The reason we have too much kids' clothes is because when we had James, we hoped we'd have a second child so we saved all his clothing to pass down to his theoretical sibling. They were three years apart (exactly) so we had three years of extra clothes that didn't fit anyone. Plus then we had a girl so we also got gifts and girl hand-me-downs.
But I think the main reason we had so much was that there are A LOT of baby sizes. So once a child is 2 years old, they go up a size every year. This is reasonable. But from birth to two years they go through approximately 12-13 different sizes. For those of you not in the know, they are: newborn, 0-3 months, 3 months, 3-6 months, 6 months, 6-9 months, 9 months, 9-12 months, 12 months, 12-18 months, 18 months, 18-24 months, and 2T. Thank goodness for 2T!
I cannot emphasize enough what torture all these sizes are. Especially because no one in the universe seems to understand the hyphenated sizes. So for example, if your child is in "9-12 months" that means that she has outgrown size 9 months and it won't fit her anymore, though size 12 months will often fit. It does not mean, as most people assume, that she can wear both size 9 months and size 12 months.
And oh okay, one more wrench, seasonal clothing. You might have a beautiful 9-12 months sundress you are dying to put your baby but if it's snowing out, that's probably not going to happen.
Step 1: Took everything out of storage and drawers.
First off, I did this at night while the kids were asleep. You can't do anything when children are awake, especially something like this. I split everything up by size, regardless of gender or season. Notice the stickies on different parts of my couch with 12-18 months, 18 months, 18-24 months. I started with the largest sizes. I packed a box of things that were still too big for James. Things that were the right size for him went into his room even if it was out of season because the seasons are changing right now.
Step 2: Sort by size. Seen here: 12-18 months.
Step 2: 18 months, 18-24 months
Then I went through 3T and 2 T since no one will be wearing those for a while. I mostly just checked that everything was in good condition, folded it, and boxed it.
The big stuff is packed and waiting for 2016.
Finally, the hard part, stuff that Miranda will grow into soon, or that fits her now but is out of season. I tried to do my best here, but it's pretty tough. I reduced the number of boy things when I saw she had enough girl things in the size/season. Toddler clothes is ridiculously gendered. I try to let Miranda rock the dinosaur shirts as much as I can, but even the cut of the shirts is different for boys and girls. It's super mean to parents. Anything she couldn't use just yet I packed, but I'm keeping it most accessible in our attic. Everything that both children have outgrown but that was in good condition was donated to the Boys and Girls Club.
Why I don't particularly care about folding kids' clothes the KonMari way:
Miranda unfolds the KonMiranda way.
Remember, this is just the warm up for the hard one: kids' toys!
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