Clothing Overhaul!

With a new school year fast approaching, it's time to figure out who needs what added to their closet.

This year, I decided to something a little different. The kids have gone through another set of growth spurts and with all the chaos of 2020, we didn't really clean out what they had. Traditionally, we would go to a department store or try to get school supplies and clothes all in one go at other places. But honestly, I end up exhausted with cranky, hungry kids by the time we got everything.

The school supply list was given to us when we registered at the being of the month. Thanks to a little on-line shopping, all the items have been ordered and most have already arrived. The kids still get excited for supplies because a package with mystery items show up at our door every now and then. We were also able to have a wider choice range for backpacks as the one they really wanted may not have been available in our local store.

But back to clothes...

Taking the kids one at time, I brought out the folding table and set it up in the living room and had them bring me everything. Everything in the closet, everything in the dresser, everything in the laundry room, everything left in the car, everything that got shoved under the bed (or anywhere else). Every item of clothing and footwear. And one at a time when went through everything. They had to see how much they already have and them answer the following two questions: Does it fit? Do you like (meaning will you actually wear it)?

If they answered no to either question, it went into the box for donations to our locally run thrift store. Then we looked through what was left and separated the remaining items to make capsule wardrobes. With a little help from Pinterest and looked through several ideas and found this one the most helpful.

We went through the checklist and wrote down the pieces that we already had and with the older ones, worked on choosing a few favorite colors so that it will be easier to mix and match outfits. We live in a smaller semi-rural community so going shopping for clothes is an almost one hour round trip just driving time. I used my sewing tapes measure to check all their measurements and then ordered online and the kids are now patiently awaiting more boxes to open when our local delivery person knocks on the door.

For those who really enjoy shopping outings, this may seem a bit odd. But it works for us and it helps with the "I really like this one, but they don't have it in my size," that we've gone through the last few years. With a lot of extras out of the house, there is less laundry and clutter to try to maintain, which has been a big help to keeping the house tidy.