Overwhelmed with Clothes

Every season I go through my own closet, which is time consuming and a ROYAL pain, to put summer clothes away in bins in the basement, and take out my fall/winter stuff. But doing it for the twins is even more CONFUSING and time consuming.

So I sit there and empty their drawers out and decide what is summer, what is fall winter. I try to sort them into boxes call "Memory clothing" the clothing that you want to keep because they are too precious to give away and it reminds you of a favorite time, person or place. "Clothes that are too small", "Clothes that are summer/spring and can fit possibly next year" (For Mikayla...she is so little and does not change size very often, that some of the 18mths that fit her now will possibly fit next spring)

So as I'm doing this, I try to get a box ready for the consignment shop and make sure these clothes are good quality without stains. I get to the consignment shop and they are NOT accepting any more children's clothing. Their walls are packed. So NOW what do I do with all of these clothes??? Maybe give them to good will or the salvation army??

I hate going through clothes and sorting them! Any suggestions?

Bridget :wacko:

 

Bridget, I am SOOOOOO right there with you!! It's like torture for me.

I was going through them all yesterday and I got so many different piles going, I couldn't remember what was what! I have the added difficulty of changing climates for Thanksgiving, so have to hold on the the "summer" stuff that will still fit (Ali is outgrowing her stuff at just the right time, so that's going to be interesting!) for TX in November.

If you have a local MOMS sale, you should sell your stuff there. What you don't sell you can donate to the outreach program and they will likely give it to a family in need. That way you know that you are helping another twin or more family! :hug99:

 

As Diane said, a local MOMs club would certainly have members who could use the clothes. If you want to make some money back, you could try craigslist.org and sell the clothes. I tend to sell in season, but some people mark down the out of season clothes and sell them anyway. I have under bed tubs with all the spring/summer clothes and will sort towards spring since some may still fit and then sell what doesn't on craigslist. I also post a link to my craigslist sale on my local MOMs' message board and other members are often happy to buy my g/g matching or coordinated stuff and I'm sure there is a market for clothes in any twin combo.

 

Bridget,
Do you belong to a local multiples club? Ours has a huge yardsale twice a year, spring and fall. I have been selling clothes there, we already had our fall one though. I just took a bin that didn't sell to a consignment shop here, are there any others around you? We have a few up this way, if you are ever up this way.

Or I would donate them to Goodwill or Amvets, or some place like that, or pass on to anyone you know may need them. Have you tried selling them on Craig's List?

I know it is a pain to store them all, I have all of my oldest DD's clothes still.

 

I give them away to friends, or donate them. We do not plan on having any more kids, so I have no need to keep them. And yes, some are precious and hard to part with, but it gives me joy to see my friends younger ones in those same outfits a season later!

I have been doing Flylady online (I feel like I am constantly posting about her de-cluttering program), but she is really BIG on giving stuff away. Don't save it for a garage sale, don't save it in case you *might* use it again...get rid of it. It has been really liberating for me to get into that mindset. I am going through things constantly now, at least once a week, and adding a new garment or two or three, to pass along.

 

I'm a big fan of giving stuff away. We too are done having kids. I have bins of clothes from my older son in the garage that will eventually fit Garrett & have a couple of friends that have given me loads of clothes all the way up to size 7 for Gillian. So, I feel like it's important to "pay it forward". I keep bins in the bottom of everyone's closets & toss clothes in there as they outgrow or the seasons change, then when it's time to do the big clean out it's partially done already. I have several people I split my hand-me-downs between, so I load up the car & make a circle around town delivering the goods. Anything that's borderline I give to a local charity. I do also save some for the next season, but, from experience, as they get older, I end up giving most of that away when I take the box out the following season.
I have also become a fan of FlyLady recently. It's funny, a friend gave me the book and then a few days later I saw something about it on here. There are a lot of her ideas I already had in place, but she just helps organize my crazy thoughts & life!!

 

You've already received a bunch of great options but I wanted to add www.freecycle.org to the list. You can give away your clothes or anything else that you want to get rid of on the site and you get to pick who it goes to. Good luck!

 

I would look in the phone book for another shop. In stoage stains that were not there will start to shop so keep them climate controlled. We have kept some of their outfits to give to them when they are old.

 

I've saved a lot of clothes.....we don't know 100% if we're done having kids or not, but like you said a lot of them have sentimental value. Plus, I have quite a few sisters who still plan on having kids & it's fun to save them for future neices or nephews.

So, I have all the clothes that I've saved out in the garage in Rubbermaid tubs, sorted according to size. What I've found that helps me not have so much to do all at once is I keep one of those big Huggies diaper boxes (like the Costco size one) in the babies closet. So that as I come across something they've outgrown or they can't wear for other reasons, I just toss it in the Huggies box. Then, when the box is full I sort it into what I want to keep, what I'm going to take in to trade, etc. I have another box in the office that's just for stuff I'm taking to the store to trade in.....we have the same problem around here, NONE of the stores are taking clothes right now. I'm just hanging onto them for now, but they're boxed up & marked. I think in a few weeks if they're still not taking clothes I might put an ad out on Craigslist. (Our multiples group doesn't have the big sale, but I think we should!)

If you don't really need the trade, then I'd just take them to the goodwill & be done with it. For me, though, money's tight enough that taking the old clothes in for trade really helps.

 

I have way too many clothes for my kids (most of them bought in excellent used condition; nobody gives me hand-me-downs, and I rarely buy new stuff). Right now, it's time to sort again - the boxes are overflowing! We won't have any more kids (I'm 44, LOL), but I can't give away just everything; I too have a "sentimental value" box.

I try to sell as much as possible to Once Upon a Child; they are extremely picky, though - name brand preferred, no stains or defects, so I'm trying to get some of the stains out (more laundry, but may be worth it). What they don't take, I give to Goodwill; however, they resell the clothes, I would prefer a charity that gives them to the needy. Maybe a women's shelter?

Another possibility, if you have the time, is to sell the best stuff (Gymboree, Gap, Old Navy, Baby Lulu, etc.) on eBay. You can earn some $ - to spend on more clothes - and it's a lot of fun.

It's amazing how many clothes these kids have - and they have just entered a phase where ds needs to have a "big truck" on his shirts or pants, and dd insists on kitties - so I'll have to buy even more :laughing:

DeLana