Clothing/Shoes/Toys Organization Techniques

I have baskets/bins stashed in my daughter's closet: one filled with clothes/toys we want to save for the next baby, one with things to sell and one for donations. I use craigslist and ebay to sell good condition clothes, toys and gear that we no longer use. Anything that doesn't sell on either of those sites I will take to a consignment shop (like Kid to Kid). Anything that doesn't sell or isn't in sale-able condition we give to an in-need family we know or we donate to a women's shelter.
Good luck and best wishes!

Hi Kristen!

I also had this problem, except not with twins. I have a 3 year old little boy and a 7 almosst 8 months old boy also. I started going through all the old stuff from my oldest when I first found out I was having another little boy. I went through all the old clothes and separated them in to boxes by age, same with the toys. Then as he get older and starts growing out of things I start unloading the box that is for his age, then load all the stuff that he can't fit or that is not being played with in that box. After a couple of months I take all that stuff and have a garage sale. Whatever I don't sell I take to Goodwill. Works out well this way. Good Luck!

M.

Shoes you need to just store in plastic bins, but SpaceBags are great for all the clothes. They will compress a huge pile into a flat rectangle that you can stand up in the closet or slide under the bed. I know I sound like a commercial, but I had to store a lot of bedding and pillows for 2 years and the space bags saved me a lot of boxes. Hope this helps!

I have a son who will turn 5 in September and a son who is almost 2 months. What I did was for each age range (0-3 months, 3-6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 year, 3 year) I just stuffed all of the clothes that were suitable for reuse in a giant plastic bag or storage box with the age range clearly labeled on the outside as my first son out grew the items. I kept each one open and close at hand until my first son out grew everything from that age range, then I packed it away in a closet. When I was pregnant with my second son it made it very easy to find useable stuff & to know what was needed to be purchased or not. I also keep all winter gear hung up with the largest towards the back of the closet and the smallest towards the front. This seamed to be a great way for someone who had zero time for organizing stuff (I worked at least 50 hours a week until I got pregnant with my second-now I am at home with both) to actually stay organized. Keep another storage box at hand for the items that can be donated and every couple of months, drop off the contents to a local women & children's shelter. When you are finally done with the items for good, you can try bringing them in for consignment trade if you have a local kids consignment store. Good luck!

I use bins. I have an almost 3 yr old and a 10 month old both girls and we don't think we're done...so I am stuck storing as much as I can. I use bins or storage tubs with lids that stack easily. Everything after size 12M I grouped by size and season. So, for example I have bins in my 10M old closed labeled 18M winter, 24M winter, 24M/2T summer, etc. This way I can just grab the bin wash and go. Also, keep 2 bins in your garage or laundry room, one for give away and one for selling. When they are full, take the selling one to Kid to Kid and drop it off (you don't even have to stay, they will call you with the total they will pay for it) and take the other to a clothing drop off or goodwill. If you don't want to sell, then you just need one bin and take to goodwill =) I also keep 2 bins in my older daughters closet - one for clothes that I buy ahead of time that don't fit her yet and one for clothes shes outgrown. That way I can just throw it in the bin when I put away her laundry and when the season is over, I label the bin and move it to the younger one's closet.

For toys, I do a lot of the same...I use small laundry baskets (keep one in each room) to put wandering toys in. Then after the kids are asleep or go to bed, I empty them and put them back. This is great for my 3 yr old because while she can't yet put all her toys away, she can put all her toys in the basket making it easier on me and there's not toys everywhere!

Good Luck =) I'm with you on this one!! It's very hard to keep on top of and every time I think I am, I find I'm behind on something else!

