After multiple trips to the basement to grab kids clothes, rotate kids clothes, and put away that awesome sale I found for next season, I finally decided I was done! Yup! I’m doing the unpopular opinion and I am no longer keeping kids clothes!
Now, the me 4 years ago would have said “that’s wasteful” & yes part of me feels that way, however, fast forward four years and each of my children has one drawer of clothing! Yup. Unpopular again, one drawer per child! & I wouldn’t change a thing.
When I first became a mom I had totes of clothes for each size of clothes for my daughter. When she would grow out of and move to the next size I was left with clothes that I forgot she had, clothes that had tags, and clothes that were worn once. Not to mention the amount of times I had to shuffle those clothes around to find what I was looking for.
With baby number four arriving, I was very pleased to only be staring at one drawer of clothes! Roughly four bottoms, four tops, two sweatshirts, two pajamas, socks and underwear all fit seamlessly into their drawers. When the season changes I go in, take out shorts to replace with pants. I have decided if the shorts will potentially fit them next summer and are in decent condition, I will place them in a tote and donate or throw the rest.
The most satisfying thing about this revolutionary method is that my children wear out their clothes! I love seeing a piece of clothing that has been worn to it’s full capacity. To be honest, the clothes may be a few spaghetti stains and washes past their capacity.
Finally, the most unexpected joy from this “one drawer” method is the opportunity for their young minds to make a decision. Everything in their drawers is mom approved and they don’t have a ton of choices to have to decide between. No more standing around in the morning deciding “which green shirt should I wear today”.
I share this story to share the joy that our family has gotten from simplifying, in hopes that you will find the same joy. The number of clothing everyone keeps is different, I never thought mine could be this low, yet here I am!
If the amount of laundry you have in your home leaves you feeling overwhelmed I would challenge you to make a wardrobe for everyone in your household that only fits in one drawer. Again, keeping what fits the here and now: size, season, and personal style. Take the rest and set aside in a tote or garbage bags for one month! No need to toss or donate anything right now, just grab out your items you want to keep out and put the rest in bags.