Photo by ewen and donabel
Last week, I was busy shopping for warm clothes & I also swapped the summer clothes for the fall ones in Lil’ Bit’s closet. I decided that before I bought any more, I needed to take inventory of what I had.
Since we live in the great white north, we have to be prepared for all four seasons. That being said, this is what we consider minimum clothing needs for DD (starting around 6-12 mos). If your child is younger than that, I have different thoughts about what is necessary & useful :).
WINTER
Outerwear
Warm coat for Church
Play coat
Snowpants
Boots
Hats – 2
Mittens – 2
Dress Clothes
Christmas dress
2 jumpers for church
2-3 pr warm tights
Church shoes (ideally match Christmas dress, too)
Christmas outfit (pants)
2-3 non-church, non-play outfits
Playclothes
~10 l/s shirts and/or onsies
~5 pr pants
~10 pr socks
Sneakers
4 sets fleece jammies
FALL/SPRING
Outerwear
3 sweatshirts/sweaters/fleeces
2 mid-weight jackets/hoodies
1 windbreaker (church)
SUMMER
2 Bathing Suits
Beach sandals
Dress Clothes
Easter Dress
Church sandals
Tights
2 church dresses
Church sweater
2 non-church, non-play outfits
Playclothes
~7 pr shorts/skorts/skirts/capris
~10 s/s or sleeveless shirts
2 sundresses/rompers
Play shoes/sandals
4 sets of 3pc jammies (shirt/short/pants)
Over the last year, I’ve noticed that even though we typically HAVE more than this, this is typically what we USE. It helps me control myself when buying sets of childrens clothes on eBay — I see things like ’54 pc lot of size 2T’ and I get all excited. Does that make me a dork?
Anyway, having this list of essentials helps me to have exactly what I need and not over buy. It works for me!
So, my question for you is do these seem like overkill or do you wonder how we can get by on this? Also, how do you get your kids clothes? Do you get hand-me-downs or do you buy them yourself? If you buy, do you do new, used, or both?
This post is being linked to Works For Me Wednesday @ We are THAT Family and Frugal Friday’s at Life As Mom.
10 Comments on Decluttered Closet – Toddler Edition
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Natalie
18 May 2013 at 3:08 PM (11 years ago)I’d say for a baby, the number of shirts seems appropriate…but with my toddler we get by on less (7-8). My daughter’s obsession with dresses would not be satisfied with the quantities you listed. I’ve also found it helpful to make sure dress shoes match the church dresses (ie. black/white/brown/pink, etc). We had one winter where she always wanted to wear her black shoes with her brown dress! I’d also add 2 pairs leggings/bike shorts (depending on season) for under dresses. We get by with only 2-3 sets PJs per season.
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Catherine Moore
1 October 2009 at 1:51 PM (15 years ago)THANK YOU!
As a first time grandparent (who acquired a couple of step-grandkids as well as the bio-grandkid). I’ve been looking for some kind of ‘minimum wardrobe requirement’ list. I buy everything either at yardsales, consignment sales or deep clearance.
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Cherise
17 September 2009 at 4:24 PM (15 years ago)Looks like a good list to me as well. We usually get hand me downs or I do garage saling so the only things we buy new are Dress clothing for church or events and we usually ask for these items for Birthdays or Christmas. If I do need to buy something it is almost always on sale. We also put money aside just for our kid so he kinda has his own money to spend and it doesn’t feel like an extra expense. We give basically all our clothes away as hand me downs since we are the first in our family and friends to have kids.
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Sara
12 September 2009 at 11:12 PM (15 years ago)This looks about right to me too. I am sure we have a bit more. My boys are ages 2 and 3 and share alot of the same clothes. We have almost all hand me downs from my nephew. What is not given to us I buy at yard sales. I love yard sales! I have picked up most of their winter gear at yard sales this summer. The only new clothes they get come from grandparent for Christmas and birthdays.
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Lizz @ Yes, and So is My Heart
11 September 2009 at 9:14 PM (15 years ago)Looks just right to me! We’ve been blessed with many hand-me-downs so that we end up with more than your list. However, as the season progresses, I usually give away some clothes so that we have less to manage. I try to keep up with laundry so it always seems we have plenty. My oldest daughter would be happy to wear the same dress everyday if I let her!
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Mama Zen
10 September 2009 at 9:02 PM (15 years ago)What an excellent idea!
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Buffie
9 September 2009 at 3:26 PM (15 years ago)I think your list is fairly normal. Some people get by on a lot less, but I wonder how they do it. Personally, my daughter has a good bit more, but I tend to only do laundry about once every two weeks. (Thankfully we have a VERY large capacity washer and dryer)
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Cheryl@SomewhatCrunchy
9 September 2009 at 3:18 PM (15 years ago)It looks similar to my minimums. It might mean doing laundry a little more often but definitely doable.
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