K., I feel your pain :) I have a 6 1/2 year old boy, 4 year old b/g twins and a 15 month old girl, so I have tons of clothes and shoes etc to pass down. I just use big rubbermaid containers, toss the clothes in as they are out grown and then twice a year (spring and fall) I pull them all out and rummage through to get out the current size/season and pull out the things that wont fit or the size was missed due to the seasons. I always have ambitions of having a bit for each kid, so if my twin boy needs shorts, I can go to his bin and pull out the ones his brother has out grown to see if anything will fit, but my husband isnt patient enough during my seasonal transition mess to put up with it for another day or so for me to sort it that much :)

I have found a great way to get rid of the out grown clothes are to take them to a local second hand store. In Rio Rancho there is a great one called My Cedar Chest and she will give you a store credit, so you can bring in the things the twins have out grown and use the credit toward clothes for your older one. Or, freecycle.org, pass them along to someone who needs them :) Are you a member of the twins club? In albuquerque ours has two HUGE garage sales each year and that is a great way to unload all those clothes as well as acquire new ones.

I like to take our out grown plastic toys to the local WIC office or income support office, they often have play spaces for the kiddos and are always in need of plastic toys (have to be easily washable) or, again, freecycle.org is a great way to find families who could use them.

I am bad about passing down shoes. I know I personally wouldnt like to wear someone elses shoes because they get comfy to your feet, so they always seem to hit in the wrong spots when you wear someone elses, so I really dont hang on to shoes unless they are not too worn or are just super cute.

When I do laundry, about once every couple weeks I try to reorganize their dresser drawers and pull out the clothes that are no longer working for us, then get rid of them right awya instead of hanging on to them. I either stuff them in one of the bins, freecycle them. Our house is always a mess and never organized, but I figure in 20 years I can have the perfect house, right now it is all about the kids.

In order to get rid of the things no one is using, I would find a women's crisis pregnancy clinic. They are usually run privately or non profit and can always use donations. These clinics have "mommy stores" that allow moms to purchase clothes and other necessities based on points they earn with counseling and parenting classes. Goodwill is always a good option too.

I bought 6 large rubbermaid containers and labeled each with a clothing size. I buy ahead 3 years for my older daughter when things are on sale, and then at the end of the season I go through both of their clothes and look at what has stains, what I want to keep for sentimental reasons, and what I want to keep for my younger daughter. It takes about 2-3 hours twice a year to go through their clothes and shoes, make decisions and put them in the proper container, but then when their new size or season comes up I just pull out the container labeled with the next size. When the younger one gets bigger I donate all her old clothes and move that empty container to the next bigger size for my older daughter. As for the toys, I have no idea! Good luck with that one!

I know this often drives my husband crazy, but I leave a box in a utility room and if I put something on my daughter and if it doesn't fit her I throw in the box. When the box is full, I repack it - make a list (we itemize for tax reasons and need the list for that) - then seal it - set it in a corner in the garage and when we have a few boxes off they to a charity. We always get those notices for the Boys and Girls Club pickups - so I will sometimes leave them out for that, other times we pack the stuff and and head to Goodwill.

I also (just did this actually) do a fashion show with my daughter, we drag EVERYTHING OUT and try it on. If she doesn't want to and wanders off I don't worry and sort through the clothes without her. If she does try it on, I make her do a runway walk, sit down, and etc with the clothes. It's a lot of fun and when we are done - we put away her clothes nice and neat.

BTW: My daughter is 2.6 years old.

Whoa! I thought I was an "antique mom" (at 46)with my 2 litters of kids, 24,20,4 & 17 mos plus a 10 mos old grandson! Kudos to you! I use clear,plastic bins with sizes marked on them to store items I am saving for my grandchildren from my youngest 2. ALso, you can take all the stuff you no longer need to Kid to Kid, one on Tatum at Greenway, one on Shea just west of the 101. You can take cash or 20% more in credit. I use them a lot. Good luck!

K......

Your funny calling yourself an "antique".... Seems you have a wonderful personality and if you use your humor and apply it towards your issue, you will be amazed at what the results will be.

Here's my suggestion.... The best storage solution is totes, even today. You don't need big ones, just the mid sized clear ones so you can see in them. The first thing is to purge everything into piles. Keep/Donate/Throw, almost like the show that was on T.V. for a while. The hard part is letting go of the things you think you need vs. the things you will really need. This process will be that of mass disapline, so be ready to be a bit hard on yourslef. Once you have your piles, immidiatly get rid of the donate and throw pile. Bag it up and get it out of your way..... It will keep you from going back to them saying "oh that's cute, why did I throw that away"? Go in with the attitude that once it gone, it's gone.....

