How to Stay on Top of Kids' Clothes

Kids' wardrobes are difficult to manage because they just keep growing--
and growing out of stuff. You're continually donating old clothes,
buying new ones, storing out-of-season items--and occasionally finding
perfectly acceptable garments somehow lost in the far corner of
a kid's closet. Staying on top of all this chaos requires a system.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Go through all your children's clothes and divide them into piles: too big, too small, worn out and just not going to wear. Do this at least twice a year, or when the seasons change.

2. Put clothes away that are still too big. Give away or sell your "too small" or "not worn" piles. Worn-out clothes go in the rag bin.

3. Accept hand-me-downs from friends and relatives happily, but don't take them all. Keep only what your children will wear.

4. Use the same standards for kids' clothes that you do for your own: Buy good-quality, basic coordinating pieces.

5. Organize clothing by activity: school clothes, play clothes, dressup clothes and sports clothes. That way your child can find things more easily.

6. Put name tags in all garments.

Tips & Warnings

• Install lower clothing rods in closets for young kids.
• Think ahead. Buy next year's clothes at end-of-season sales this year.
• See 17 Streamline Your Morning Routine.

on 8/8/2006 To make sure your kids will want to wear new clothes you buy for them, stay on top of what brands are cool at the mall, and then buy them cheaper online, using price comparing searches.