Organizing large quantities of hand-me-downs for kids

It seems like kids are always outgrowing their clothing. The more kids you have, the more this becomes a difficult undertaking. A system to organize your hand-me-downs will help keep closets in order. Organize and save clothing to share with your younger children, donate them to charity, sell at a consignment store or give them to other people. The most important part of hand-me-downs is to take decisive action and do something with them so that they don’t turn into mounds of clutter in your home.

Even though it is summer, the new school year will be here before you know it. There is no time like the present to get the kids’ clothes together and see what you will need for the coming school year.

It is very difficult to part with some clothing, especially items that remind you of special occasions or events. If you hold on to too many special items from days gone by, you will never have enough space, no matter what size home you have. Strive to only hang on to the most sentimental items.

It is amazing how much clothing accumulates over a short period of time with our kids. When the drawers are stuffed to the gills and the hangers are jammed so tightly together that you cannot move them, it is surely time to purge.

Once you do make the decision to get organized, you need a plan. You will probably end up with clothes that are too small for the oldest child and too big for the youngest. Those items will need to be stored for later use, given away or sold. Figure out how you want to sort the clothing. You can separate by season, gender or size. Pick one method and stick to it.

Make a space, or put in a box for hand-me-down items in the bedroom closet for sorting in the future. A small laundry basket or plastic container is a good choice. If nothing like that is available, just grab a cardboard box.

You have to part with some things in order to make room for the clothes that fit. Large plastic zippered storage bags or shoe boxes work well. By sorting the items and putting like things together in a container, they will be easier to find later.

Clean and fold everything before you put it in storage containers. Whether you are going to use the items later or pass them along to someone else, having them clean is the best way to store them.

Do things a little at a time if you feel overwhelmed by the task. In just a few sessions, your kids have orderly closets with some room to grow.