Drowning in Clothes

amother

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 1:53 pm

amother [ Wheat ] wrote:

Clothing that stored properly will last (more likely). What you need is a system. I keep a big plastic box in a corner and anytime someone out grows something I put it in there. At the end of every season I go through the shelves and take off everything that's not going to fit the next time and put it in the box too. When I have an hour I sort it by size and gender and when I have more time I put it in vacuum sealed huge bags. I have one place I store all these bags labeled by gender size and season. I just started getting to the point where I can actually use the clothing I put away with the system and it's so convenient.

Light colored baby clothing doesn't last because it turns yellow. Same goes for white leggings. Pretty much everything else has aged well but if something was about to get a hole when you put it away after one wash when you take it out will be very holey.

Ugh I waa about to chuck/give away everything until I read this. Now I'm torn again. I feel like it's massive baal tashchis to keep buying brand New wardrobes for kids, on the other hand I only end up using a handful of stored things and somehow the old stuff grosses me out (even if its in perfect condiriom)
Help!!!

amother

Wheat

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 1:55 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If you know you won't use the old stuff, give it away.

amother

Aqua

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 1:58 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Then there's no issue whatsoever. You know you don't like using old clothing. So don't. You'll get new for your next child who also deserves beautiful and cute clothing.

Buying brand new is not Bal Tashchis, it's throwing old into the trash. So don't. Donate it, now, when it's still relatively new and in good condition.

If you're concerned about wasting money, commit to buying mostly cheap basics and only a few adorable splurge outfits.

And if some clothes are very sentimental, photograph them or just keep a few that make you smile.

But yes, get rid of most of them.

amother

Trillium

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 2:00 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Give it away

amother

Linen

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 3:01 pm

I just dealt with this. My youngest boy is 12 and my youngest girl is 4. I went through all my boys clothing that baby-what my son recently outgrew. I saved 2 outfits per season or the 1 or 2 special things (home made, etc) and gave the rest away. I did girls probably through size 2t. So I can save that sentimental outfit, etc, but got rid of a huge amount of clutter.

stardream

Wed, Feb 16 2022, 10:52 pm

I have the same question so this thread was helpful! I like to save a bit from each season because I find that there were times it has come in handy though I probably save too much and most of it likely won't get used. I liked an idea I got from minimal mom. She keeps 1 big bucket per kid and that's it. I changed it a bit - I have a small box of non gendered newborn stuff and small box each of girl and boy newborn stuff. I find that I would use newborn stuff faster and it's more helpful to have some extras at that stage. Past that it's 1 storage container for girls and 1 for boys. I also have a niece 2 years younger than my daughter so I go through everything at the end of the season and then again before that niece is big enough to wear the clothes and it makes a big difference to go through things a second time when more time has passed.

Zehava

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 12:22 am

The more kids I have the less I save. Why should things sit in storage only to be thrown away years later when someone can enjoy it now? I just threw out garbage bags of dds old clothes because they weren’t fit to give away anymore. Now I ruthlessly give away anything that’s outgrown or that I won’t use. Seeing others enjoy them makes me happy.

amother

Wheat

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 12:32 am

amother [ Zinnia ] wrote:

For those of you who save your sons’ pants, how??? My boys destroy their pants, totally unsalvageable.

It depends how old they are and how many they have, as well as the quality of the clothing. My son is wearing target pants, has just enough, is 4, and they are shredding. However his children's place pants from last year are still usable.

Zehava

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 12:40 am

I use H&M jeans and while they totally wash out after a couple months it’s not obvious that this isn’t the original color. The material is still holding up well. My son actually likes them better when they’re washed out. I am giving them away and replacing them however because I think they’re a bit too casual looking for cheder at this point.

Geulanow

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 12:56 am

amother [ DarkKhaki ] wrote:

I have a lot of beautiful used clothes taking up space but I’m not sure where to give them.

Maybe post on Imamother. If you're in the US, maybe yad shniya. Also look up gemachs online. If you have whatsapp, join a group from your city and post what you have. If you have Facebook, try Facebook Marketplace. There's also Craigslist.

amother

Cadetblue

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 8:52 am

I recently had a boy 10 years after my last boy. I kept pretty much everything. I’ve hardly had to buy a thing for this baby! I had a lot of good quality baby clothes and things are even back in style! I have a lot of knit outfits that look totally like what’s in stores.