Now you are only dealing with your keep pile. Take that keep pile and break it down by size, and then by season summer/winter only. You will need about six or so of these totes. Then as the season somes for the size bracket you need you can pull down, empty and add to closet. This will open up a tote for the next set making this cycle a rotating cycle where you never have to think twice again. Be sure as the kiddo's grow and prior to thowing in the tote, that you do the donate/throw process prior to adding to the tote. This way you never have to deal with the build up again.....

I hope this makes sense. It's kinda hard to type. If you want me to explain what I mean, write me back and I'll get you my number.

Oh, and by the way....... the same process for the toys. You will be amazed that just because they have alot doesn't mean they play with it. Keep the whole toy process a basic process and try to house only the items you know they play with. Not the ones that cost lots of money or that look cute, etc, etc. They will take over your home........

Hi K.,

For storage of toys etc, I have bins in my daughter's room. Trust me, they get dumped out everyday but it is really easy to clean up - just grab a handful and throw it back in the bins. The bins fit on her bookshelf or rest against the wall or under her little table. Plus, now that she is old enough to help, she cleans up and gives her a sense of accomplishment.

In regard to storing the clothes, I would recommend plastic bins or the storage bags that you can vacuum shut. Those work great. You can store a huge amount of clothes, extract the air out of the bag (the bag will go almost flat) and then store it anywhere.

Lastly, the toys, clothes etc that you have and don't need anymore - there a several kids stores that buy gently used toys, clothing etc. I recommend Kid to Kid - they have locations throughout the valley. YOu get some money or store credit for your items and it helps out others that may not be able to afford brand new items.

Hope this helps.

L.

Have you tried taking a box of the little girls' things right to the donation place (or at least store them in the car or garage? until you get to it?) I am trying now to get a box over there every week or so. Maybe a clear box labeled "2-4 years" or 30 lbs. (or whatever) of particular age/size range up in the closet til the next ones are close to that size?

S.

Hi K.,

I have a 13 1/2 year old son and a 16 month old little girl. What I've done for both is either use the big plastic bins that you store xmas stuff in, putting only my "favorite" outfits/toys/shoes and also the plastic zip bags that comforters and bedspreads come in, those are great for storage of clothes and I even have one for a queen size comforter that is completely full of all my son's legos in it. I use the picture of the comforter, turn it around in the plastic holder and write what is in there! They are great space savers and I throw them in the closets, out of sight, but accessible!

Good luck!

R.

I would first start by going through everything, one room at at time, and have 3 bins (or making 3 piles). One for stuff to keep, one for stuff to store, and one for stuff to donate/sell. The stuff to donate, you can take to Goodwill straight away and get it out of the way. The toys to keep can be put in bins under the bed, a toy rack with bins (Target has them for about $40) or in the closet (I have a cube organizer in my son's closet). You should group like toys together. You could even put a picture on the bin of the type of toy that belongs in each bin (i.e.: a picture of a doll for the bin that will hold all the barbies). The key is, everything will have a place and everything belongs in it's place. For the clothes to store, you can put them in boxes and write the size of the clothes on the outside of the box so when you're kids are ready for that size, you just have to select a box. Clear plastic storage boxes or copy paper boxes would stack well. Then I would have another box/bag/area set aside for new items that come up that you want to donate/sell. Then when the box is full, take it to Goodwill. A good place to sell used items is on Craigslist.org or at Once Upon a Child (there's one in Gilbert and Chandler). My friends and family keep telling me I should start my own business and be a professional organizer (I love doing this stuff). I would be more than happy to come over and help. (Of course I wouldn't charge you, you could be a practice client for me :-) ). I know it can be a little overwhelming. Just reply if you have any questions or want some help. Good luck.

