Organizing Hand Me Downs

For those of us who have more than one child of the same sex, hand me downs are a part of life. Those of you who are lucky enough to have friends or family with children just slightly older and larger than your own also face this. Good quality clothing that lasts for multiple children saves money. The tricky part is coming up with an organized system to save the clothing for the younger child, so that it is easy to find when the time comes.

My two boys are more than six years apart in age, so my storage system has to be well labeled as well.

I only save those items for my younger son that are in almost perfect condition. Anything that is stained, torn, or just too worn does not make the cut. I don't want him to feel embarrassed about wearing his brother's hand me downs. Let's face it though, jeans are jeans, whether they were purchased six years ago or just last week.

We invested in heavy duty, plastic storage bins. I sort the clothes into similar sizes, and put them into the appropriate bins which I've labeled with a permanent marker. They are all stored together in the attic. Every spring and fall, I pull out the bin with clothes that might be a good fit for D-boy.

He thinks it's fun to try on everything in the box. We call it his personal store in the attic. At this time, anything that is not a good fit, or is no longer in fashion, is bagged up to donate. We still end up having to buy him some new clothes each season, but having some already paid for does help the family budget. That's always good, particulary when all of my kids decide to have growth spurts at the same time!

linking to:  Earning My Cape