However I went through the bigger sizes and a lot of stuff is really out of style, like one posted above said, pants that are super wide! It was right before the era of skinny pants.

But then I have 3 girls who I like to match, and even though I tend to get them a couple new Shabbos outfits every season that match, I have such a hard time getting rid of their old stuff. When it’s good quality it hardly looks worn after just one season! Weekday clothes are not as much of a problem, they usually get totally worn out. And I don’t know anyone with girls the same spacing apart who I could give them to, and it feels bad to break up matching sets. But then I end up with way too much. Oy! Can anyone relate?

amother

Wheat

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 9:09 am

amother [ Cadetblue ] wrote:

You need to find someone like me lol. My aunt has three girls and once or twice a year I get her hand me downs - her youngest is 9 and my oldest is almost 6. I have only two girls but they have already matched on one outfit and I'm sure they will with more. I love it, I have to buy almost no girls clothing anymore (for some reason we didn't start this relationship until we hit size 3) mostly just tights and shoes. And our kids must share some genes because the clothing looks amazing on my kids, better than anything I can find in the stores.

Shout out about boots - if you buy good quality, keep or give away! My kids live in their hand me down uggs and I would never buy such a thing.

amother

Latte

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 9:14 am

amother [ Cadetblue ] wrote:

Yes, I can totally relate! I have a whole bunch of girls in a row, spaced about 2 years apart on average. Since I know that I have another child coming up within a short time who will wear that size I save soooo much! Usually when I take it back out I end up getting rid of a few things that didn't end up holding up in storage or I no longer like. But most of it ends up being usable. And I totally hear you about not wanting to split up matching sets. I have several from when my kids were little (not as much now as they get older) and it feels like I should keep them together so I hold on to them but it's not even like I can then use them as a matching set since I'll only have 1 or 2 at a time in the future who can use those sizes at the same time.

amother

Cadetblue

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 9:35 am

amother [ Latte ] wrote:

Exactly! I’m at the point where, of course only Hashem knows, but if it’s up to me I’d only like to have one more, so now it’s even more pointless that I’m holding on to all this stuff. I did a big paring-down a few months ago, but this thread is making me think I should do even more…

amother

Trillium

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 11:17 am

At some point I realized that I probably wouldn’t be using most things that I saved but I still enjoyed having clothing in both genders/different sizes. Like when someone would be at my house and need something for a girl in size 2- no problem! I had a few options! Or someone would need a change of clothing for a baby- sure! You can count on me to find a clean onsie and a cute stretchie.
Then it got to the point that I realized- I’m not a storage center! I don’t need bins and bins of clothing in my closet!
Most things felt good to give away or throw away but I have to admit that some things were downright painful. Like the newborn velour stretchie that I brought my first boy home from the hospital in and the sweater set my baby probably only wore once when we went to shul on simchas Torah. That sweater set was still in perfect condition a number of years later- size 0-3 months- outgrown so fast…. And the pink blanket with matching newborn stretchie and hat that my friends chipped in to buy for my first girl. Painful to give away…
When I realized that I probably won’t have any more children, it just made sense to at least try to de-clutter. I figured if there would be another baby then it would be the perfect excuse for a new baby wardrobe. (It’s a few years since then and there was no baby 😥)
I allowed myself to save one newborn boy and girls outfit… I told my girls they can dress their dolls in the clothing.
How long can we hold on to things??
If they won’t be used within a year or two you are probably going to end up becoming a storage center.

devorah1231

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 11:21 am

If you have room for one decent size storage box it's a good idea to save one or two outfits in every size for each gender for the really small ages when they get dirty a lot so that when your grandchildren come you'll have some things in case you need it.

I know my mother kept a few baby outfits which we absolutely used when babies were born with little notice or threw up a lot. Small clothing doesn't take up so much room.

amother

Molasses

Thu, Feb 17 2022, 11:35 am

You don't have to throw it out, you just need to put in bins by size, label the bins and put it in your attic. you mentioned that storage space isn't the issue, it's the drowning in clothes. So designate a day (or an hour or two) to sit down, sort into labeled bins, and put it away.

That will solve the issue of drowning in clothes. Then, when you have next child, take out that bin and see what you end up using. If you really don't end up using some, you can give away or discard.