Hi K.,

As for the things you no longer need there is this web site called freecycle.com and you post the things you want to get rid of and if someone is interested then they will come to your house and pick up the things you no longer need. That way you don't have to take the kids out. They will come to you and take the clutter away! Also another thing that might help with the things that you would like to keep is the space bags. The ones that you can just vaccum the air out of and they don't take up much space at all they are also water and weather proof. You can find them at any wal-mart or target.

Hope that helps :)

Being a homeschooling mom of 4 children (5,7,13,14), I've found FlyLady.net to really help me in ALL areas of organization! Her website is a little overwhelming at first but I signed up to get her email reminders and then I was able to handle her website...LOL But maybe you can find some ideas and helpful hints...

Hi K.,

I think totes are a wonderful solution to many organizing needs. You can big ones, little ones, you can color coordiante, you can buy clear ones.....totes are under estimated. LOL

For my boys I bought totes and I bought them each a color. Everytime my older son gets too big for something I put it in my little ones blue tote. When the blue tote gets full, I label it, move it to the bottom of the pile and start a new tote. I always have an active tote in my little ones closet to set clothes in. For my older one, I have a tote in his closet to for when someone give me clothes or if I buy something he can wear later.
When my boys need new clothes or the season changes, I go to the tote go through it and pick out the clothes that we need and put the rest back. It's like shopping at home!

I do the same with toys.

This has worked for me. I use totes for everything.

Best of luck.

I am right there with you, I have a almost 6 year old and 3 year old twins, all girls. So I know exactly what your talking about with all the stuff evrywhere. I am also not the most organized person. So I went to Walmart and bought those Rubbermade containers and had one for each of the different sizes and I was able to put those in outside storage, or you could stack them in the closet. I was able to put alot of clothes and shoes in them. As for the clothes and shoes that no longer fit, I tried a yard sale, but those are alot of work and you dont make much on clothes, so I gave them away or donated them. You seriously get to a point were you dont care you want them out of your house. The Salvation Army or a Goodwill will take them. I hope this helps. I also have a box of clothes to still get rid of at the bottom of their closet...I just keep adding to it till it is full then off it goes.

Bring what you don't want to My Cedar Chest (my children's resale store) located at 1520 Deborah Road, behind the Hot Tamales Restaurant, ###-###-####. 25% store credit for each item I accept or you can donate them to me. I'm a mom-owned, start up business.

Thanks!

I take a lot of stuff to places that will give me store credit. I feel good about recycling, and that I can get little items that feel 'new' when we want something. I don't have the time or desire to save stuff for a garage sale, and ebay/craigslist can be a pain to wait for payment and have to ship stuff. I'm more liberal with my 'giveaways' when I might get a little something in return. Twice as Nice is great for baby gear, and certain clothes. Bookmans will buy books, DVDs, games, certain electronics. I generally will take a box of stuff to one of these places, then just drop off at Savers right after. (You'll rarely miss stuff you get rid of, and once it's out of the house, keep it out.)

Hi K.,

We packed all our son's baby stuff in SpaceSaver Bags to keep things clean. Then put them in storage bins labled "shoes", "0-6month toys", "summer clothes", "baby blankets", etc. Then put them in the attic. We also have a laminated paper hanging in our garage near the attic entrance that has a list of everything that we have stored in the attic so we know what's up there. (You can find good quality/cheap priced storage bins at Family Dollar stores)

For the stuff you no longer need - Goodwill or The Salvation Army. We always keep a couple crates in our garage just for this purpose. When they're full, we make a trip to the donation center. Make sure to get a receipt for your tax deduction!

Good Luck! =)

Not sure I can help with organization, but to get rid of some things your kids don't use anymore AND make a few bucks easily you should check out www.evmaz.com East Valley Moms has a GREAT consignment sale coming up in Oct. I made almost $300 selling my old stuff at the last sale! Tell them Every Mother & Child sent you and they'll reduce your consignment fee (really cheap anyway)

