the maternity box, and combined them to eliminate another storage box from killing precious storage space! Yessss.
And now that we’ve found out our tiny one due in August is a little man, I went through my daughter’s eight (yes, eight) storage boxes and got rid of over half. Consigned a quarter of it and passed a quarter of it on to families, got rid of about a box worth for Goodwill, and now have a reasonable (rather than ridiculous) amount saved for whenever another little girl comes along in our family. I, too, keep a “too big” bin in my daughter’s closet and toss things in there as I buy them on sale for the next size up. And now, I will be keeping a “too small” bin for consignment, along with a bag for Goodwill. Your tips are so helpful, and they make me feel like I’m not alone in my clothes organization! 🙂
I’m pretty sure you have been spying on my life and have insight into how my brain works. It’s quite possible I wrote this post in another life. 🙂
I have finally given in and gotten rid of all the things in my closet that I’ve been hanging on to because “insert ridiculous quote here” like “I wore that once when I went camping when I was 19 and it was really cute”. Seriously? It felt good to let go, but now my closet is quite bare. Plus side, I now know exactly what I have and what fits, no shuffling through clown costumes for me. 🙂
Thanks for another fun post!