Tiny baby clothes are so cute. All the little onesies, tiny pants, itty bitty socks- adorable. You know what isn’t so adorable? How frustrating it can be to keep all those tiny clothes organized as your baby grows! Two babies means almost twice the number of clothes, and special sets that are meant to be worn together. We were very fortunate to get a lot of hand me downs and gifts from friends and family that keep the girls in style. But I need to stay on top of it! I find the first year to two years the hardest to keep organized. I hate when I find an outfit that is super cute but too small because I forgot we had it! So here is how to organize and store twin baby clothes.
First off, so general tips. These work for all babies, not just twins. I do utilize them with my girls.
What's In This Post?
Simple Organization Tip
The gone box.
Right from the start, put a giveaway box or bag in the bottom of the closet or somewhere in your kids room. If you find something that no longer fits, put it right in that box. Have something that you just honestly don’t think you will dress your child in? It goes in the box. If you aren’t 100% sure, put it in there anyway. You can always go back in a get the item if you change your mind. Chances are you will forget about it, which means you didn’t need it anyway. This can be useful as kids get older too. My son had a pair of pajamas he adored, but they really didn’t fit anymore. He didn’t want to give them up, but we have a bag in his closet to put in clothes to give to his little cousin. Knowing that he was giving his favorite pajamas to his little cousin made him happy to part with them. You can also just grab the bag when it is full and send it off to wherever you like to donate. Easy.
Keep the next size nearby.
By this I mean if you have space keep another bin with the next size up in the child’s room. If the next size is stored away in an attic or basement you are less likely to remember to look through it. Anyone else go out and buy something only to find out you already had what you needed tucked away for later? I have sadly done this several times. Being able to take a quick peek has let me save a lot of money from buying something we already have, and it helps me from missing the window to wear things saved for later.
Review your inventory.
Go through your too big bin on a regular basis. What regular means is up to you. I used to go through every season change. It let me pull out the items we would need as it got warmer or colder. I would also get rid of anything in the current closet that would be outgrown before the weather changed back. Now that we have basically one season- hot and hotter- I have to be a bit more on top of things. I set aside an evening every couple of months and sort through clothes. No, it isn’t the most exciting way to spend a night. But again, it is better than missing items my kids could have worn or wasting money on something we already have.
These tips have helped me stay on top of my son’s clothes, and now my daughters. Twin clothes can be a little more work though. I like to coordinate the girls’ clothes. They don’t usually match exactly, but they usually go together pretty well. This is part personal preference part a crazy fear that one baby will be seen as the favorite because she has the ‘cuter’ outfit. (I know, Pat says I’m crazy but I can’t help it.) We have gotten some outfits that are obviously meant to be worn together. Others I put together out of what we have. Double the little girl clothes can take over any storage space you have. Fortunately, I have a system in place that makes it pretty easy to keep it contained and still let me find what I am looking for.
How To Keep Baby Twin Clothes Organized
Stick to basics.
This can be hard, because as I said baby clothes are so cute. The easiest way to coordinate outfits is to focus on tops with neutral bottoms. This means leggings, jeggings, black pants, that sort of thing. It is easy to grab two bottoms and they go with almost all the tops. I do have some pants and top outfits for the girls, but that tends to just be more pieces to keep track of. This way I can have fewer bottoms, which saves money.
Bins are awesome! This is about 90% of the girls’ clothes. |
Utilize bins instead of hanging in the closet.
Hanging up tiny clothes can be very annoying. Even with little hangers, they fall a lot. I keep most of the girls’ clothing in bins, folded sideways so I can see what I am working with. I find bins can store more, are easier to organize, and easier to sort through. I can quickly grab all the girls clothes out of their room and organize them while they sleep. I use two big bins and one little one. The big bins have long sleeve and long pants in one, with short sleeve and shorts in the other. The little bin is for pajamas. It works really well. And yes, these two bins hold almost 90% of my girls’ clothes. (The other 10% is things like coats, hoodies, and specialty outfits.) You really don’t need that much for them! I have found it is easier to dress them and really enjoy their cute clothes if I keep quantity down. Less money, less mess, and more enjoyment of my favorite clothes? Wins all around.
Store specialty items in the closet.