Well I don't have the gap, I only have one boy but am planning on having more so I started boxing up his clothes. I went to Walmart and got lots of the same size box. The are the kind that could go under the bed. Then I went through all the clothes and sorted by size. Each box is one size. When the box is full, I don't save any more so I really had to decide what I liked the best. For us, clothes that he will grow into are easily accessable in his closet and the boxes for the future are in the garage. Once he has fully out grown a size is when I make the switch, one box out for use and the one box in the garage. He is two and growing fast. As far as the stuff leaving the house unless you need the money, and who doesn't now days, I would just have a box to collect the stuff and when it is full take it to Goodwill. If you need the money, list in on Craig's list, it is local and pretty quick turn around in my expereance. But form expereiance don't do it all in one day!

you realy shouldnt save "everything" . go through the stuff and pick out half of what you have. jsut the best things . the kids will probably not like to play with the same toys when they get to that age anyway. what i did is get a bridal dress torage box and i put the most special outfits and very special toys. my oldest son got married last year and i gave him his box. it has one receiving blanket,a pair of levis 501 size 0, two outfits, his cowboy hat and belt, a pair of boots and a pair of converse high tops, some infant t shirts(antiques that have the snap and cross over, some ofhis favoitre toys likehis teddy bear and some star wars actin figures and his GI joe and a tonka truck he always played with. i also made a scrap book as the years went by and saved one or two school items a year in that some years i would take somethingout to be able to fit another but it was an emotional time when i gave him his things for his son. i have another one for my other biological son, he jsut graduated high school. i dont have much form my 5 adopted sons but i kept things form when they came to us and during the time they were with us. they are all out and grown now. i have lugged those boxes with me everywhere i go and at times i thought of throwing everything away but im glad i didnt. for now, you need to buy some baskets for each kid. maybe a lundry basket each. have them go through their toys and pick out only the toys that fit in each basket. those they can keep. then santize the loft over and throw out the borken ones and take them to an orphanage or to a hospital childrens ward or to the doctors office or to a church. if you take it ot a thrift store like the one we have is a YMCA store, you get a tax write off for stuff you donate. same thing with the clothes. i only keep what i use al the time and if it fits and is in good condition. once a month i go through the drawers or do it whileyou do your laundry and sort things out. youll have less laundry to do. if the kids have a problem doing that, do it while they are gone. my kids loved taking the stuff to the orphanage in mexico as we live 5 miles form the border. we went there before christmas and maybe another time during the year. they got to see how much they have and how little others have and they had fun showing the kids how to play with the toys. they had fun distirbuting the clithes that we took.

Hi K.,

I have two boys right now, 3 1/2 year old and a 22 month old, and I'm 36 week pregnant with my third boy, so needless to say I'm dealing with a similiar issue. Any how, I've found that I'm saving only the things I really and truly love and putting them according to size 0-12month, then 18-24 or whatever into big plastic bins with lids I got them from Target then I labeled them according to size or whatever is in them. I stack them in the closets and go through them every once in awhile and take out what I need. When I'm done I'm going to take all the outfits the boys used that I loved and have someone use patches of the clothes to turn into a quilt for myself, as keepsake. I hope this helps.

L. B.

I keep a big ol' used gift bag in the laundry area, and as things no longer fit they go there. When it's full I give it to my friend with a younger child.

One way you could manage that 3 year gap: find a friend with a child in between, and send your stuff her way with the idea that she will send it back to you when her kids are done. No storage space needed!

Spacebags and rubbermaid trunks labeled and stacked in the garage. Good Luck!

I wanted to add that you can get someone else to get rid of the donatables: many charities pick up donations. So do many needy neighbors and friends. If you have friends with kids in the age-range you are purging, then tell them to move it or lose it-nicely of course. Say "The Goodwill will be by on the 15th to pick up what you don't want." If you live in an area with some poverty, you can put the box on the sidewalk with a "FREE" sign for a couple of afternoons.

Hi K., I saw a lot of your responses suggested methods for organization in boxes, etc. One other thing we did that has made things a lot easier was to have a storage shelf installed above our garage door. We completely ran out of room for storage and this was the last spot we could find! We had ours custom built which was pricey but I have seen metal basket ones advertised places too. i don't know how much they cost or what installation is like. It may be worth checking it out though! Good luck!