The things that aren’t used as much like holiday outfits, special pairs of dresses, jerseys if you are a sport family, are perfect for the closet. These items can get lost or forgotten about. Having them hanging in the closet gives you a visual reminder, and they aren’t lost in the daily wear. This is also a good place for gifts you don’t love from people you do. You can remember it is there, get a picture when it fits, and not have to make excuses.
Every shirt is paired up. One set, two girls dressed. |
Store clothes in outfit pairs.
When I get new clothes for the girls, I immediately pair them up how I want the girls to wear them. They stay together from that point out. This way when I have to get the girls dressed in the morning I only have to choose one set, not two outfits. It sounds little, but it saves a lot of time and decision making.
How To Keep Up As Your Child Grows
So you have your kids clothes’ stored. What do you do when you want to sort through them without a lot of hassle? Every couple of months I go through the girls’ current and next size up clothes, along with Ben’s next size up clothes. (Now that he is three he isn’t growing quite as fast, so it’s easier to keep with as we dress him every day.) They are all in bins, which makes it easy to pull them into the living room. I love my kids, but it is so much easier to do this sort of thing without their help. One thing to remember to do is grab something of each child that currently fits well. I use that as my size check if I am unsure about an item. I just use whatever the child wore that day.
I make this process as fun as I can. I make sure we are watching a show I enjoy, and I have something tasty to drink or eat. Start with the current clothes. Look at each item and ask yourself if you want your baby to keep wearing it. Maybe it doesn’t work with the current weather. Maybe you just don’t like it as much as you thought you did. Be ruthless. If you haven’t dressed your child in it since the last clean out, you probably don’t need it. If you aren’t sure about a size you have your known fit item right there to compare it to. If it is too small, get rid of it.
Once I have gone through the current clothes I go to the next size up bin. For twins that means making sure I have outfits I want to go together matched. Not every twin mom cares about this, but it matters to me. This is another time to be ruthless. If you can’t picture your kids wearing something, get rid of it! This can be hard, especially with hand me downs. But if you honestly don’t think you will dress your child in something don’t keep it cluttering up your child’s clothes.
If you are like me, you might have a hard time getting rid of these sweet baby clothes. This is where the husband comes in. His job is to remind me that I am not throwing away pieces of my babies’ childhoods by getting rid of old clothes. It sounds silly, but sometimes I need the back up to remember they are just clothes. Sure, I save a couple of things. I have all the outfits my babies have worn home from the hospital. But there will always be another favorite outfit, and there will always be more cute clothes. If you need help staying strong- that’s okay! It also helps to think of more sweet babies making memories in these tiny clothes. Someone will be happy to get what you no longer need.
This seems like a lot. Fortunately after the first year and a half keeping up with your kids’ clothes gets easier. They stop growing as fast, and they start to develop preferences. As annoying as it can be that they no longer just wear whatever I want, it is one less decision I have to make when they pick out their own clothes. I like to pick my battles, and usually, it isn’t worth arguing over clothing. I love using the bin system, and as your children age and stop going through an entire wardrobe every three months it gets easier to use the traditional hang up method. Then the bins can be freed up for other storage!
This is all kind of a lot for clothing for tiny humans. I just hate when I either spend money on something we already have or forgetting to dress my babies in something because it is saved for later. It is only for a short time though. Once kids stop growing quite as fast it is much easier to keep up with their clothes.
What suggestions do you have for organizing baby clothes? Comment and let me know what works for you!
–Kim
Kimberly Cartwright
Saturday 1st of April 2017
I hate how inconsistent sizing is! Seriously, my girls have clothes sized six months to 18 months they wear right now. That's a whole year! It's crazy. And I hear you on the wrong seasons. That is such a bummer. We saved things from my son hoping to use them again, but he and my girls are opposite seasons. Taking care of all the clothing that first year is one of my least favorite things. I love the little outfits, but I am happy when they don't need wardrobe overhauls every few months. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets frustrated! I hope some of the pointers help out. :)
sus
Saturday 1st of April 2017
No twins, but we have BINS of handmedowns from cousins. The seasons are wrong for my boys sizes. That and inconsistency in sizes between brands makes me crazy. Thanks for the pointers!